Alec Inanoglu

999831788
3/11/17
Unit 3: Portfolio Reflection Essay
Before taking UWP 1, I never really looked at literacy as a concept of any writing course.
Literacy to me was something I thought was taught throughout ones life with little middle
ground as far as determining whether a person is literate or not. I always thought of literacy as
being able to read and write in a language, but later learned that there is another major idea
within literacy, being able to comprehend language. Literacy also discusses the comprehension
ability to go beyond what the words say, to understanding a deeper meaning in literature, to
acknowledging the rhetorical values of pieces of writing, and to be able to develop writing past
what you originally wrote. The UWP 1 course has shown me that literacy has many levels in
regards to how literate a person can be as well as the fact that there is more to literacy then just
knowing a language. Literacy is the ability to read, write, and comprehend language and can be
developed as a skill and tool. This idea of understanding literacy has been a major tool for me
throughout this quarter, has forced me to go beyond the language I see in reading and my
writing, and in my opinion will help me develop my skills as a writer in the future. I believe that
using my understanding of literacy in all of my works, I have fulfilled all of the UWP 1 learning
outcomes.

In my eyes, each project within the UWP 1 course attempted to present major learning outcomes
in hopes of having students develop further their literary potential. All of the unit projects
required a set of editing and revisionary processes that helped solidify the final products to
become proper works. Unit 1 of the course had me look back at my literacy career and made me
define what were my strengths within literacy. I could look back at how my literacy was initially
developed and with this knowledge, further my development of my skills and proficiencies in
regards to literacy. Unit 2 of the course in my case honed skills I had previously learned in other
courses. As a student within a science major I am quite familiar with reading research articles,
but have never had the opportunity to conduct a study of my own and write a research paper
about it. This project took a style of writing, research, that is pivotal to my academic field as well
as possible carrier and had me develop basics skills in it. I was able to practice a writing style
that before this, I had only knowledge based on readings Ive done. I also learned about concepts
of discourse and how this can also be used as a tool to extend ones learning potential in an
academic situation. I personally believe that the unit 2 project is the most beneficial project for
me personally in the UWP 1 course.

I feel as though my development in the understanding of literacy has also aided in my ability to
harness my skills as a writer for other courses. The quick writes given each class help with my
processing abilities to quickly develop both my own opinions as well as providing an argument
to support them. The reading responses helped develop my ability to comprehend language from
another writer and then in response develop my own ideas from them. The different projects each
provided a different stylistic approach, which in turn allowed me to gain practice in a multitude
of different writing situations and styles each with their own processes and formalities. All three
examples aided me in learning about fundamental understanding of rhetoric as well as general
understanding of the rhetorical choices involved in all the works that I have done in the course.

Literacy has been a main idea throughout the course. Using literacy one is able to comprehend
language past just words and provide stylistic approaches to pieces though the use of rhetorical
knowledge. By understanding how a piece of writing reads and comprehend the significance
behind the piece, one can go through the fundamental revisionary processes to finalize the piece.
By being exposed to many different conventions in writing one is able to develop an
understanding of multiple types of genres, modes, and audiences. By being able to properly
integrate research, one can effectively develop an argument they wish to prove. By being able to
reflect on the stylistic and structural choices within a piece one can comprehend the strengths of
said piece. All of the learning outcomes have been displayed throughout my work done in the
UWP 1 course through the understanding of literacy and its applications on my knowledge of
language.