Talia Stringfellow

Prof. Speiser

My Final Thoughts: Writing 2 Reflection

I feel that since the beginning of this quarter I have become a more eloquent and
successful writer. Thanks to this class and my Politics of India class, which in total have required
me two write over 12 different essays, I have had the opportunity to apply what I have learned
about writing to the papers assigned for each of these classes and make them stronger. I have
learned that with time to go back and review my work, unrushed, I am able to express myself
much better. My writing skills have very much increased, and I have enjoyed learning about
genres, discourse communities and literary devices. My strengths coming into this class were
creating a strong argument and defending it, yet I believe this skill has strengthened since the
class has begun. I have learned a lot thanks to this class, not only about writing but about my
own skills. Further, I realized that although I may be good at something, does not mean there is
not room for more improvements.
The most growth I have made, based on the Writing 2 course goals, is in respect to
exploring strategies for improving higher-order concerns and lower-order concerns. My main
issue in W2 was if felt my writing could be more refined. For instance, sophistication of writing
has been something I have tried to work on since the beginning of this quarter. I had multiple
times had my dad review my writing for my Politics of India class and he was constantly cutting
out filler words like incredible or serious or outstanding because they make the work seem
immature. It was a criticism I recognized also translated to my papers in for this class. In my first
paragraph of WP2, I write The French Revolution was a period of massive changes and creative
movements. The use of massive I originally believed would emphasize my point, actually

generalizes my argument and does not give insight into what kind of change. These filler words
are actually distracting and weakening to my argument. Thus, upon review, I decided political
changes would be more indicative of my argument. By reviewing the work after I had already
submitted it, I was able to identify how to make my work clearer, more concise or more detailed
when appropriate. I respects to higher-order improvements, my WP3 revisions reflect my growth
best. By answering questions the professor had left at the end of my Reflective Essay I was able
to improve my evidence and analysis. These questions made me consider why I made the choices
I made and why they are better than other options (one recipe instead of entire cookbook).
Originally, I had trouble with the vocabulary in this class. The concept of a discourse
community was still a bit unclear to me once I had completed the Writing Project 2, however one
I had completed the third Writing Project I felt like discourse community was an old friend. This
is because I had more exposure to different communities and what it means to be part of one by
making my own Holden Caulfield recipe. Repetition really does strengthen ones understanding.
The readings really helped reinforce my understanding of the purpose of learning these terms.
On a related note, the reading about how writing is a form of telepathy has stayed with me since I
read it. It is a beautiful metaphor, but has been an important reminder that my writing needs to be
clear so that the message resonates though the readers head in the way I intend it to. I believe
these growths are reflected in my final portfolio.
I learned that being clear in writing is one of the most practical tools for success. The
clearer my writing is, the more the reader will focus on my argument rather than how I am
presenting my argument. For example, the most consistent revision I made on my second Writing
Project was the topic and concluding sentences. I realized that I needed to structure my writing
so that the reader is not trying to decipher what I am writing, rather what I am arguing. By

clarifying and rewriting my topic sentences, the reader knows immediately what I am arguing
and can easily apply my statement to the evidence I presented. Moreover, the conclusion
sentence of each paragraph is used to drive the point home, by reviewing them, I make my
argument stronger. The portfolio reflects this improvement because I was given the opportunity
to revisit my work and think about the intentions of each sentence. My sentence structures are
better because I had the opportunity to revisit my pieces. When one is not caught in the heat of
the moment, there is time to sit back and reflect on the purpose of your writing in a different way
that no class has allowed me to do.
My ideal writing process is one where I have set myself up for success by giving myself
enough time to review and rethink my work. The structure of this class has forced me to create
drafts and answer different questions I would not have necessarily done or thought of otherwise.
This has translated into my Political of India class because I forced myself to write drafts way in
advance and my grades have significantly increased in these classes.
Cohesiveness and coherence is the theme of my growth this quarter. Understanding that
the reader cannot read my mind or read between the lines for what I am trying to say is an
important afterthought I rarely had. Now, I understand that I must be as clear as possible in order
to solidify what I am saying. I could have the best argument, but if it is not well explained, my
points are weakened. In the future, I hope to write in a way that highlights counter arguments
better. I feel that in my writing I have lacked the ability to shut down the other point of view.
When Professor Speiser asked Why would The Catcher in the Rye not work as a book of
recipes? I had the opportunity to address a counter argument I had not originally considered.
Counter arguments have often been an afterthought of my writing, yet now I will consider them
in all my writing.