Anna Taylor

Dr. Angela Miss

UWRT 1104

May 7, 2017

Keystone Reflection

Writing has always been a weakness of mine, in regards to my confidence level. Very

rarely have I ever turned in a piece of writing and thought, This is wonderful. I have never

written a better paper. Though I have had issues with being self-assured, I have always enjoyed

the writing process. By being in UWRT, I have learned more about myself, my writing style, and

my peers writing style than I ever would have imagined. By receiving constructive criticism

from Dr. Miss on every major assignment, I was able to reflect and improve my writing based off

of her recommendations, which is an opportunity I was never granted in my prior years of

education. The concept of studios, forums, daybook entries, and major assignments provided me

with a plethora of mediums to work with in my writing. I found forum posts to be the most

effective way to get my ideas across, and I enjoyed being able to see the opinions and ideas of

my peers in an academic environment. I feel as though being able to read others responses and

outlooks on important subjects is crucial to surviving in the so-called real world, meaning the

general public, people outside of ones discourse community. The writing styles and ways of

research I learned in this class have definitely made me aware of how crucial it is to gather

credible resources and factual artifacts before thinking or speaking. Too often do people write or

speak without thinking, which almost always results in untimely, negative feedback. The SLOs

that were implemented throughout the class, such as critical reflection and rhetorical knowledge,
will most certainly benefit me in the long run, and after my graduation. I hope to receive a degree

in public health and promote the health and wellness of individuals in society, and know that I

will not be able to effectively do so without the use of SLOs. It is nearly impossible to write well

without being self-aware, and the same goes with communication, especially to new faces. With

each conversation, there is context, as there should also be in writing. One of the most important

things I have learned throughout being in this writing course is how a persons personal

background can affect the way in which they write, especially concerning vocabulary and

grammatical skills. One of the ways that a majority of people avoid the issue of being

misinterpreted is through the process of mushfaking, which is a term that I did not know until I

was placed in an environment where this kind of writing was acceptable. Though I used

mushfaking in nearly all of my writing compositions in years past, I found myself to refrain from

doing so in this course, particularly due to the fact that so many assignments required the use of

research. Writing research has been extremely beneficial to my writing; I know feel as though I

know what I am talking about when I write, and no longer feel the need to construct an

assignment on something I know nothing about. The things I learned in the few months I took

this course will stick with me for the rest of my life, and will most certainly improve my writing

in both academic and nonacademic environments.