Learning Outcome 1

My approach to revision is an ever-changing process. Because I only started learning about the “recursive writing process” this semester, I felt a bit behind. After the first essay we wrote though, I knew what I needed to change in my behavior. In my third and last essay (my chosen Significant Writing Project), I still had a long ways to go. Something Sommers says in the two paragraph excerpt we read was the best way to write recursively was to completely start over. I usually cut and paste things. Before this class, I was hesitant to delete much of any of what I wrote for fear of having to change the whole idea of my paper. What I learned to start doing because of these Learning Outcomes, specifically the first, is to start out changing small. Fix sentences that don’t flow as well. Get rid of sentences that don’t add any value but are just used for fluff. Then I started to get rid of whole paragraphs and move those around which helped my organization a ton. My next step will be to completely rewrite an essay after the first draft. I wish I would’ve done it in this course but I didn’t want to push myself to do too much change all at once. This tells me that my “philosophy” of writing is foundational. Basically, it’s all about what I explained in the above sentences: Start out small, take my time, and focus on the content.

Learning Outcome 2

The way I used sources as evidence in my papers was through quotes, summary, and paraphrasing. This is what I always have done in writing essays. One example of this in my writing is as follows:

Sam Anderson, author of the New York Magazine titled, “In Defense of Distraction,” says that “information rains down faster and thicker every day, and there are plenty of non-moronic reasons for it to do so” (Anderson 2). For example, Google Scholar allows anyone who can get on the browser to search for peer reviewed, scholarly journals. Before the internet, many people would have a more difficult time accessing them. Also, technological advances in general have led physicians to save lives with their new methods of conducting surgeries (like the robotic assistance in Mitral Valve repair surgeries) which have led some procedures to become minimally invasive and lower risk. The study for a cure to cancer has taken strides in the right direction because of faster technology. The internet is a huge database of information that everyone, including medical professionals, can use to better their knowledge and make more well-informed decisions.

Learning Outcomes 5 and 6

When I learned how to write essays in high school, we always used MLA format. That being said, I didn’t have to learn anything new about the stylization (even though it does change from time to time). I saw this course and this specific learning outcome as a chance to solidify what I already knew about MLA. Here is one of my Works Cited pages:

Works Cited

Arnett, J.J. (2007), “Emerging Adulthood: What is it, and What is it Good For?” Child Development Perspectives, 1: 68-73. Doi: 10.1111/j.1750-8086.2007.00016.x

Center for Disease Control and Prevention. National Marriage and Divorce Rate Trends for 2000-2015. www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/marriage-divorce.htm

Henig, Robin Henig. “What Is It about 20-Somethings?” Emerging: Contemporary Readings for Writers, edited by Barclay Barrios. 3rd ed., Bedford/St. Martin, 2016, pp 198-213.

King, Thomas. “Adults, we need to have the talk.” Youtube. TEDx Melbourne, Nov 2015. Web. September 2017.

Here is an example of when I would use an in-text citation:

The bad news is that “the same tools that keep government agents and dissidents anon keep criminals virtually anon too” (Kushner).

In-text citations are important when writing because it acts as a safeguard against plagiarism. Having a works cited page isn’t enough because it isn’t the reader’s job to find the differences between what ideas were the writers or what ideas they took from sources.

Learning Outcome 4

The peer review practice I had in this course has been the most engaging I’ve ever had with peer review ever. For example, in high school, sometimes I would submit comments to my peer’s papers but they wouldn’t have hardly any real substance. An example of one of my high school comments:

“Nice! I really like this part : )”

While there is nothing wrong with giving compliments like that while reading the essays (as it’s even encouraged), that’s pretty much as deep as I would get. An example of one of the comments I made on a peer’s paper this year was this:

“This kind of ties in to your second paragraph when you talked about how constant stimulation from technology can physically affect us. Maybe revisit the placement of these two points to see if something works out better.”

With this comment, I suggested something based off of an organizational issue I noticed. With this comment, I made a comment I thought would be helpful. While complimenting is nice and can boost someone’s attitude, it’s also good to hear real feedback. I believe if I continue to work like this, getting as specific as possible, that is the best way I can help my peers.