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Midterm

September 28, 2015

Ryann Duncan

When UWRT 1103 was added to my schedule at orientation I was extremely nervous.
Writing has never been my strong suit and here I was taking it in a college level class. However,
as I look over the Key Concepts on the Course & Materials section of the syllabus, I feel
confident in saying I am strongly engaging with several topics. With that being said, there are
also some that I definitely need to improve on.
There are three main Key Concepts that stand out to me that I feel I am strongly
engaging with. The first one is the second bullet point on the list, independent inquiry and
curiosity. Referring back to Blog Post #1, my questions really demonstrated my strong
engagement. For example, my fourth question expresses my inquiry about the textbook we were
assigned. It reads, What specifically about our textbook Who Says? stands out and makes it the
best choice for the class? Will we ever read it in class together or will it be assigned to us as
strictly, outside class reading? How can we use it to make us better writers?. I believe this
question along with others on my first blog post emphasize my strong inquiry and curiosity about
this course. I plan to continue this strong engagement as I begin researching my topic for my
research essay. Next, I feel I am strongly engaging with the critical reflection bullet point. When
we workshopped our exploratory essay drafts, I found that I was my toughest critic. My group
members seemed to have only a few notes written down, whereas I had a whole paragraph
reflecting on what I wanted to improve and also what I enjoyed. In my writers notebook I wrote
ideas such as, Include more details about where I want to volunteer to gain field experience,
what grades I need to maintain to get into nursing school, where I think nursing will take me in
the long run, etc. All of these ideas are evidence of critical reflection. Additionally, I think I am

Midterm
September 28, 2015

Ryann Duncan

really doing well with taking responsibility for my own learning. I have stayed after to discuss
my research topic, I have spent countless hours outside of class working on my essays and blog
posts, and I have managed my time well. With a portfolio based class where grades are not
constantly being given to you it is even more important to take charge. I was definitely anxious
at first, but I have come to really appreciate not always having a grade thrown in my face. Ms.
Ingram emphasized the first day of class that if you put in the work and take responsibility of
your own learning you will always know where you are and how you are doing in the class. This
has not been more true and I really feel like overall, I am satisfied with my progress thus far.
Although there are concepts I feel like I am working well with, there are definitely some
areas of improvement. The first bullet that I looked at and knew it was something I could
improve on was getting out of your comfort zone. When you explained before our first
workshop that we had to read our essays aloud to our groups I was so nervous. Public speaking is
definitely one of my weaknesses. However, after I read my essay to my group I realized that it
really helped make changes. When you read it to yourself quietly it does not have the same
effect, so I am looking forward to getting more comfortable with my classmates so that public
speaking gets a little easier. Also, I want to step out of my comfort zone with my writing.
Specifically, I want delve into my research for my research essay and never let myself just settle.
Continuing this thought, during my reading I came across a quote in Who Says? that really stood
out to me; it read, Once I was a scuba diver in the sea of words. Now I zip along the surface like
a guy on a jet ski. Its so easy in todays world to just google all information and take the easy
way out. I want to step out of my comfort zone by using all of the resources I have available to
me such as books, scholarly articles, journals, etc. I do not want to settle with the first

Midterm
September 28, 2015

Ryann Duncan

information I find, or the easiest information to locate. Rather I want to dive deeper and really
search for the best quality information and I want to make sure I understand the authors purpose.
Additionally, I want to better engage myself with multi-modality of print and digital texts. On
the first page of the syllabus it reads, All texts are multi-modal, meaning they communicate
their messages to you, the reader, in a variety of ways. Before coming into this class I had no
idea what multi-modality was. I am a very basic, get to the point kind of writer so this is why
multi-modality has been a challenge for me. In my three-column annotated bibliography I plan to
use different fonts for each of the columns. I plan to use a more professional font for the first
column that matches the correct and standard citation, a ordinary and semi-boring font for the
middle column to match the tone of the summary column, and a girly, fun font for my thought
column. I also plan to use color coding as a way of organizing my citations in a way that they
will appear on my research essay.
Even though I did not expect it, I find myself always excited to come to writing class.
UWRT 1103 is so much different than my previous writing classes. I really love how organized
everything is and how even though we do not have grades I still feel confident in my progress
and where I stand in the class. I plan to continue to refer back to the Key Concepts and reflect
as I continue to grow as a writer the second half of the semester.

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