Jordan Serpentini Reflective letter 4/27/13 Dear Malcolm, English has done more for me than just fixed

my citations. The assigned readings, various think book entries and blog posts have all contributed to a bit of self-realization. For example, the creative thinker informal writing has leaded me to believe that I think very inversely with my fellow students. In comparison to one of my good friends and classmates, I firstly read about the tangible things to do, like hang out with friends and do homework, and then compared them to the first things I had written such as work on the top of my psychological hierarchy of needs pyramid or find my place in the world. This helped me acquire information about myself that I would take pride in. The Extended Inquiry Project about how technology is utilized differently around the world is my most essential work. It encompasses many of the lessons we have been studying in class to achieve our best work. It is also important because it is a representation of what we have learned and will able to incorporate into our writing from now on. In other words it symbolizes our progress from this semester. My goals as a writer and even as a student in general include keeping the reader engaged and interested throughout my paper, which after three revisions, my paper finally has solid main points that many people find interesting with hooks to keep them reading on also. Another goal I had was to broaden my perspectives on the technology and the world in general. Even though that may sound extremely vague, I truly now know more than ever about foreign technology utilization and how it differs around the world. For example, Dubai is an epicenter for future smart cities and new developments such as the city of Masdar.

Some cultures have the ability to use technology but do not so based on long standing traditions and values such as the Amish. Also, I wanted to ensure that my work had strong fluidity throughout and showed logical reasoning or thinking that lead to the next paragraph appropriately. I believe that I accomplished that by writing a specific introduction instead of a vague one with a very specific conclusion. Above all, my main goal is to differ from my usual procrastination and put in quality time to produce quality work. This was accomplished by following the five week process described in one of the power points put on Moodle. I took it week by week and put in at least two hours of research a week and having not only two people revise them but three. I also tried to get outside opinions other than my fellow peers. I included a revision by the English writing lab and two revisions by my sister Alexia who has an English degree. I have a good time researching for the projects and summarizing projects such as writing outlines for papers. I also find strength in revising papers and my own once I take a step back and look at them as a whole, which helps me down the road to edit them. Now from a mental standpoint, I have strong original ideas and do not usually have any trouble brainstorming about topics or visualizing what to write. I am also able to recognize what topics are too general, too vague or can be written about. On the other hand, I have a hard time applying said research into terms everyone can understand and while making sure it is cited correctly without plagiarism. I also have problems with the balance between citations and my own writing. I probably have too many citations in one paragraph. These strengths and weaknesses have not really changed throughout the year. I simply keep my weaknesses in mind and work on them during projects.

As a thinker I tried to contemplate a topic that I could easily relate too, keep my interest, not too general that I cannot write it in eight pages, or too narrow in which I couldnt write enough for it. I came up with meshing my interests in anything foreign and media (which surrounds me at all times) which is the main focus in this class. I question the use of media and technology in general in my paper by stating the opposing reasoning that includes life without technology in an Amish society. As a writer I have been able to fine tune my writing process and keep focus in my papers on the main points of the paper. For many of the projects such as the topic outline, and investment inventory I did not know where to start. One method we learned in class truly did help my writers block. I found out that if I continued to write even if the sentences dont make sense or the paragraph has no form that no matter what I would find sentences within the long rambles that would aid my paper down the road with actual contextual relevance. Writing my EIP was me simply realizing that I had already written most of it due to the other assignments assigned in class. The inquiry process and topic proposal were the only parts that were truthfully individualized one-hundred percent based on the students interests and focus. Regardless of how long or arduous the annotated bibliography, it was extremely helpful when it came time to actually write my first draft of the extended inquiry project. It had already summarized and paraphrased my sources thoroughly which made it very easy to incorporate them into my paper. No matter what length an assignment is or how many sources I must include, I will continue to write annotated bibliographies for them long after this class has ended. Other things I will take with me will include the strategic process of completing papers on time in the five week method and most importantly I will always display confidence in my work.