Draft of Open Letter

We're on our final project!  I've written my first draft of my open letter, which can be viewed here.

Mostly, in reviewing this draft, I would like to know if I'm answering the prompt thoroughly enough, so if while reading it you have any suggestions about that, they are welcome.  Do you think I covered the semester thoroughly enough?  Also, I didn't do extensive research on the genre (it's the end of the semester and I'm getting a little lazy -- I'm not proud of it), so if you see something that doesn't fit the conventions of an open letter, please note that as well.  And finally, I'd like your opinions on the tone of the letter, and if it seems appropriate.

Friedman, Lynn. "artMRKT 2013: End of Story Neon Sign."
5/17/13 via Flickr. Application-NonCommerical-NoDerivs
2.0 Generic License.

Reflection More on My Writing Experiences

To help me draft my final project, I'm answering a few more questions addressing my writing process and experience in this course this semester.

Sagdejev, Ildar. "Ball point pen writing." 2/29/04 via
Wikimedia Commons. Attribution-ShareAlike License.

• What are the biggest challenges you faced this semester, overall?
• The biggest challenge I faced was probably getting all of the blog work done, and making sure that I fully understood the project assignments and was answering the prompt in my papers.  I'm used to writing a lot (I keep a journal and do creative writing on generally a daily basis), but the sheer amount of work for this class definitely took some getting used to and adjusting for.  I had to make sure that I had cleared enough time out of my schedule to put the work into my writing that I needed to.  In all, doing most of the blog work was helpful in developing my ideas for my projects.  Another problem I had was that initially I wasn't sure I totally understood the prompt, because we were writing in styles that I wasn't used, such as the QRG.  My first draft of my QRG wasn't really like a QRG at all, so I had to change it up significantly.
• What did you learn this semester about your own time management, writing and editorial skills?
• I realized that I am extremely fortunate to have learned from quality English teachers in the past, so for me the transition to this class was probably easier than it was for others.  Like everyone, I was worried about how much time I had to do everything I wanted to, but ultimately I found as long as I spent a few dedicated hours to do my homework every day, I could still get enough sleep and not become too overwhelmed.  I also became faster at writing blog posts, which helped me significantly.  
• In terms of writing, while I had to get used to new genres and more creative prompts, I think I'm a strong enough writer that for me completing the projects probably wasn't as painful as it was for others.  I found for the rhetorical analysis especially, that I knew exactly what to do and felt very comfortable.  Since I improved my initial drafts, that meant I had to spend less time editing and revising.  I found that instead of doing multiple reads over my drafts, which is time consuming and not sometimes overwhelming, instead I would focus on only one problem at a time, and make sure that I had a solution to fix that section of writing before I began revising heavily.
• What do you know about the concept of 'genre'?  Explain how understanding this concept is central to being a more effective writer.
• The type of genre can alter the rhetorical situation.  Understanding what type of genre one must work in, and what the conventions of that genre is becomes crucial to writing a piece that effectively completes its purpose.  Genres are not just based on the content of the writing, but also the media, the readers, the organization, and the tone the writing should take.  In understanding genre, overall writers can become much more effective in delivering their message. 
• What skills from this course might you use and/or develop further in the next few years of college coursework?
• One of the most important things I learned this semester was how to approach a writing scenario I'm not familiar with, and how to quickly and efficiently produce a quality response.  This will be really helpful, because I'm sure that in my next few years I'll encounter types of writing that I'm not familiar with, in genres I've never written in, but now I know what to do to understand what's being asked of me, and how to write in that new style.
• What was your most effective moment from this semester in 109H?
• My most effective moment was probably writing and revising Project 2.  I remember the exercise when we had to write a completely new introduction and conclusion.  I was confused and a little annoyed, because I thought my intro and conclusion were already strong, but when I read more about introductions and conclusions, I realized that what I had written wasn't strong at all, and I rewrote something much improved.  I also found that what I had learned in high school about rhetorical analysis had prepared me well for college, which was reassuring and pleasant to realize.
• What was your least effective moment from this semester in 109H?
• My least effective moment was probably drafting the QRG.  I know I've mentioned this multiple times, but I put so much effort into writing that first draft, but most of that time and effort was fruitless, because I wasn't writing in the style of a QRG.  It made me understand the importance of understanding the genre I'm writing in; initially, I had believed that I was answering the prompt in the way I was supposed to.  I ended up having to completely redo my organization, and how I approached the paper in my revision process.

Revisiting My Writing Process

To start planning my final project, I've begun reflecting on my earlier writing for this class; more specifically the first two blog posts I wrote.  I think my writing style has changed throughout even this semester, and my time management has as well.

WokinghamLibraries. "Creative, Writing, Editing, Library."
5/8/13 via Pixabay. Public Domain Licence.

When I first wrote "My Writing Process" I thought that I would rely on peer review much more than I turned out needing.  In this class, I found it most useful to talk to the instructor mostly to make sure that I was on the right track and answering the prompt of the assignment, which initially I usually wasn't.  I've also found that I've kept a lot of things from my first drafts, especially with Project 2 and 3.  I think this shows that I'm becoming a stronger writing because what I produce from the start is of much high quality than it was for Project 1 or previous writing projects from high school.

I still believe that I'm a sequential writer, but the writing process is a significantly less daunting task than it was when I started this class.  I find now that I have to spend less time on each of the writing steps.  I am able to think and plan more effectively, and that allows me to draft quicker and write things of higher quality.  Overall, this means that I'm more efficient, which has also helped my time management.  I remember that I spent many hours on Project 1, and had to revise a ton for my final draft, because my first draft didn't really follow the conventions of the genre.  However, for the later two projects, I didn't have to spend near as much time completely rewriting and restructuring sections.

In terms of time management, I have generally been able to stick with my plans of working on deadlines earlier, so I don't have to do everything in only a couple days.  This has really allowed me to help plan out my ideas and writing for projects, which makes it easier to do the actual drafting.

I'm not sure how much writing I'll be doing in Environmental Science.  I know I'm taking a lot of science classes which won't demand the same kind of writing vigor as this one, but that of course doesn't mean I won't have to write again.  I'll probably be writing in different genres, but now I know how to write in a genre I'm not familiar with.  I think this class helped me realize that writing a paper or a project isn't such an insurmountable task, and that as long as I follow my planning and drafting process that I've been doing this semester, I'll be able to handle it, which is reassuring.