Comp 2 Final Reflection

This final reflection took a long time to do but now that I finished it makes me feel good. This reflection will talk about everything that I did in this year's class and will also go over the things I learned and used in my projects. This year started off rough and by reading this Final Reflection you will walk through my Comp 2 year. 

Memo 

To: Jennifer Atkins-Gordeeva 

From: Martin Ortiz Guardado 

Projects and Their Processes 

This semester we had three major projects. My first project was a poetry explication project. For this project, I had to pick a poem and break it down. I picked the poem, mother to son by Langston Hughes. With this essay, I had to learn how to tell the tone and lyrical structure of a poem by hearing the pattern in the words. I also had to think about the time it was written and how the words that were written in that time might have a different meaning than now. This project had to be at least 750 words in addition to the reference page.  

For Project 2, I had to create an Annotated Bibliography that will help set up my project 3. The annotated bibliography had to have 12 sources. One had to be a .gov website and another had to be a book. The rest of the sources had to come from the UAPTC library database. I had to make sure I found sources with enough information that I can use for my project 3. The topic I chose to research was nuclear warheads. After finding a source I had to create an MLA8 citation then write a little summary for it and explain why we think it's credible and how we plan on using it. We had to do it 12 times for each source.  

Then for Project 3, The fun part started. I had to first create an outline and then find 6 sources from my annotated bibliography. The research Essay was similar to an argumentative essay. I had to explain my way of thinking while at the same time convince my readers I'm right. My point of view was that nuclear weapons are hands down one of the best tools that the U.S. military can have in its arsenal. I tried my best to find information that also counterclaims me to make a connection with my opposing side and keep my readers reading. This essay had to be 2000 words in the body not counting the work cited page and heading.   

 

 

Learning Outcomes for Comp II 

I have demonstrated the ability to respond appropriately to various rhetorical situations, purposes, and audiences and I feel that my three projects and their prosses show it. For example, in project one, I had to read my poem over and over out loud and hear it from other people just break down the poem and understand the words the best I can. Even though I struggled with the citation I didn’t just learn a lot about the poem but also a lot about the writer.    

  

In project two I learned some critical thinking/reading and composing skills. I had to read so many sources and think about how I could use them in my essay and if their information is credible plus I had to create an MLA8 citation then write a summary for each source.    

  

I also learned to integrate my original ideas with those of my peers. Our teacher assigned 4 students to help revise our Project three essay. She put all of ours essays in on google doc and we had to read and comment on the essays. We had to make at least 10 comments for each essay. I made comments to my peer's essays pointing out higher-order concerns (HOCs) and lower-order concerns (LOCs). Reading my classmate's essays helped me think about a new way to organize my essay and seeing how they used the citations helped me know where to give credit when I used mine cites information in my essay like for example “Both attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki killed between 100,000 and 200,000. (Tharoor)” I had to put the writer of the article's Authors name at the end of the sentence.   

 

Strengths and Challenges 

My biggest challenge had to project one. I failed to integrate my sources well and so I had to go back and make some changes. Even after going back, I didn’t manage to change everything, and I didn’t create a citation to every website I got information from. But going into project two the annotated bibliography helped me improve my skills in creating citations for everything that I got information from. For example, I wrote a sentence saying “On land, there are always about 10,000 people (about the seating capacity of Cameron basketball stadium at Duke University) with four hundred LGM-30G ballistic missiles ready for combat. (America's) “I had to make sure I gave credit to the person who gave me the information by putting the beginning of the citation in parentheses at the end of the sentence I used. 

“America's Nuclear Triad.” U.S. Department of Defense, www.defense.gov/Experience/Americas-Nuclear-Triad/. Accessed 9 Mar. 2021. 

 
 

 

Overall Benefit 

My overall perspective of this English class was exactly what I thought it would be. I had my teacher for comp one so I knew that this class would have been Stright forward and easy to get through. I have to say at times I thought the projects were a bit much but as long as I did my work, I was good. I am very happy with this experience, and I learned a lot from these classes. I learned how to think outside the box, how to look over my work. In a way, I also learned to be confident in myself. I am sure to say that this class has helped me in the long run and taught me a lot of valuable skills and I knew that this class would challenge me as a writer to go deeper and develop my skills which I'm grateful for.