Rodrigues 1

Carina Rodrigues
Zack De Piero
Writing 2- WP2
MW 12 PM Section
7 December 2015
Metacognitive Reflection
Remember how far youve come, not just how far you have to go. - Rick Warren
This class was one of those classes that truly defied any expectations I had prior to the
beginning of the year. To be honest, I started out with lowish expectations, seeing as every
writing class before this one was lame, unpleasant, and tedious, but my first day in Zacks class
was definitely an experience. I walked in the stuffy Phelps room 1525, scored a seat in the back,
and eagerly awaited the start of class. In walks a man who looks like he has been plucked out of
the 70s and dropped in the year 2015 (I mean this in the best way possible). As soon as I saw
those Birks, I knew, right away, that this class was going to be a memorable one.
The way this class has changed my perception of writing was, honestly, unprecedented.
In high school (and even in my first year of college), I would moan and groan at every writing
assignment I had to do, and each one Id turn in would sound the same boring way, and was
presented in the same boring format. My writing was dull, monotonous, and rarely displayed my
own voice. It would also take me a long time to get started, because I would not only get lost in
my own thoughts, but I would also want every word and line I put down to be perfect. But things
are different now-- like I mentioned in my last thlog, I am coming out of this class a more

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confident, eloquent, and dynamic writer. I have become more open to the idea of first-order
thinking (Elbow) and I am not afraid to have a shitty first draft (Lamott).
I understood the importance of these two things after completing my WP-1, which took
me hours upon hours to do, because I was trying to make it too perfect from the get-go, but I just
ended up getting in my own way. Another thing that was hindering my progress was the fact that
I chose a topic that only kind of interested me. An important thing that I have learned about
myself throughout this class is that my best writing is done when I am truly interested and/or
knowledgeable in what I am discussing. I know that not every future paper I will have to write
will be about a super-interesting topic, but like Zack suggested, I think the key to my own
success is to make it seem interesting to me. I learned my lesson, and for WP-2 I made sure that I
was genuinely intrigued in my topic. I wrote about body image, and how it is discussed by
psychology and anthropology (my two scholarly disciplines), and social media (specifically a
post from the feminist blog site Jezebel). Once I got started, the words just kept flowing, which is
really a great feeling for someone who often struggles with maintaining writing momentum. In
addition to gaining experience with genre and conventions, these WPs also taught about the
importance of rhetoric, visual and textual. A concept that resonated with me is the idea that, yes,
the content of what you say is of course very important to communicating your message, but the
other half of this is the manner in which it is said.
All in all, the first two WPs werent bad, but it was WP-3 that I had the most fun with.
My topic was a psychology study about bullying of special needs children in mainstream
schools. I decided to translate this topic into a childrens book for my younger audience, and a
legal case brief for my older audience. I really wanted to do something unique for my older

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audience, but I did not expect how long it would take me to write this brief. First, the format of a
case brief is slightly up to interpretation, so I struggled with trying to find the most effective
structure. Second, since I was transforming the article into a fictional legal case, I had to make up
the circumstances surrounding that sounded realistic. In addition to this, had to do research on
actual laws that would apply to a case about bullying in general, but also bullying of special
needs children specifically. It sounds like I am complaining, but this was definitely one of my
favorite assignments of this class, and I am pretty proud of the work I put in and the end result.
For the second part of this WP, I had decided to make a childrens book that would basically
teach disabled/special needs kids that it is okay to be different, and differences should actually be
celebrated, not looked upon with disdain. Titled Peacocks Cant Sing, my story was about a
peacock named Peter who desperately wants to sing, but he is really bad at it, and because of this
he gets ridiculed by his peers. However at the end he gets his feathers, and he realizes that there
is nothing wrong with being different, and differences can actually be beautiful. I think I enjoyed
this WP the most because I was able to let my creativity shine through, while writing in genres
that I have no experience in.
Going off the note on creativity, my other favorite part of this class (and I think several of
my classmates feel the same way) was the thlogs. I never realized how fun blogging is, and I just
dont think I was used to being able to write so casually and freely while still within an academic
setting. Looking at my first thlog compared to my last one, they are significantly different. My
first one sounds rather stuffy and it still had a slightly formal tone. But as the weeks went on, I
began to get more comfortable in expressing myself. I started including more media, like
YouTube videos, pictures, and memes, and it became clear that I was really letting Carina speak.

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Thlogs became something I looked forward to at the end of each week-- it was a place where I
could voice what I was struggling with, what I did well, and anything else I was feeling. I also
think it was beneficial to see my progress, and how my feelings (and writing abilities) have
changed from thlog to thlog.
I remember one of our first lessons in class involved listening to country music (of all
things). We were supposed to identify common features that bind these songs together, or in
other words, what conventions are part of this genre? Learning about genre and conventions was
a big part of this class, and I am glad it was. It is definitely a topic that I had never studied in
depth before, but it actually holds such great importance when it comes to writing of any kind. I
used to have an incredibly narrow understanding of genre, which consisted of movie or book
categories and types of music, but my view is different now. On October 5th, I had decided to
open a Google doc and write a mini thlog, for my eyes only; I really wanted to sort out my
thoughts, but also document how I was feeling at that moment, because it was one of those times
when I felt that everything was starting to click:
Before this class, my understanding of a genre was solely related to literature,
television, and movies. I would have never thought that an Instagram caption or
syllabus would be considered a genre. Genres are characterized by a set of
conventions, which are emphasized to not be rules, but can be more likened to
common features. These conventions make the genre what it is, though not every
convention must be applied for an example to be included. Now that I am starting
to really understand the definition, Im beginning to see the world through
genre-colored glasses, if you will, and now that Ive understood how

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ubiquitous genres are, its hard to not see everything as a genre.
I think that this idea of genre-colored glasses is actually quite significant (and I was
pretty proud of myself when I came up with this term). Once you begin to see that genre is all
around you, you find yourself analyzing conventions without even thinking about it, and the
more genre awareness you possess, the more of a critical thinker, reader, and writer you
become.
If I were to write about everything I learned in this class, this reflection would end up
being around the 8-10 page range rather than 4-6. Regardless, I am proud to say that the skills
Ive developed, and the confidence Ive gained are certainly going to help me beyond this class.