Looking back at paper 2, it is very interesting to see how much I as a writer has grown. One thing I think I have gotten a lot better at is integrating ideas from the texts we read into my paper. I think now I’m very good at understanding a text, identifying what parts are useful to me, and using those parts as evidence to my claim. In the first paper, this wasn’t always the case.
I found that I had a very rigid approach to text summary. Before being introduced to how to set up a quotation sandwich, I didn’t have strong flow. I was more on the lines of, Background on author, quote, then explain. I didn’t get very deep or introspective, I more of reported on what the author thought, not what I thought about the quote. I see now in my writing I was not one to expand on my own ideas, basically because I didn’t see that what I was thinking was a point worth expanding on. After peer review and onto other papers, I grew more confidence in my ideas, and started to expand on my own ideas. I think this was when my text-engagement was it’s strongest. I see that in each paper, I get better and better at expanding my own ideas.
I did think I was stronger in some areas of text engagement, like text to text. I never struggled to find evidence of finding two texts with similar ideas and show that relationship clearly. While my methods of comparing the two texts may have been simplistic, I think I was able to convey my ideas to the reader. Plus I was able to explain what the quote I used was telling the reader. Some quotes could’ve been expanded on and explained in more detail, but I felt my views were displayed clearly.
One thing I have found that I think I still need work on is signal phrasing and embedded quotes. I think that both the first and last paper we did, my signal phrases were a little weak. I think I could’ve tried new ways to introduce quotes in a more complex way. Also with embedded quotes I think I was able to embed them, but in a simplistic and at time unnatural way. I think throughout the semester I got better at this, but I see room for improvement.
Overall I can definitely see a lot of growth when it comes to integrating ideas in my papers from the given texts. This was something I think was what I got the most out of this class. Going into the field of Marine Biology, I need to be able to use peers work to further mt own claim. I think this class helped me strengthen this skill.
