Reflective Statement

For my ePortfolio, my plan is to include my revised Project 1 Investigative Field Essay because that is the project that I feel like I grew a lot as a writer. It was a topic that I actually cared about and am connected to, so I felt more invested in making it good/meaningful. This also made me want to take my revision more seriously. At the start of the semester, I struggled with organizing and even making longer essays. I struggled making my writing flow and not repeating the same thing constantly just to hit a word count. Project 1 helped me work through that. Revising is teaching me that good writing is more than just the information used, but also about structuring writing in a way that makes sense and actually supports the main point. I also got better at blending research into my writing and not just dropping in random quotes or facts. That was probably one of the biggest things I improved on.

One of the most important things I learned in this class is the difference between revising something and editing it. I also learned how much it actually matters. Before I took this class, revising in my mind was fixing grammar or rewording a few sentences. I never really put much thought into whether or not my argument was clear or if my essay even made sense. I would just go line by line and think that was enough. But when I started working on revising Project 1, I realized that there is way more to revision than that. It really needed to looking at the bigger picture of my writing.

As I went back through my essay, I asked myself things I never really thought about before. I thought about if my thesis was actually clear or if my paragraphs were even in a good order. I tried to make sure my evidence was actually supporting my claims and that I wasn’t just adding information because I thought I needed it. This made me realize there were a lot of things I needed to work on. Some of my paragraphs were out of place and needed to be moved so the flow of my paper was better. Also, a lot of my essay had good ideas, but I didn’t do a good job of fully explaining them, so I had to go back and add more detail and instead of just mentioning them once.

This process really changed how I see writing. I used to think that finishing a first draft was enough and that writing was one and done. Now I understand that writing is something that develops over time. Revision is where my ideas become stronger and clearer. Looking back, I see how much my writing improved just from simple things like taking the time to really rethink my structure and instead of just fixing small grammar things. Another thing I improved on was how I use sources when I write. Before, I just included quotes because I knew I needed them, but I didn’t always explain in the best way. In the first project, I focused more on blending my sources into my writing and explaining why they were needed. Instead of just dropping information, I worked on making sure each source went with my point and added something to my essay. This made my writing feel more complete and made my argument clearer.

For my ePortfolio, I plan to include two artifacts that I feel like show how my writing process and skills developed throughout the class the most. The first artifact I chose is my Project 1 reflection. I chose this because it shows how I felt, even in the moment, much my approach had changed. At the beginning, I never really planned my essays and I would just start writing and try to figure it out as I went. This normally led to my writing being all over the place and repeated ideas. In my reflection I talk about how I made an outline for Project 1 and really focused on my sources, which made everything easier. It also helped me focus on building a clear argument instead of just listing information.This reflection is a good representation of my view of writing starting to shift. 

The second artifact I’m including is one of my Project 2 artifacts, my mock article. I chose this because it shows a specific type of communication skill that I got in this class. Before this class, I had only written essays not anything else, but Project 2 helped me realize that writing can take many different forms for different situations. For example, my article required a more detailed and research-based approach, and I learned how to apply it for my audience. This is what really helped me realize that writing is more than what you say, but how you say it especially depending you are trying to reach. That is something I didn’t fully consider before.

Overall I would again say that this class changed my writing greatly. Before, I thought writing had to be perfect and follow certain rules, but now, I view it as flexible with a purpose. Writing is more about communicating ideas, and adapting to your audience, all while achieving your goal. This has made me feel more confident in my writing because I now understand that there is no one “right” way to write.

Since I want to go into the medical field, I know that the skills I got in this class will actually be helpful in the future. Being able to explain complex things clearly, writing for a specific audience, and organizing my thoughts are all skills that I will need in the “real world”. For example, I’m gonna have to write something professional, work with others, or even explaining something to a patient of mine, so good communicating skills is going to be very important. This class definitely helped me have those skills and made me more aware of my writing. In retrospect, I have improved a lot in this class. I started it not confident about my writing abilities, but now I feel like I have a much better view of how to write in general. My ePortfolio shows not just my final work, but also the journey I took to get there.