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M. Alden van Schaik

Professor Sally Griffin
UWRT-1102
October 6, 2015
Mid-term Reflection
For the past seven weeks, we have been exploring discourse communities and expanding
our literary and writing abilities. Through the exploration of our communities, we are
developing fundamental researching/inquiry skills and learning how to look deeper under the
surface. These basic skills make up the foundation that determines the quality of our procedure
when investigating our discourse community.
The first assignment, writing experience, delved into us as individual writers. Not only
was it a way to gauge each students writing abilities and personal style, it also gave us the
opportunity to express our relationship with literaturebe it good or bad. Afterwards, to further
bolster our personal identity, we discussed what we had written and exposed our feelings
regarding literature and writing to each other. All of this discussion had one common theme:
dialect. Our individual, personal writing experiences give us an identity, and our voice comes
through with a dialect in our writing. Each individuals writing has a sound that includes some
of their personal flavor and reveals some of the writers cultural background.
After breaking the ice with that introductory assignment, next we began looking at how
we prepare to research and how we go about researching. Do we look for information first or do

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we preliminarily frame our paper? As we discussed this, we examined the different approaches
and how it affects the research process overall. The class mapped out their communities to learn
more about what makes up each one and to narrow down their research area.
Once we discovered the composition of each community, mapping out each of the
artifacts gave us perspective on where each of these internal components fits within our
community. The artifacts also gave a symbolic representation of the different aspects of these
groupsadding on to its identity and forming its culture. We discussed our communitys culture
and how exclusive/inclusive they may be. This helped us define the parameters for fitting into a
discourse community. All of this led up to our inquiry proposal where we decided the direction
we will head with our research.
This class allows us to explore ourselves and observe how we interact with others. At
the root of literature, writing, and culture is humanity. We are exploring ourselves as writers and
also as human beings. We, as humans, interact with each other within our small discourse
communities to develop culture. With culture, the passion to write, analyze, and document all
walks of life comes with it.
In literature, reading works from different authors is how someone enriches themselves
with different writing styles, vocabulary, and methodology. It is also how we improve our own
writing skills. This is why, within our class, we group up to discuss our writing and our
communities. It enlightens us to view things from different perspectives and ultimately makes us
more open minded.

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Writing engages the mind in a unique way. When we speak, our brain translates a
thought into language and we vocalize it nearly immediately. When we write, our brain
translates a thought into written language after weve analyzed it. Because of this, we have the
opportunity to refine our message. This allows us to create deeper conversations and properly
structure our thoughts. We can minimize the amount of words it takes to express a thought.
Writing lets us utilize the full flexibility of the English language. This is why it is important we
write each time class begins. It gives us a chance to shift gears and align our thoughts to the
focal point of the class discussion.
Finally, culture, or some aspect of it, is what we are typically analyzing when we are
writing. Human interaction is something that generates the passion to write. The vast
differences of personal identities, yet striking similarities in our human nature are what people
find most inspirational. The innate affinity towards humanity and human bonds, alongside those
aberrations that make us unique, gives our writing sustenance and meaning. By grouping up in
class, we are establishing a culture within that group. We are also mixing culture from the
different communities we are studying. So far, I personally have enjoyed this class. It is
different than other English courses Ive taken, but I enjoy looking at the world through different
lenses so for me it is an enlightening experience.