Dear Reader,
When I registered to take the UWP1 course, I initially thought that it was going to be exactly like the WLD57 course in terms of reviewing basic grammar, completing reading comprehension assignments, and writing moderately difficult papers that did not require a specific formatting. However, after about 3 weeks passed within the quarter, I realized that this course was almost the exact opposite of WLD57, but in a good way. At times it would get difficult to maintain my UWP1 workload with the workload of my other courses, but in the end it was all worth it. Every assignment and task that had to be completed throughout the quarter was not just common busy work that I had received in some of my high school English classes, but rather there was a purpose for everything that was given. For instance, every article that was assigned as homework was used to help the class understand different methods and information that can be applied to writing papers. For example, such as the articles related to the editing of sentences, how to apply research to writing, and understanding how a discourse community works, among many others that were assigned. It is mainly because of the homework articles that I was able to improve my writing skills and overall succeed in this course.
Before I would read or use any of the material from the articles from class, I would type up my drafts in what I considered to be a “well-structured” 5 paragraph essay format and try to complete my assignments without going out of my comfort zone. I had always succeeded in using this formatting for high school and even WLD57, but for UWP1 I had to learn how to not confine myself to one specific method because there was an array of formatting styles that could be used. Specifically, when I was introduced to the advice article assignment, I learned how to write outside of the 5 paragraph formatting and how to creatively represent and structure my work. In my advice article this can be shown because each section of my writing is not confined to only 5 paragraphs, just different sections that flow together as one. For example, the main prompt was about creating an advice article for teachers that wanted to prepare their students for college writing. Therefore, if I had formatted all of my topics and information in just 5 paragraphs, everything would be messy and scattered to the point where it would be impossible to read. Knowing how to get out of the 5 paragraph format helped me to expand my ideas beyond just three basic main ideas.
Additionally, the assigned articles within this course helped me to learn how to properly construct a research paper. When I was assigned to write my first research paper for an ECS class in Winter Quarter, the most that I was required to do was to make several different claims and back my statements up with my researched information in MLA formatting, without committing direct plagiarism. I barely wrote the paper in a creative formatting, and basically threw facts into each paragraph with an in-text MLA citation of the author and date in parenthesis at the end of each sentence. However when working with my Writing Project #3 and the articles specifically related to it, I realized that this was not the proper way of doing research. I learned that in order to properly write a research paper, you do not always specifically need a claim and proof type of formatting, but rather you need to present your information in a way that is not only appropriate for your audience, but also that the information should be presented in an interesting way without relying too much on your sources’ words. What I have learned has been applied to my discourse community research paper, and this is because instead of just trying to prove my claim of discourse with a pile of in-text citation facts and sentences, I am representing my information in a more creative, varied way. For example, in most of my paragraphs it can be seen that I mainly state what the author is saying in direct quotes or by paraphrasing, and then I proceed to build off of that with my own ideas and information.
UWP1 might have been somewhat difficult at the beginning of the quarter because of the workload, but all of the skills and ideas I have picked up have overall been worth it. It is because of what I learned from this course that I will be a great writer in my upper division courses and hopefully even beyond college.
Thank you for reading and with best regards,
Kimmiko James
UWP001 - Section 002 - Kimmiko James Portfolio 