Dane Mann

UWRT 1103 009

9/29/2015
Midterm reflective essay
Since enrolling in UWRT I have been able to develop skills that help me with my writing.
The skills I have been learning correspond with the key concepts my teacher has made for the
class. Some of the concepts I have been exposed to have be easier to utilize than others. For
example, I have been able to learn and utilize a more efficient composing process. This is
because I have been able to be a part of a peer group. This has allowed me to see things from
different perspectives. When I was writing my exploratory my first draft, the people in my
group told me I had been too objective and less feeling oriented. After hearing this I decided to
add in more feeling and some inner thoughts. In my paper I was able to add three paragraphs
that dealt with the feelings and emotions I had during my first track meet. For reference I will
paste it in.
It was the evening of the first track meet. The spring air was still very cool and
the sun was still out at the beginning of the warm ups. The entire track team lined up.
They were all wearing warm sports clothing. I was in charge of leading the track teams
warm ups that year so I yelled back what warm up we were doing then we did it. This
went on until the warm ups were finished which took about ten minutes. I promptly
walked to the throwing circle to see all the throwers gathering about.

The throwers came in all different shapes and sizes although most were tall and
large. In front of the throwing circle was a field littered with holes caused by shot puts.
After a while the cold weather made my friends huddle up for warmth. I had some time
before we actually had to begin the meet so I practiced my throw. I picked up a shot put
covered in mud and very cold and moved into the circle. At this moment I felt very
anxious about the whole situation. I thought to myself did I do enough during the
practice throw. The practice throw put my mind at ease though as it was a good throw.
The meet finally began and I was ever so excited. I threw my three throws and got
my distances, which were pretty good. I was able to beat most of the people there and this
made me even more excited. I saw what my efforts had accomplished and I loved it. I
wanted to do this more and I did. (Mann, 3)
Another Key concept that the exploratory essay dealt with is getting out of my comfort
zone. I normally hate writing about my feelings because I feel conceited and vain. I also feel like
its hard to not be biased in explaining your feelings from your own perspective. I try to look at
things as objectively as I can, so having to write about what I thought at the moment is really
hard because I prefer time to think about issues that come up. I do this in order not to be hasty
in my speech and burn bridges. Suffice to say the exploratory essay was not an easy assignment
for me and I had to step out of my comfort zone.
Another key concept that I believe I am doing well with is having responsibility for my
own learning. I cant really justify this much with my writing other than fixing the errors in my
draft. As stated above I put in three paragraphs in. I can, however, justify it in my work. I have

been doing the required work for the class and I have had it done on time. I also have been
keeping up with the blog posts.
There are some key concepts that I am struggling with though. I am having a hard time
making connections in my papers. In my exploratory essay I have received a plethora of
comments about how some sentences are irrelevant. I also have had a hard time transitioning
between paragraphs and ideas. Keeping my thoughts connected and relevant tends to be hard
for me because I get off on tangents. As Juliusse, one of the people in my peer review group,
stated on my paper elaborate more on why with the history and too much history, too much
specifics. (Mallari, 3)
I also am having a hard time with critical reflection. As stated in paragraph two I have
problems with expressing my thoughts and feelings. This often makes communication of my
ideas hard especially on paper. Some supporting evidence for this include Ms. Ingram stating I
had to read this twice (Ingram, 1) and Loi stating What you mean? (Phung, 1)
I have grown in my few writings for this class but I feel like there is much room for
improvement. Over the course of the next four weeks I will be able to have the two key
concepts that I am struggling with currently. I will also be sharpening my skills in the other key
concepts. I can see myself benefitting greatly from this class and look forward to completing my
E-Portfolio.

Citations
Mann, Dane. What are you passionate about? (Essay), 5.
Mallari, Juliusse. (Essay Revision), 1.
Ingram, Suzanne. (Essay Revision), 1.
Phung, Loi. (Essay Revision), 5.