reflection

Over the course of the semester, I’ve learned a lot writing, especially through the research project. I think the biggest thing I’ve learned is that it’s not as hard as I thought. When I first got the assignment of a 3000-word paper, on a topic that we get to choose ourselves, I was really intimidated and I figured I wasn’t going to be able to write a very good paper. But now that I’m almost done, not only by my own judgment, but also based on the comments I’ve gotten through peer review, I’ve realized that my paper isn’t as bad as I figured it would be.

It’s actually been pretty easy finding other documents that relate to my topic outside of the texts in the New Humanities Reader, and it’s been pretty easy linking the NHR texts to one another. It may just be my topic, which may or may not be easier to research… I’m not sure how other people’s research processes have gone. But compared to how I thought it would be finding relevant sources, it’s been a lot easier than I expected.

In general, my writing has gotten a lot better since the course began. I thought I was a pretty good writer because of a good SAT score, but I realized that high school actually hadn’t prepared me very well for writing college papers (which honestly was my fault, I could had paid much better attention in AP English). But now that I’ve taken Expos, I’m actually really confident in my writing of college papers, more so than I was when the course first began.

Reflecting

I have seen my writing develop through the course of this class. In the beginning, I did not know what close reading was, and I tended to stick to the unspoken formula that I was taught to follow in high school of a hook, a thesis with three reasons, and a conclusion that restated those three reasons. Writing the three analytical papers and this research paper has allowed me to write more freely and analytically. By using a New Humanities Reader as a resource, I've become more comfortable with reading different texts, putting them side by side, and drawing deeper conclusions from the comparison. I've learned how to better integrate quotes into my writing and how to "close read" and analyze them in a way that they become fluid and meaningful in my paper. I have also become more comfortable crafting a working thesis that opens the door for a complex discussion in my paper, yet at the same time is simple and easy to follow. I plan to use these improved skills as I write my research paper, and am glad that I will also have them to upgrade my writing in the years to come.

Reflection of the Semester

Coming from a Puerto Rican high school, expos proved to be my most challenging class. I was used to writing essays about novels, poems, and short stories, not about non-fiction. I feel that this class has really helped me develop my writing and analyzing skills. This class has also influenced my capacity to be able to find connections among different texts. Even in my different classes I find materials that can connect to materials from other classes. At first I did not understand what forming a conversation between authors meant, but as time progressed and as we kept practicing I got to comprehend what it means. A paragraph should consist of a topic and one should have multiple sources with ideas that intertwine and expand on the specific topic. I have also learned to formulate more complex questions; questions that answer “how” and “to what extent”. In terms of my paper, I started off with a somewhat vague idea. However, once we attended to the workshop in the library and I started researching and trying to find scholarly resources, my ideas started to take form. I started with 4 sources, and now I have 8 and I still have not finished it. I liked how we could choose a topic that appealed to us because I feel that the topics that everyone picked reflect their personalities and their interests and it is easier to write a paper in a topic that we enjoy. 

Writing over the course of the semester

Expos has taught me a great deal about analytical writing through the papers I have written. I think I have definitely improved my writing skills greatly since the beginning of the course. I have learned to stay away from summary and instead use analysis to back up my claims. I have become better at choosing quotes that support my argument and structuring the paper so that the paragraphs build off of each other to eventually support a well explained thesis.  It has been interesting working with so many different texts and finding the connections between seemingly unrelated essays. I am very interested in my research paper topic so I enjoy researching and writing the paper. I think the most difficult part is figuring out how to contest counter claims in order to still support your overall claim. It can also be challenging to find the quotes that best support your paper and analyze them enough to show how they tie into your thesis. I think the most important part of any paper is to show why all of it matters and consider the broader implications of the issue at hand. At first I was not really sure what my paper would specifically be about. I knew I wanted to do something with animal welfare but wasn't positive what specifically I wanted to research. The two New Humanities Reader articles guided my way toward my topic. I am glad this course has improved my writing skills immensely and will help with my writing in the future.

Reflection on the Semester

Over the course of this semester, I have learned a lot about the importance of forming an independent argument with the aid of outside sources such as the essays provided in The New Humanities Reader. I used to think that an essay which analyzed multiple texts should simply explain what the texts had in common and what they disagreed on. Now I understand that a strong paper uses concepts multiple essays have in common to develop an independent idea that is supported by the texts,  yet is also unique and relevant to the world today. This course also taught me the importance of close reading to bring out subtle messages within texts to support an argument. Using a quote is not useful unless you are able to explain exactly why and how it is important; you can't just interpret the quote literally because then your topic will become similar to that of the original author and you will lose the originality of your essay. Another important lesson I learned from this class is that paragraphs should not focus on specific documents but ideas, and instead of transitioning from numerous independent works, your paragraph should flow by building ideas and complicating the thesis. I feel that I have become more conscious of supporting my own ideas and I am now more aware of my transitions and topic sentences as a whole. I hope to carry these lessons with me into my future.

writing skills progress

Since I have been writing in this class, I have learned a lot about the power of quotes. I am a very creative writer and I have a big imagination and so I have mostly been concerned with the quality of content rather than the factual and evidence factors of the material. I realize now how much of an impact it can make to have a backing to my content as I have seen my writing improve the way it is delivered and even in how persuasive it has come across. Through the guidance of this course, I feel as though my writing skill set has expanded while my mistakes have been minimized across the context of my essays. Writing week in and week out has helped me improve and broaden my vocabulary as well as aid the manner in which I deliver and display information. Writing with such a strict frame has helped me grow in relaying my creative thoughts and opinions in a orderly and organized fashion while also maintaining a writing style tailored to myself.

3 Questions

1. What are the real-life implications of implicit legal bias specifically when it comes to racialized sexual assault?
2. What negative effects does the correlation that is seen within our media between sexuality and violence have in sexual assault cases?
3. Describe ways in which authors and critics of sexual assault can justly describe these stories, according to the claim that race plays an incredibly impactful role?