My Reflective Statement

GOAL 1: I used a multi-stage, recursive, and social process for my writing and took into consideration feedback from my instructor, classmates, and other readers.

Comp II with Professor Hodges was a unique, new experience. All of the writing assignments are posted online for not only the professor and classmates to read, but anyone who visits “Counterintuitive2015” blog site. Therefore, there’s an added amount of pressure and incentive to produce the best possible work, knowing others could read it too. I’ve barely shared my writings in other classes with people, so the blog layout encouraged me to work even harder on my writings. Professor Hodges dedicates a large portion of his time going through every sentence of all his students’ writings and offers great, detailed advice on how to improve our work. I’ve never had a teacher or professor, spend the amount of time and dedication working with students to improve papers (for our own benefit) and enjoy doing so, as much as Professor Hodges. Although his feedback was never sugarcoated and often harsh, he encouraged his students to produce the best work they could. He wanted his students to succeed and leave his class with a new perspective on writing. He would say “Your first draft is always garbage.” I would read the professor’s advice and improve my papers. I realized there’s always room for improvement, even when you think you have produced the best work you can!

GOAL 2: I read source materials closely and analyzed them critically to learn how and why texts create meaning.

Professor Hodges encouraged the class to not only think in-depth about the class material we discussed and participate, but to relate it to social topics and personal experiences. Also, the class analyzed the counterintuitive aspects of everything. In one of my favorite assignments “Moving Image,” I analyzed a 30 second advertisement on abuse, without the ad’s sound on. Then, second-by-second and observed the small details and body language of the individuals. This assignment opened my mind to counterintuitively and thinking outside the box. It was much easier for me to view the advertisement on silent, because it forces you to focus on different aspects of the video, instead of mostly on dialog. I enjoyed this assignment and I think it’s useful for upcoming classes.

GOAL 3: I wrote with a particular audience in mind, allowing my purpose to shape the language and methods I used not just to communicate information but to persuade readers.

Evaluating the audience of your paper is important because it determines the language and persuasive techniques used. Also, I knew my audience (my professor and several classmates) would read my paper I submitted to the blog, which added the extra encouragement to make my paper the best I could. In my opinion, the blog creates a competitive atmosphere because you don’t want to be pointed out anonymously in class and used as an example for doing the assignment the wrong way or not putting enough effort into it. I wanted to be a good example to my fellow classmates if they clicked on my papers. I used persuasion in my paper “Rebuttal Argument” and related to social topics, such as politics, and how Photoshop effects many people’s  memory, understanding and perspectives on various things. I think many younger people can relate to seeing Photoshopped pictures often, especially online. 

GOAL 4: I demonstrated my information literacy by synthesizing my own experience with new insights and information from a range of outside sources to produce new material.

In my “Research Position” paper, I added my own personal experiences with memory and perspective (especially with my father and divorce) combined with a range of outside sources. As a clinical-counseling psychology major, I purposely picked the topic of memory as my counterintuitive topic for my research paper. Although I already had some prior knowledge on memory from my psychology classes, I ventured out to find new and useful sources to help strengthen my viewpoints. Professor Hodges encouraged students to find sources that refute our own arguments and to view the opposite of our positions. In doing so, it ultimately strengthened my views but familiarized me with different and interesting perspectives of others. I’ve gained much more knowledge on the topic by expanding my research and taking time to analyze various sources.

GOAL 5: My writing is ethical. Writing about meaningful topics, I have engaged responsibly with them and represented my ideas and the ideas of others honestly, fairly, and logically.

Throughout the semester in Comp II, I would make sure my writings were meaningful and demonstrated my understanding of the different topics. I would incorporate professor Hodges’ advice into my papers to help strengthen my viewpoints and eliminate grammatical issues. I would also source and give credit to the websites and works of other writers that helped contribute information I used in my papers. In the assignment “Critical Reading” I represented my viewpoint on Mac McClelland’s article, “Is PTSD Contagious?,” in an honest, fair, and logical way. Although I didn’t like how the author used the word “contagious” to describe a mental illness, I expressed my concerns and opinions in a fair and reasonable way, respecting the author.