Eislyn Snyder

Allison Bocchino

WRIT 2

Dec. 14, 2020

Metacognitive Reflection

Throughout this course, I’ve developed a variety of skills regarding my approach to

writing and reading that I would not have otherwise. For instance, while I’ve always loved to

write, I’ve never delved into the concept of genre. I had a general understanding of the topic

before entering this class, however as I learned more about the intricacies of genre my thought-

process surrounding writing and reading changed. By analyzing different genre conventions and

rhetorical strategies, I was able to improve my own writing and cater more to different genres.

Additionally, I now keep in mind the ideas of discourse communities and disciplines while I read

other people’s work (whether that be in an academic journal, a book, or another piece), and am

aware of the genre conventions they use for my future writing endeavors. I achieved this through

the various readings assigned every week, lectures, the writing projects, and peer review.

Within this course, understanding how to use and identify rhetorical strategies within

writing was one of the most significant practices I learned. Before this quarter, I knew a basic

amount of information regarding this topic due to writing classes I had taken in the past.

However, I now have a more solid grasp of rhetorical devices such as appeal to numbers, appeal

to antiquity, and appeal to pity. I also learned more about logical fallacies to avoid while writing,

such as straw man, red herring, and non sequitur. Generally, readings such as “Making Choices

in Writing” by Jessie Szalay aided my understanding of rhetorical situations as well. Her

statement, “A rhetorical situation is the situation in which you are writing. It includes your

message, your identity as an author, your audience, your purpose, and the context in which you

are writing” was especially helpful. Her explanation provided me with a different perspective to

my own work––now, I consider all of these elements while I write.

In regards to conventions, I can now identify the different characteristics associated with

specific genres based on components such as intended audience, structure, purpose, tone,

evidence usage, and more. For instance, I discussed audience, structure, evidence, and language

usage within my second writing project in the context of translating an academic paper into a

journalism article. By doing so, I solidified my knowledge of genre conventions and how they

relate to disciplines and discourse communities. In the case of my first paper, I was analyzing the

disciplines of Public Health and Economics specifically. Two of the discoveries I made

regarding the Public Health discipline, for example, is that authors and researchers use a

significant amount of background information and utilize specific jargon within their papers. By

analyzing these components of the articles within the disciplines I chose, my understanding of

genre and disciplines was reinforced. Now, I can apply this knowledge to my own work––

whether it be academic, journalism-related, or free writing. In regards to my personal writing

style, I would describe it as an expression of my voice. While my writing differs depending on

the genre, I often like to interact with the reader if possible and make my writing sound

conversational in nonacademic settings. When writing journalism, for example, I try to ask

questions and keep the reader engaged.

While revising my two writing projects, I made numerous changes to my papers. In

regards to the first WP, the structure of the first half of my paper was confusing and needed to be

altered. I started initially with a first body paragraph that was nearly two pages long and it
addressed two separate topics: evidence usage and background information. In order to improve

the clarity and structure of my essay, I split the text into separate paragraphs. Additionally, my

conclusion was extremely short and the summary of my argument needed to be more thorough. I

remedied this by adding more content to my last paragraph, concisely explaining the differences

between the ways Kolodny et al. and Ruhm wrote their articles. By doing this, the conclusion

wraps up my paper in a stronger fashion. Another edit I made was dividing the paragraph

surrounding tone and language into two, separating how jargon relates to the Public Health and

Economic disciplines. Doing this both makes my writing easier to follow and emphasizes the

relevance of the disciplines. Additionally, I added page numbers to my footnotes so my citations

are accurate and readers are able to access the information I am citing. My last change was

restructuring my thesis and removing unnecessary information so that it would be clearer and

more succinct overall.

For my second writing project, I made an assortment of revisions as well. My first most

significant change was adding another part to the background information about discourse

communities. I provided further information as to how discourse communities are classified and

referenced scholar John Swales, who was discussed in one of our class readings. I applied this

information to my own paper, explaining the connections between his findings and the discourse

communities I was analyzing. Additionally, I clarified my confusing thesis statement regarding

the disparities I discovered between the two communities and genres through translating the

original text into a journalism article. I also reformatted the two block quotes I used within my

paper so they were correct and provided page numbers on my footnotes as well to ensure

accuracy. The most major change, I believe, was made to my actual translation. One of the

critiques I received was that my translation read more like an essay rather than a journalism
article, so I attempted to add more of my own voice into it. For instance, I added to one of my

paragraphs, “It’s no surprise that this increase occurred considering the lack of medical

information available at the time.” I also added some more interesting words, such as

“overwhelming,” “devastated,” and “wreaked havoc.” To imitate journalism, I attributed some

information to the authors of the original article using the “According to…” format as well.

Lastly, I tied up some loose ends by fixing any awkward wording and shortened any run-on

sentences. Unfortunately, I was not able to find a way to attribute the photo I used in my

translation to the person who took it. After looking through the different options within the Pages

program I use on my computer, I was not sure how to add a space under the photo where I could

say, “Courtesy of...” However, I still cited the article the photograph is from in my bibliography.

I hope to improve upon my understanding of formatting and learn more about the program. In

addition, I hope to be more concise with my writing before revision and lessen my usage of run-

on sentences in my essays.

I am very pleased with my portfolio, especially the revision of my second writing project.

I believe it is a stronger paper than it was prior, giving the reader an understanding of genres

through my translation. Furthermore, the work within my portfolio is a representation of the

skills I developed throughout taking this class. It displays my understanding of genre and its

different conventions, discourse communities, disciplines, and translations. Before being

involved in this course, I had only a basic understanding of these concepts. Now, I have a much

better grasp as to what these terms mean and how they are applied within the context of writing.

The strongest feature of my writing is my thorough usage of evidence in order to support my

thesis.
 The concepts I listed above will be extremely helpful to me for future reference. By

understanding the conventions that are associated with a specific genre, I will be able to apply

them to my own writing. For example, if I am planning on writing a science fiction piece, I can

refer to other science fiction books and know how to analyze them. By doing so, I will be able to

identify what conventions are used within the science fiction genre and imitate them within my

own work. Additionally, understanding discourse communities will help me with future research

as it will help me find who to contact for opportunities. For instance, if I am trying to do research

within the Public Health discipline, I will know that I can try to contact Public Health-related

professors, government-affiliated researchers, and others within the discourse community. In

addition, according to Dan Melzer of California State University, Sacramento, two of the key

aspects of discourse communities are, “Mechanisms of intercommunication among members”

and “Use of these communication mechanisms to provide information and feedback.”

Understanding that there is a large network of individuals within the discourse community will

allow me to find a diverse range of contacts that could provide feedback on my future research.

Overall, the most difficult aspect of this course was comparing the two articles in the first

writing project through their disciplines. I remember getting continuously confused when trying

to explain why the evidence they included within their articles was different. One of the

techniques I used for when I was unsure of something was to message a friend who was also in

the class for their advice. Looking back on it now, I think the idea of disciplines and the writing

processes people undergo within them was new to me. Reading my WP1 over again while

revising helped me see where I confused myself in the past and allowed me to reflect on what I

have learned since initially writing it.

 Bibliography

Melzer, Dan. “Understanding Discourse Communities” Chapter. Writing Spaces: Readings

on Writing, Volume 3. Parlor Press LLC, 2020.

Szalay, Jessie. “Making Choices in Writing,” August 1, 2016.

https://openenglishatslcc.pressbooks.com/chapter/making-choices-in-writing/.