Metacognition Reflection

Maria Leal

Z. De Piero

Writing 2

MW 3-4:50 PM

Winter Quarter 2015

Around the World of Writing 2 in 10 Weeks

I am definitely not a science or math person. In fact, I am really bad in those two subjects.. I am in love with the humanities and thus, find my strength and pleasure in courses that involve English, history, and foreign languages. Enrolling in Writing 2 this quarter was something I was looking forward to. When I am not swamped with school, homework, and work, I genuinely enjoy reading and writing in a journal. I simply wanted to get back to writing once again. This quarter was brutal for me, but I despite my rocky start in the class, the fast-paced atmosphere, the time constraints of a ten-week class, and everything else in between, I definitely believe that I greatly benefited from this course.

When I compare my perspective towards writing now, at the end of my first winter quarter at UCSB, and my writing perspective during my senior year in high school, it is definitely safe to say that my views and feelings towards writing have changed. As I mentioned before, I enjoy writing, however, by the end of my senior year of high school, I was sick of writing. I was over constantly having to analyze books and stress about whether I would have enough time to finish three essays during my AP English Literature test. It is a big reason as to why I opted out of taking a writing class in the fall, although I did not really have that much of a choice since picking classes at orientation was essentially the college version of the “Hunger Games”.

In my senior English class, to me, it felt as though no one really cared about what my opinion was when it came time to analyze a book, but more whether I hit the key points that the test graders were looking for. Did I discuss the symbolism of a certain color? Did I write about how the author’s childhood influenced his/her writing? What about the title’s significance? I was being forced to analyze these works but was never really instructed how to do so or given something that would guide me through the analysis process. I read and analyzed very distinct books, in terms of genre, but no one cared to explain to me that genres have different conventions and that those conventions affect the way a reader understands the text. Furthermore, analytically, I do not think I was pushed very hard. Skimming the surface of a literary feature got me a good grade, and as a high school student, I settled.

Fast forward to now, and I have a deeper appreciation for writing and analysis. I am more aware of my choices as a writer, and feel as though my writing choices matter. I think I enjoyed Writing 2 a lot more because I prefer analyzing the conventions and mechanics of writing as opposed to the “fluff” because in all honesty, half the time, I made stuff up when analyzing the “fluff” because as the reader, I did not get anything from what I may have been reading at the time. Also, I feel as though my analysis ability was greatly challenged in this class. I was forced to delve deeper in the effects of certain stylistic choices, and consistently take my analysis a step further. In addition, I now understand that it is okay to start a new paragraph and that I do not have to restrain my writing structure to the whole “introduction-three-body-paragraphs-conclusion” formula that every English teacher I have had has instructed me to follow.

Through this course, I was able to learn a lot about genres, conventions, and “moves”, while simultaneously finding out what did and did not work for me as a writer. For starters, I learned that subconsciously, I knew a lot about genres and conventions, but it was something that was never referred to by an actual name while I was in high school. The class opened up my eyes to the actual importance of different genres and how each one has a different rhetorical make-up. In addition, I now am aware that, contrary to my previous beliefs, the world of writing is not actually static, as say Latin, because writing continues to evolve as the world evolves and new situations arise that may need a new, individual genre. The course section on “moves” helped develop my stylistic choices and techniques so as to appeal to my audience and produce a reaction from them.

Furthermore, the lesson/activity that I enjoyed the most would have to be Writing Project #3. I had fun morphing one genre into another. It was definitely a challenge trying to decide what information I was going to keep and what I was going to throw out in my modified genre. I based those decisions on the demographics of my audience. Essentially, that is what genre comes down to, audience. Genres are created so that they can reach different audiences through different platforms. It was extremely interesting to experience the process of genre shifting firsthand and take part in it.

I think I will be able to apply a lot of what I learned in my future writing endeavors. I am definitely a more conscious writer now than I was ten weeks ago. When I write, I consider all the vital aspects of what I am creating: Who will be my audience? What is my audience expecting from my paper and me? What conventions must I include in my writing as part of the genre it will be a part of? What “moves” can I comfortably incorporate into my writing so as to better relate to and appeal to my audience?

However, being a good writer is not just about the pen-to-paper process, or in this case, fingers-to-keyboard, but also what happens beforehand---research. I am attentive of the resources available to me when it comes to research. Prior to our class in the library, I did not know how to access our library database, or that UCSB even had a database for that matter. Also, when doing research, I have developed a meticulous eye for finding and utilizing quotes that are relevant to what I am writing, and not simply using quotes for the sake of having quotes in my paper. When working on an analysis, I now find myself constantly asking myself questions such as, why is important/relevant to what I am discussing? What effect does it have on the reader? And even, is there a better way for me to phrase this so that the reader grasps what I am trying to say? I think the course reading were extremely important in helping guide me through this type of thought process.

Overall, I gained a lot from the material covered in this course. It was unexpected material because I had never been taught writing with an emphasis in genre. Now that I have, I see the value in “genre awareness” and how it makes one a better and more conscious writer. “Genre awareness” has allowed me to see that I do not always have to be constrained by what I have been taught in high school. I can change up the types of genres I use depending on how much freedom I want in my writing (due to conventions), who my audience is, and even based on effectiveness. Genre is the backbone of writing.