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Leandra LaRonde
Professor Olivia Rines
UWRT 1101
12 April 2015
My Journey as a Writer: A Final Reflection
Very few writers really know what they are doing until they've done it (Lamott, 1). One
of the most important things I have learned in taking Writing and Inquiry in Academic Contexts I
is that writing is a process. Like author Anne Lamott stated in a chapter from her book Bird By
Bird writing is a series of trial and error and in my opinion ones best work comes from fleshing
out everything they have to say and then making their adjustments. In writing assignments such
as the genre analysis, micro-ethnography, daybook entries, and discussion forum posts, I have
learned to apply all of the knowledge from my in-class experience as well as the guidance I
received from Professor Olivia to my writing.
One large component of my final portfolio is my genre analysis. I think this is an integral
part of my journey in this class because it is the first time I really showcased my writing skills. In
my letter to Olivia I wrote of my doubts about my writing capabilities. I remember struggling
with how I would go about writing the genre analysis because I had never strayed away from the
five-paragraph format. After reading The Five-Paragraph Essay and the Deficit Model of
Education I realized that was not a necessary as forethought. Although I had a tough time
figuring out exactly how I would present the information I was trying to get across, I feel that as
I got deeper and deeper into the subject matter things became easier. Another struggle about
writing my genre analysis on feminist poetry was gathering the information. Before taking this

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course I had never had such restrictions on where I could draw information. It took hours of
research to find sound academic information that would give me a lot to talk about but ultimately
it proved to help me in getting across what the genre of feminist poetry is. This writing
experience taught me that each process of writing takes time from the research to the drafts to the
revisions. I think it helped me advance and become more confident in my own writing skills
because I didnt have any structure to rely on.
The biggest of my successes in this course would have to be in the micro-ethnography.
When I first began my field research on this subject I knew that it would be a lot to take on. I had
originally planned to write on the University of North Carolina at Charlottes basketball team but
at the last moment I had to switch my topic to the student organization D.I.V.A.S. I think this
was my best paper because I was more comfortable with my writing. After struggling with style
and making my paper more interesting in the genre analysis, I put a lot of effort into making my
micro-ethnography an enjoyable read. I felt it was easier to truly make this paper my own which
was something I didnt feel all too comfortable doing beforehand. This part of my growth is very
important to display in final portfolio because one can see the change in writing style from the
genre analysis. I think it is not only important to show how much I have improved as a writer but
also how versatile I am.
In each daybook entry I always try to contribute my most honest opinion. I believe that
because I am given such a liberty it is easy for me to write no matter what the topic. Before
taking Writing and Inquiry in Academic Contexts I had a similar assignment for English class
during junior year. When I wrote my daily entries I didnt really write anything of substance
because I felt I didnt really have anything to write about. In this class having questions to write
my journal entries on made it more fun and interesting to do. I always looked forward to what

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topic we would get to write about next because it led to some fascinating discussion. My favorite
entry out of all of the daybook entries is the prompt that asked if you could have prevented one
event in history what it would be. I responded that I would eliminate all prejudice against people
of color. I think including one my most favorite entries shows how fun and also thought
provoking the day book assignments were. The daybook assignments ultimately helped me grow
as a writer because they helped me in developing my own opinions about topics and speaking
with more conviction about them. It also helped me have more fun with my writing.
The most dreaded of assignments for me was always the discussion forum posts.
Although I realize that the forum posts are there to make sure we know the information we read
about, it was a weekly struggle for me coming up with 300 words to write about whatever the
assignment was. I think it was just a lot to have to write such a long post and on top of that write
a 100 response especially when there were other more pressing assignments. Being that I was not
the biggest fan of discussion forum posts it was hard for me to take something positive from the
experience. One thing that I can say is that I did learn a lot from my peers as well as the
professor when we discussed it in class. I always felt that everyone in class contributed
something good to making it easier to transition to the in class discussion. The hardest part I had
with this assignment was doing the reading. I know that may seem trivial to some, but when the
readings exceeded three pages it felt like I was reading for hours and not all of the articles we
were assigned sparked my interest.
One of my strong suits has always been interacting with others so in class I always felt a
sense of comfortableness communicating my ideas, opinions or questions. One of the most
enjoyable parts of class is getting into small groups or partnering up to discuss something like
when we read an in-class article or even in the peer workshops. The peer workshops were mildly

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effective when it came to improving my writing. I felt like the criticism from the editing was
helpful but the actual conference proved to be pretty unnecessary for me. Another supplemental
element to my writing journey was the guest speakers Olivia brought in to talk to the class. I got
a lot of good advice from the woman from the writing center about genre analysis and microethnography that I actually applied in my paper.
As I look back on all of my experiences taking Writing and Inquiry in Academic
Contexts I, I see a continuous movement of growth. In each of my assignments I made strides
toward being a better a writer. In my genre-analysis I proved that I could write without structural
assistance. In my micro-ethnography I showcased how I could apply my own writing style to
make my paper unique. In my daybook I displayed versatility from subject matter to writing
style. In the discussion forums I showed some definite perseverance and most of all in class I see
how I have grown more confident in what I write. This class has helped me a lot in my journey
as a writer and I will continue to change and grow after the class.