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EthanParker
ProfessorRaymond
UWRT1102014
27April2016
TheLastLap
Lookingbackonthissemester,IfeelveryproudofwhatIhaveaccomplishedinUWRT
1102.Initially,Ifeltthatthiscoursewasgoingtobetediousandunnecessarilytimeconsuming.
Althoughthosestatementsmaybearsometruth,thehardworkwasnotforasmallreward.Over
thecourseofthissemesterIhavelearnedmanyskillsthatcorrelatewithwriting.Iimprovedmy
weaknessesasawriterandsolidifiedmypreexistingstrengths.Iquicklywasreassuredinthe
verybeginningsoftheclassthatIwasgoingtolearnandgrowasawriter.
Iconsidermyselftobesomewhatofanexperiencedandtastefulwriterhowever,Istill
hadmuchtolearn.Inreferencetothestudentlearningoutcomes,IfeltthatIalreadyhadthe
rhetoricalknowledgeaspectinmyliteraryarsenal.Ioftenreadandstudyrandomorbizarre
thingsthatprovidemewithasourceofdiverseinformation.Ibelievethatthishelpswhile
writingasyoumakeconnectionswhichcanimprovetherelevancyofthework.Ifeelthatmy
abilitytoidentifyandadapttostrategiesinallworkshasbeenimprovedoverthecourseofthis
semester.Thisseemstobethewelcomedconsequenceofpeerreviewing.Ifeelthatpeer
reviewinghasimprovedmyabilitytocritiqueothersworkswithconfidenceandbeableto
provideusefulfeedback.
Alargepartofmygrowthasawriterwasfoundthroughgroupwork.Groupworkgave
metheopportunitytounderstandthatthesocialinteractionisasignificantpartofthewriting

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process.Greatideasseemtobeaninevitablewhenyouhavefourstudentsbrainstorminginstead
ofjustone.Workingwithinagroupprovidesavastamountofopportunitiesbecauseofthe
brainpowerbehindit.Socialskillsarealsoimprovedwhenworkingwithagroup.Itislikelythat
noteveryoneinthegroupwillagreeonatopicsoitisimportanttohaveknowledgeonhowto
logicallycompromise.Workingonthesemesterlongprojecttogether,weallhadtomake
rhetoricaldecisions.Wedidnotseemtodivertfromourinitialgoalspresentedinourproposal
andIthinkitwasbeneficialforus.Itismoreamazingthatwemadethecorrectdecision
together.Ifeelthatworkingwithmywonderfulandintelligentgroupmembersallsemesterhas
providedmewithimmeasurablebenefittomywritingabilityandmysociability.
NogreataccomplishmentgoeswithoutstruggleasIhavehadmanythissemester.
SomethingIseemtohaverecentlystruggledwithismotivation.Thislackofmotivationisinjury
relatedasinmyfreshmanyearofcollegeIhavebeeninjuredfor10weeksofit.Inthefirst
semesterIwasinanaccidentthatleftmewithtwobrokenhands.Myrighthandalsosuffereda
lacerationthatrequired12stitchesandincapacitationoftheentirehand.Thiswasextremely
traumaticformeasIcouldnotevenbathemyself.Ispiralleddownintoabitofalonesome,
sorrowfulstate.AlthoughIstillsucceededscholasticallydespitemysemester,theinjurydidn't
stop.Isufferedtwolargecornealabrasionssecondsemesterswhichwehaveencountered
together.Itcausedabsentfromclasseswhichwasdisruptivetomyacademics.Despitethese
unfortunateeventsIstill,bythegraceofGod,havecomeoutontothebrightersideofthings.
IwouldbelyingifIsaidIdidntenjoymyselfwritingduringthissemester.Asstatedin
myearlierwritingprompts,whereIwasjustdevelopingnewskills,thatIhavealwaysenjoyed
writing.Theexcitingpartaboutwritingisthatitbecomesmoreenjoyablewithmoreskillsand

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moreknowledgetobeabletocreateimmaculateworks.Myfavoriteworkofthissemesterismy
dailywritingaboutthehistoryofmustangs.Thisissowellwritteninmyopinionbecauseit
containsknowledgeIgenuinelycareabout.Iwasabletoproduceanabsurdamountof
informationaboutafamousmusclecarinatimelymanner.Ibelievethisisimportantinwriting
becauseitseemstoeffortlesstowriteaboutsomethingyou'repassionateabout.
Whatissowonderfulaboutwritingisthatisaskillthatyoucanneverloseandnever
forget.Writingissofundamentalandisveryusefulfordevelopingskillsthatweuseonadayto
daybasis.Learningwritingskillsfromthisclasshasincreasedmysocialskillsandhasexpanded
myvocabulary.WritingseemssoeffortlesstomebecauseitissomethingItrulyenjoy.Thisisa
productoftheteachingsofmyambitiousProfessorRaymond.Thankyouforagoodsemester,it
wasagoodracebutitstimetolineupforthenext.