Dear Malcolm,

This year has been quite an adventure. My first year of college is coming to an end, and I

have gained so much knowledge and experienced so many new things. UWRT 1103 was an extra

special class to me because it was not like a traditional lecture hall. Our class was so small and

intimate, that it became easy to share our thoughts and ideas amongst our peers and you as our

professor. Considering I do not have my major picked out, I am still on an arduous journey to

figure out who I am and where my path will take me. This class provided me with so much

insight and thought-provoking ideas that I will carry with me throughout my life. It felt like this

class allowed for individual self-expression and creativity. Although compiling all of my

assignments throughout the semester into my e-Portfolio was a drawn-out process, it was an

assignment that I actually appreciated. Instead of having the class come in and test us on material

that had right and wrong answers, we were free to discuss pretty much whatever we choose to

write about. I even got to work on my amateurish graphic design skills. I definitely enjoyed

coming to this class above any other!

All the assignments we had throughout the year worked together simultaneously to

expand my knowledge to the greatest extent and aided my writing to produce the greatest

extended inquiry project I possibly could. The daybook free-writes were so simple, yet expanded

my thought process and got my mind jogging with ideas. Writing is like a form of exercise; if

you do it every day, you will become better and better! Completing the small assignments like

reflections and brainstorming in class helped tremendously with the finalized writing. Whenever

I was stuck on where to start my paper, I would take out my daybook and begin setting up an

outline. This outline provided me with what I was going to use as my main points and in what

order I was going to address them. Blog entries were another wonderful assignment that I did not

take for granted. I may have procrastinated on the blog, but when I actually went back and read

the articles and watched the Ted Talks that were provided on moodle, writing blog responses

became like a hobby to me! I found the topics so interesting and compelling, that I actually

shared a few of them on Facebook. The blog articles also helped supply me with ideas that I

could choose as a topic for my extended inquiry project. Informal writing has become a part of

my routine and is considered just as important to me as the final draft.

I believe my most important work in this class was my extended inquiry project. That

project took a tremendous amount of time and thought in order to complete it. It was definitely

not one of those assignments I could put off until the last minute! The components for this

project (annotated bibliography, topic proposal, the first draft) made it a lot simpler than it

seemed. Instead of completing the assignment in one piece, the assignment steps made it much

easier for me to put a lot of effort into my work. Choosing a topic was a lot of work in itself.

Once I discovered a relevant topic in today’s society, I used my resources to conduct my

research: scholarly articles online, UNCC’s library database, etc. Once I found my main sources

and compiled all my information into my annotated bibliography, I basically had my outline for

what I was going to write about. Completing my first draft took a lot of weight off of my

shoulders. Once I received my feedback, I took what you said and ran with it, creating another

mini outline within my paper to expand on my points. My final draft was pretty easy to finish

considering I had all my research and resources already figured out. Throughout the extended

inquiry process, I have learned so much new information and I have also grown as a writer. I

have become better at proof-reading my assignments, and developing outlines. This work is so

important to me because of all the knowledge I have gained from it, and the fact that I have never

completed anything like it before.

I have strengthened some of my weaknesses through the process of peer review. This

class is the first time I have ever experienced peer review. At first, I was nervous to read over my

friends’ work and make judgments, because I am not a judgmental person and I did not want to

discourage their work. After discussion, I realized peer review does not necessarily have to be a

negative process. My peers gained a lot of new ideas and insight from what I had to say. I also

learned a lot about my writing style and some new techniques I could use in my writing by

reading someone else’s work. My peers gave me a lot of helpful information such as expanding

on terms I use in my writing. This was very helpful to me when writing my final draft. Some of

my strengths were demonstrated in my literacy narrative. Some of the criteria that was required

in our narrative were: conflict, dialogue, detail, time clues, sensory words, scene-based writing,

and suspense. I worked very hard to ensure I was including all of these elements in my writing.

Using the daybook to outline my literacy narrative, I recorded each of these elements, and a few

ways I could fit it into my narrative. I also learned a lot about what it means to be literate.

Throughout this semester I became literate in the topic of social media and its effects on

Generation Y.

Reflecting on all of my assignments, I realize how much I have grown and am proud of

the work I have accomplished. I know I am not a perfect writer, and I have a long way to go to

reach excellence. All of these lovely tips I have learned from your class, whether it be to always

write “shitty first drafts”, or to remember that “everything’s cool; everything’s gonna be cool,” I

will career through my college career. It was such an honor meeting you and being a part of your

class room experience. I would not trade this English adventure for the world! I hope to see you

around campus, and best wishes to you.

Sincerely,

Stephanee Yager