Dylan Wadyka
Dr. Watts
FYS 100, section 50
18 October 2015
Self-Reflection
The various assignments that we have completed this semester have helped me improve my reading and writing. The exercises we completed in Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace have helped me write clearer and avoid mistakes I often made in the past, such as writing in passive voice. I also learned how to improve my writing from the response papers we have done. On the first two response papers, I did not provide enough evidence or analysis, and I my answer to questions was too general. My papers lacked the necessary details to completely answer the questions. After the first two response papers, I have offered a more in depth analysis in my papers, and I have provided more evidence as well; however, I still could do a better job of including evidence in my papers, such as using direct quotes.
Our classroom discussions and field trips have helped me to improve the way I read and interpret the books we have read. The classroom discussions provide me with a different perspective on the reading. Hearing a different analysis of a passage causes me to think about my own analysis. For instance, reading and discussing exhibit sources within our study groups and as a class helped me better understand Utopia. The exhibit sources allowed me to learn how people viewed the world during More’s time and what More’s writing was truly about. The study group and classroom discussions brought forth new analysis and different ways of interpreting the text. Our field trips have helped better understand the reading by offering a real life view of a utopian society. The community of Twin Oaks helped to understand the utopians communal living in Utopia. The utopians are wealthy as a community even though no one has any individual wealth, and at Twin Oaks, the community is also wealthy despite no one being individually wealthy. The experience at Twin Oaks allowed me to see how people can still be wealthy in the absence of private property, which caused me to have a better understanding of the utopians prosperity. Classroom discussions have improved my analysis of the reading; however, if I brought forth my ideas in our discussions more often, I would have an even better understanding of the reading because I would learn how other people view my analysis. Participating more often in our classroom discussions is something that I need to improve.
Through our assignments, I have learned how to improve my reading and writing and the importance of participating in classroom discussions; however, I still have a few things I need to improve. For instance, on the essay, I should have provided more evidence to support my argument, such as using direct quotes from Republic.
I pledge that I have neither given nor received any unauthorized help during the completion of this work.
Dylan Wadyka