Learning is a continuous process, and writing is no exception. As a freshman in college, I had to relearn the process of writing, whether it was for Writing I or II. I realized that the most important aspect of writing is the process of building it up. Throughout this semester, I have achieved the course learning objectives by going through multiple processes of writing. These processes allowed me to read and analyze texts critically, write my own texts critically, identify and engage with credible sources and multiple perspectives, compose as a process, and use conventions appropriate to audience, genre, and purpose.

While reading one of the two narrative writing examples from a writing contest winner, I critically analyzed the key ideas that the author was trying to convey. I also analyzed the format, style, and approach the writer used and used it as a guide for writing my own narrative. Moreover, I analyzed various discursive genres from the discussion board readings. In the research journal, I critically analyzed quotes that would support my claims. Throughout this process, I paid attention to the role of rhetorical conventions, such as style, tropes, genre, audience, and purpose.

When writing my own texts, I was aware of my rhetorical situation and considered different audiences, purposes, genres, and mediums. For instance, I adjusted my tone and wording for two different audiences when writing narrative essays one and two. Also, I recognized that the research essay had a different purpose and genre from the narrative essay, so I needed to use a different writing style and medium.

Through the research journal, I interacted with multiple sources and screened out perspectives that supported my claim. While screening, I also spent time verifying the credibility of the sources by doing background research on the authors. Furthermore, I synthesized multiple perspectives to better support my claim. When citing or rephrasing from the sources, I avoided plagiarism by ethically acknowledging the work of others using the appropriate MLA citation style.

Whether writing a narrative or research essay, I started from scratch by involving creative thinking to generate ideas and purposes for the writing. Then, I went through multiple drafts from building up an outline to drafting it out. After finishing the draft, I revised it again and again, then handed it to classmates and received feedback from my instructor, Molly. This process also included cover letters or other writing that made me reflect on my writing process in metacognitive ways.

I used different conventions appropriate to the audience, genre, and purpose when writing the narrative and research essays. This also included writing for the discussion board, which had a different purpose and required a more casual writing style. I adapted my writing and composing conventions to my rhetorical context by adjusting my writing style and tone to the appropriate audience and genre. The differences in audience and genre for the two essays changed the way I conveyed my purpose for each essay.

In conclusion, this semester, along with the previous semester, I have clearly achieved the five learning objectives. I read and analyzed texts critically through the example writing and the discussion board readings. I wrote my texts critically while using conventions appropriate to the audience, genre, and purpose. I also identified and engaged with credible sources and multiple perspectives to convey fully my writing or research essay. Finally, I composed the writing as a process that covered writing the essay and achieved the other four objectives.