| B2 |
[Nov. 21st, 2006|06:28 pm] |
B2
Over the course of the past four months in rhetoric I have been able to notice a number of changes to not only my writing style but also to the way I approach a paper. I have also been exposed to my first real college paper and discovered the techniques I will need to use to for the future. Since midterm I have noticed only a few other improvements and changes in myself.
To start off regarding research; as mentioned in my earlier I feel I have very little room to improve. This is due to research already being one of my greatest strengths. I have enjoyed exploring in different areas of our culture on various topics from Picasso to sexology. I have also enjoyed getting to do some studying in UTD’s library with its extensive collection of volumes and resources. So my development in research this year has been more about opening new resources than about actually finding data.
The use of technology, I feel, over the course of the year has not exposed me to anything new and ground breaking, but it was fun and entertaining to use none the less. I greatly liked the moo on cmc.com and the discussions that came from it. This is also my first experience with turnitin.com and I must say I am pleased with the ease of how it works, it actually takes documents directly from the hard drive and uses them, no copying and pasting. I am not sure in today’s world why more classes are not like this one in the sense of technology.
Also in the second half of the semester, I feel I have not gained anything in the way of collaboration. Not only because we did fewer group assignments and in class projects. This is due to two reasons, first, I prefer to work alone and keep my ideas to myself for the most part, so I was a little reluctant to open up. Then once I began to open up on peer reviews I had the bad luck of having a bad partner and being more than constructively criticized. Lastly, do to some classmates I felt either not compelled, due to the subject of conversation or the persons tone who way speaking, to join in most conversations in class. I will admit that the experiences as a whole have helped in the long run; I have learned how to better handle people who I do not agree with and to have a higher tolerance for diversity.
As for my use of language, it gained in leaps and bounds in the first half of the semester, but by the end I heard quite a bit of repetition and overlap. Because of this I feel my growth in language took part primarily near the beginning to the semester and not so much towards the end.
The development of my critical thinking this past semester I would credit primarily to my calculus class. I am still an out of the box thinker and will most likely remain that way for most of my life, but in the last paper I noticed myself playing out of the realm of reality a little in order to understand the more complex theories I was studying. Other than a new application of my already unique way of thinking, I see little development.
This year has really been a new experience in term of what is allowed and what is looked down upon. In high school I would have drawn a great deal of weird and discussing looks had a said I was writing a paper on sexual fetishes. In college I have written a paper on fetishes and have received very few surprised expressions. Also in high school sex and religion were forbidden topics of discussion, I have yet to go to this class and not here at least one of the two mentioned in some way. With all the freedom and openness I feel so “on my own” and more willing to go more in depth on my essays. This class as a whole has really helped to boost my self confidence and independence.
When writing the final paper, I already mentioned that my thought process was farther out of the box then in the past, and in order to make my writings make sense I had to try new strategies and techniques I have rarely used before, such as outlining. I have never used an outline or a plan to write, I have just gone. Now that the subjects are more complex and intricate they are much easier to confuse, and I found that using an outline actually helped me bring my unconventional thoughts into real world application. I have not used it much, but I plan on outlining much more in years to come.
I feel my development in knowledge and understanding has grown the most in my time in class. I feel this is mostly due to the fact that I have now had a taste of a multitude of different viewpoints and have studied such a wide variety of subjects. I have also had new experiences in this class, which is how I feel I truly gain understanding. I have been to the library and done research, I have searched old bookstores for research material, and I have gained my first look at moo. I know I am no expert in any fields that we have covered this year, but I take away a general idea of the foundations.
In my reflection over my past works, I have noticed a great improvement in my structure and detail. In the past I would ramble on and eventually come to some conclusion, now my writing is much more focused and on track.
Rhetoric has been a very interesting class for me my first semester of college, but it is one that I feel has benefited me both in my writing style and my thought process for writing. The improvements in my self have not been drastic, but they have been made none the less. |
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| Comments: |
I'm glad you feel this class has benefitted you! | |
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