Hunter 1

Morgan Hunter

Professor Evans

Writing 2

11 February 2024

Reflective Essay:

Before taking this course I approached writing with a very simple mindset and I quickly

realized that any prior knowledge I had before was barely scraping the surface of the art. My

whole approach to thinking, reading and writing has evolved drastically throughout the course.

Originally I would approach an article by reading all of it and annotating it as I read through.

However, I soon realized that strategy wouldn’t be sufficient for this class. Aside from that, this

class exposed me to more advanced scholarly articles I had never worked with before,

understanding how databases work was my first step. When using a database such as google

scholar or the ones provided by UCSB’s Library, you have to be very specific within minimal

amounts of words. Aside from finding the scholarly articles we discussed various ways to read

them, this is when I learned how to skim read. The most important thing to keep in mind when

skim reading is to think from the perspective of the writer, this will allow us to identify the

purpose right away. Aside from that, highlighting the section headings and reading first/last

sentences of paragraphs will give us a general idea of the writing without wasting time. I found

that summarizing sections was very beneficial with retaining information and finding sections I

wanted to cite. Coming into this course I wasn’t excited for it, writing wasn’t my strong suit in

high school and I was never interested in writing growing up. However, I feel way more

confident in myself as a writer and feel that my understanding of the subject has improved

drastically. The scholarly articles we went through in the first half of the quarter really helped me
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expand my mind. Some articles that particularly stuck with me include: Anne Lamott, Shitty

First Drafts and Amy Cicchino’s, “I passed First-Year Writing What Now?”: Adapting

Strategies From First-Year Writing to Writing In The Disciplines. Lamott was very relatable

when describing her insecurities as a writer, how a “crappy” draft can make you question what

you are capable of. In the past and sometimes even now I’ve been scared to let other peers edit

my writing in its early stages because I was worried about all of the flaws they could see but now

I think it’s really beneficial to get the opinion of other writers because it can open a new path of

ideas. Lamott also made a point to become more patient and to simply “Trust the process” while

writing. Over time I've come to realize that the first draft is meant to get every idea out and allow

creativity to flow, and that the first draft will not be perfect. It’s simply our ground work we can

build off of. On another note, Cicchino helped me understand the importance of various

rhetorical concepts. The three that I felt I gained the most intel from were purpose, audience and

rhetoric. Now I understand when writing or presenting an idea it is very important to focus on the

purpose. This creates a flush understanding of the topic and creates a space for the audience to

communicate about the topic, which is the overall goal of any type of presentation. To inform

and share so others can do the same. Our audience plays a huge role in writing too. By

understanding your target audience it allows you to write specifically to them in a context both

parties will understand, we can do this by writing with their experience and prior knowledge in

mind. Continuing this idea, by writing in a language the audience will understand we can also

create a comforting environment and conversation. Lastly, using rhetorical devices in writing

helps us persuade or inform the reader using media, tone, body language, images, etc. These two

scholarly articles were the backbone to me understanding writing and how to become a better

writer.
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Diving into WP1! This was by far my favorite writing project, I discovered a lot about

genre and what it takes to translate one into another but aside from that I was able to learn more

about something I’m passionate about. Fitness! Growing up I was a very active kid, constantly

involved in sports and always wanting to be outside. However, in highschool I suffered from two

ACL injuries (one my freshman year and one my senior year) that would have a very big affect

on me physically and mentally. Throughout those periods of time I was at an all time low and I

felt that I would never be able to enjoy the simple things I loved in life. However, that wasn’t the

case and I was able to find a healthy habit to keep me busy, weightlifting. Sadly, I cannot go to a

trampoline park anymore but I can make that compromise for my very expensive knees. I

decided to base my WP1 on the role social media plays in womens fitness. I chose the scholarly

article, “Pinterest or Thintrest?: Social Comparison and Body Image on Social Media,” and

decided to translate it into a blog because I felt that the topic would reach its most desired

audience online through social media. Along with that, a blog is innovative and open to

conversation; I felt that these two aspects were crucial to my topic and would allow me to

interact with my audience in a comfortable setting while being informative. The most

challenging aspect of the translation would be constructing the blog itself. I was able to find a

program that had various templates and after testing out a few I found the one I really liked and

continued to implement my information. Another problem I faced was turning a negative concept

into an uplifting one, my source addressed women's mental and physical health issues which can

be triggering for some. This caused me a great deal of stress because the last thing I wanted my

blog to be was depressing or a place where women didn’t feel comfortable. My blog shouldn’t

feel like a therapy session, rather a talk with your girls. Despite that, I knew I had to address the

issue so I decided to include that as the reasoning for starting the blog/business, I wanted to turn
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my blog into a safe space for people to share their experiences and learn how to better

themselves. I made sure to acknowledge that every person no matter their body shape was

welcomed. Whether it was to meet new people, find a new hobby, or join a class, there were

many opportunities for women to grow with the presence of others. Once I was done with my

WP1 I didn't feel relieved but I was somewhat sad that my journey with my blog and research

was over, I wish I could’ve seen it in action or even talked to actual women who are troubled in

the gym. Overall, I learned so much about the assembly of a genre and how different discourse

communities interact with one another.

In WP2 I had a bit more of a difficult time, but the project builders allowed me to really

dive deeper into what I would struggle with in writing. The biggest challenge for me when

writing is writer's block. If I'm assigned a topic I'm not particularly fond of, I tend to struggle and

have to take the writing step by step, oftentimes consulting with my mom (aka the best writer I

know) with how I should approach the topic. During project builder B I found a few scholarly

articles on writers block, one that diagnosed writers block and one that provided solutions to it.

The article, Resolving Writer's Block by P. Huston gave me many solutions such as, allowing

yourself to be imperfect, breaking down the work into manageable tasks, or talking through your

work! Now for the dialogue aspect of WP2 I was stumped for a little bit. I struggle with fantasy

and I don't think of myself as a creative person but I started to really think about what kind of

person would have a scholarly conversation on writer's block. That's when it struck me, Alex

Dumphy from Modern Family, the genius of the series that resembles other characters like

Sheldon Cooper (The Big Bang Theory) and Lisa Simpson (The Simpsons). After knowing I

would use her as my lead in my dialogue everything else came very naturally and I started to
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have fun with it, incorporating humor and little side remarks between characters. This is what

made my WP2 fun and more memorable.

Overall, I really enjoyed taking this course and I felt that I have grown as a writer and

adapted a new perspective to reading. The strategies of reading and writing I learned through the

course will continue on into my next classes as I feel that they have changed how I look at most

concepts, rather simply listening or reading I ask, why? What? How?, why is the author/speaker

trying to convince or inform me of something? What is the author's purpose? How are they

trying to push this concept? All of which I feel are questions we should ask everything, not just

writing. Thank you for being an amazing professor and I am very glad I took this course with

you Professor Evans, I truly feel that I have learned more from this writing class than I have in

any english/writing class I’ve taken in the past and that these topics will stick with me all

through college and my career. I wish the best for you and your son and again, thank you for

being a great professor.

Cicchino, Amy. ““I Passed First-Year Writing-What Now?”: Adapting Strategies From

First-Year Writing To Writing in The Disciplines.” Writing Spaces, vol. 5, Parlor Press/The

WAC Clearinghouse, 2023, pp. 168-183.

Huston, P. “Resolving Writers Block.” Can Fam Physician, Volume 44, January 1998,

pp. 92-97 (5 pages). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2277565/

Lamott, Anne. “Shitty First Drafts.” Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life,

1994. New York: Pantheon.