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Jun Park

Professor King

WRIT 2 – Section 2500

11/14/19

Reflecting on WRIT 2

For the fall quarter of 2019, WRIT 2 provided the experience of writing with different

genres with different conventions. I learned from definition of genre to conventions that different

genres have and the reason they exist. I had the opportunity to analyze an existing genre and

explain its effects, to describe a discipline with specific genre and use their conventions to write

a paper, and to translate a genre to another genre. Throughout these assignments, I was able to

experience, analyze, and make use of different kinds of genres that I may encounter during my

university life. Of course, I couldn’t experience every genre that exist in the world, but I was able

to learn about how I should be dealing with different genres according to their audience and

conventions.

Before I took this class, I thought that the writing process are not very different for

various disciplines. Specifically, I thought that a ‘good’ writing for any discipline would look

similar, for example, I thought that good scientific paper would also be a good writing in other

disciplines. However, I learned that different disciplines value different features of the paper.

With the acknowledgement, I was able to read and write with emphasis on what the paper is

valuing or the real message that the rhetor is trying to send. For example, when I was writing a

scientific paper, I was focusing on writing skills like flow of the paper. However, I realized that

scientific paper values argument that is well-supported. This course have enabled me look for

what is important and write in the form that the genre values the most.
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Aside from genres and its conventions, I also learned much about writing process and

choices made in writing as well. I learned about rhetorical features like ethos, logos, and pathos;

and I learned about stylistic choices that I can make in writing. I learned how each choice could

affect the readers to have different impression on the readers, and what I should do for readers to

have to correct message that I am trying to deliver to them. The stylistic choice is the part that I

will still have to work in the future. From time to time, I tend to make stylistic choices that harms

the flow of the writing. For example, I received a feedback that I should not be using a passive

voice unless it helps the flow of the writing. This can be said that I made a mistake on emphasis

part in stylistic choices. Such mistakes are found from my writing frequently observed from my

writing and such features are surely a thing that I should be working on to make my writing

better.

As a student who didn’t really like writing, most of the concepts that I learned from class

were difficult for me. Some of them I feel confident with, some of them like stylistic choice I

mentioned above, not so much. To deal with the part I struggle with, I mostly use peer review in

order to help my writing with those concepts. I like peer review because it allows another person

with different perspective with me and may be a person who have better knowledge at writing

concepts to look at my paper and discuss about what I could do to improve my paper. This could

also prevent me taking for granted that my readers understand my point. Since I am the author of

the writing, I may take it for granted that readers would look at my writing in the same way I

look at it and take away the important points. However, all readers look at writings with different

perspectives and may cause to not receive the main point of my writing. Having my peers to

review through my paper could minimize such disruption that readers might have when reading

my paper.
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Either like it or not, I would be facing a lot of writings throughout my school life in

UCSB. And these writings would come in different forms, some of them may be scientific paper,

some of them might be reports asking for my opinion, or they might be something like children’s

book that requires writings to be in their simplest form. All these writings value different things,

have different audience, and utilize these writings for different purposes. As I mentioned earlier,

I couldn’t possibly study every genres of writing that exist in the world. However, I had a chance

to learn how I should be analyzing genres and to use the conventions of the genre. This would

help me when I face an assignment that I must use a genre that I have never used. Overall, this

class taught me the foundation I should have when facing different courses in the university. As I

would be facing different genres with different conventions, the experience in WRIT 2 would

surely be a big help for me throughout my writings at UCSB.