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DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.

          I will admit, I was not excited when I heard when we were going to have to choose one historical figure and write three essays solely on that person for the entire quarter. I was intimidated by the outline in the syllabus that extensively explained the learning outcomes for this class. I paid particular attention to this section of the syllabus:

                 

 "We will achieve our ends through biographical research.  For all intents and purposes in this class, you will become the “expert” on the historical figure you choose to explore. You will offer an initial overview of your figure's background and major life activities and achievements; argue an issue or point of view in accordance with your figure’s principles and life philosophies in the form of a first-person persuasive essay and oral presentation; and complete a research paper in which you compare scholars’ and critics’ points of view on a particular aspect of your figure's character, theories, actions (etc...). You may also have the opportunity to engage in debate with other classmates’ characters in a “Meeting of the Minds” forum."

 

I knew that Writing and Rhetoric 104 was going to be demanding compared to my previous 103 class-which was terrible. I knew each essay had its own criteria that could make writing difficult if you chose the wrong person; therefore, I had to choose just the right one. In the beginning, I had a difficult time deciding on whom to choose; there are millions of people and possibilities. But once Professor Seeley posted a list of about 50 historical figures to choose from, you could see the light bulbs turning on in everybody’s heads.



Sample List of Historical Figures.docx





Once I spotted Dr. Seuss’s name on the list, I instantly knew who I was going to write about. He encompassed everything that I love:  whimsy, creativity, and a little bit of nonsense. I thought research was going to be easy since Dr. Seuss is a household name, but it wasn’t. Essay 1 took quite a bit of time and research, but looking back, was the most manageable of all three essays. Initially upon entering this class I did not know how much time, effort, and stress, was going to have to be put into all 3 of these essays. But I survived, and was able to write 3 well developed essays.



          But for my essays to become well developed, I had to go through a lengthy revision process. In my previous 103 class we never did peer reviews, so when we did our first peer review in 104 I was nervous. Normally, I don’t like to risk hurting people’s feelings because I like to think I’m a genuinely nice person, but Professor Seeley suspended disbelief and explained to the class that the purpose of peer review is to build a person’s writing skills, not bash them. Peer review proved to be one of the most helpful aspects to the revision process. Every person that read one of my essays added something new and different to my paper. As shown below in a peer review of essay 3, every comment is beneficial in trying to enhance the overall argument of my paper:

 

 Peer Review.pdf


As noted on the bottom of the paper, my peer reviewer Austin notes some confusion he had while reading my paper. These type of constructive comments are what writers need; they help identify to the writer areas in their paper that need to be explained or revised. I like to think of myself as a good writer, but even good writing can be improved. Throughout the quarter I learned that peer review is a crucial part in the revision process and in helping my essays develop into excellent papers.

 

          My goals for this quarter were to learn how to cite correctly  and develop my overall writing skills. I feel that before attending Writing and Rhetoric 104 I was not very good at citations or bibliographies. I relied on the website easybibs.com to do all the work for me. But when everybody in class showed up with essay 1 in incorrect format, Professor Seeley whipped everybody into shape and spent the entire quarter explaining and demonstrating how to correctly cite. Now, I don't need to rely on any website to create citations because I already know how. Professor Seeley's emphasis on correct format and citations really instilled in me a core set of skills that will prove vital to the rest of my years left at DePaul. As for developing my writing skills, I believe she improved that as well. Emailing and setting up appointments with Professor Seeley were two of the most important things I did for improving the quality of my essays. She not only fixed grammatical errors, but offered great advise on areas that can be improved or edited in my papers. She taught me that a key component in writing is being specific. Sometimes I write over generalized statements and use them to transition from one thought to another, but Professor Seeley has taught me the faults within my ways. In the marked up draft of essay 2 she points out some areas that need to be explained.

 

Professor Seeley--Essay 2 Corrections.png

 

 

As shown, Professor Seeley notes when I am being too broad in my writing. I use her critiques to change and enhance the overall quality of my paper. Below is the revised version that I wrote in response to Professor Seeley's comments to the statement "good over evil."

 

Revision Professor Seeley--Essay 2 Corrections.png

 

 

Reflecting back, I feel that my goals from the beginning of the quarter have been accomplished. I am more aware of the need to explain the meaning behind certain sentences or phrases in my papers, and I am far more knowledgeable on how to write in-text citations and bibliographies than I was before. Thanks to Professor Seeley and Writing and Rhetoric 104, I was able to achieve my goals and become a better writer.



          In the beginning of the quarter, I thought the most important component to the writing process was just getting your drafts done. I was unaware that there could be a  whole revision process that included peer reviews and teacher's corrections. My Writing and Rhetoric 103 class was never set up in this way nor taught me the importance of the revision process like Professor Seeley did. Therefore, throughout the quarter I learned that yes, getting your drafts done is important, but peer reviews and teacher's comments can truly change your drafts and are more beneficial to the writing process. Professor Seeley really helped me develop my essay 3 and changed the overall concept of my paper. My essay 3 was comparing Dr. Seuss's The Lorax to The Truax and discussing the controversy surrounding The Truax. My initial draft was just jumbled with ideas and not very good. But when I went to Professor Seeley she was able to use the information that I had and changed it around so that it flowed and made sense. Below are the comments she left so that I could do added research in certain areas.

 

Professor Seeley--Essay 3 Corrections.docx

 

 

On page 2 she tells me where I should do more research and where to include that information. In this case, she told me, "Research and discuss how this book has been hailed by preservationists and environmentalists and used as an educational tool" Before, I would have never thought to include that in my paper, but now I know how to look at things from a different angle and offer a new concept to help the quality of my paper. Therefore, I've learned that the key component in the writing process is the revision.

 

          My E-portfolio was designed with the thought of pleasing my target audience and fulfilling my purpose as a student. Grades are very important to me and I know that this E-portfolio is a big percentage of my grade. Therefore, I designed this E-portfolio in a clearly labeled and clean way to please my target audience, Professor Seeley.  I ensured that each tab is appropriately labeled and that the content of my essays adheres to the critiques from peer reviews and her corrections. For all the essays we have done, biographical, argumentive, and scholarly analysis, I feel that my target audience has changed for each. The biographical essay was geared towards someone who was interested in knowing more about Dr. Seuss's life. Therefore, the information provided had to flow and provide an accurate recount of his life as he lived it. The argumentive paper, which was written in first person, was different because I had to encompass Dr. Seuss and think about things that he would say. Now my audience was someone who wanted to know about the meaning behind his book The Sneetches or someone who had criticized his work. For the final paper, I had to write about his book The Lorax and defend it against the claims that it was being used for propaganda. Each of these essays called for a specific audience and required me to change my style of writing to fit  the criteria. The preps for each essay helped me formulate my ideas and how I wanted to present them. These are preps for essays 2 and 3 where I  discuss how I wanted to write my paper:

 

 

Prep for essay 2.docx

 

Prep for Essay 3.docx

 

Although I may have had an initial idea that did not end up in the final draft, I've found that preps are similar to outlines in that they help get my ideas onto paper. Reflecting on these preps, I've found that the audience plays a huge role in impacting the work in my portfolio because I have to change my writing and style to suit a particular audience. 



 

          As far as the stylistic elements to my E- portfolio, I'm a creative person at heart so the pictures, color scheme, and format of things are my creativity going to work. The introduction to my E-portfolio, I feel, shows a lot of my creativity at hand (See Home Page).

 



 

 

 

 

I added the picture of me with a Hollywood sign because I felt that it added a cute  and fun aspect to my E-portfolio that would make the teacher smile. As far as the essays that are included in my E-portfolio, again they are developed and fixed to please my target audience, Professor Seeley. I only wish to excel in the things that I do, therefore, I know when I do things I have to go a step above. I feel that if you do more work than you were supposed to, how can you be faulted for that? 

 



          I am naturally a slow writer. I constantly re-read over sentences and try to find areas in my papers that I can edit. Right now, I'm re-reading my previous sentences to ensure that they are free of grammar and punctuation errors. I believe that editing is an important aspect for any good writer. There are so many ways that somebody can word an idea or try to get a message across. For me, I try to ensure that  my ideas are clear and written in a well manner. I remember my teacher for Lsp, who is a journalism major, told us, "Why write 20 words, when you can say it in 10?" I try to remember that phrase when I'm writing and not make over wordy sentences, which I sometimes do. But throughout this quarter a huge part that has helped me with grammar and punctuation errors is Study Jams. Study Jams is held in the Office of Multicultural Success on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays from 5 to 7.  Here is an excerpt from the DePaul University website:

 

  • Study Jams are collaborative study sessions co-sponsored by cultural student organizations; designed to cultivate a culture of excellence.

 

Study Jams has writing and math tutors that are very skilled at their craft. So almost every Monday and Wednesday throughout the quarter, I have received help from the writing tutor and math tutor. That is my secret go-to for editing any grammar, punctuation, or spelling mistakes. But now I guess my secrets out.

 

          Overall, I am satisfied with my work in Writing and Rhetoric 104. I feel that I have grown as a writer and developed tools that will aid me in my future endeavors. Also, I now know what it means to meet deadlines and be under immense stress. The conjunction of a WRD104 class with an Lsp class, I feel is an immense amount of writing that puts a lot of stress on a freshman-and that's only two classes. Then put Calculus II and Introduction to Philosophy on top of that and you get my class schedule. Nonetheless, I am happy to say that this quarter is over and that I completed Writing and Rhetoric 104!

 



DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.