Final Course Reflection

Reflection on Writing Processes

By Michael Lautieri

The term "writing process," in the most broad sense, refers to the entire process which one follows while writing any type of piece.  It begins long before the first words of the first draft are ever put to paper, and it concerns far more than simple grammatical and syntactic corrections and adjustments.  Throughout my completion of the WRT 104 course, this fact has become much more clear to me.  Through the completion of my two badges during the course of the semester, I have learned that the writing process begins the instant that one begins to brainstorm about any given assignment and continues throughout the entire course of the assignment, not ceasing until the final correction is made on the final draft.  

One of the main cruxes of the WRT 104 course is the completion of several "badges" throughout the course of the semester.  Every badge's curriculum describes a series of levels, with each subsequent level requiring that the student must have already completed every assignment.  Completing this process for both of my badges has taught me several different ways of thinking about how to complete large assignments.  For example, when completing my hacker badge, I began the assignment by reading through every level and every assignment that I needed to finish before completing the badge.  This allowed me to brainstorm for my final project during the entire time I was completing the badge.  However, the requirement that every assignment must be completed before advancing to the subsequent badge helped me remain focused on the task at hand and to not become too overwhelmed with the enormity of the badge's long list of requirements.  In addition to this, the way that the badge was structured also emphasized the importance of having a sufficient number of drafts.  Continuing with the example of my hacker badge, the final level of the badge required that I have several check-ins with my instructor as well as with my peers in the goal that I would be given to make the necessary feedback in order to effectively edit my drafts to make them more accessible and more conducive to my main objective with the assignment.  

The writing process I followed while completing my hacker badge was incredibly useful to me while I completed the badge.  It kept me focused, made me easier to remain on-schedule, and helped the entire project seem much more manageable while I was completing it.  The implementation of the different levels of this assignment were especially helpful in this regard.  For example, while completing level 2 of the hacker badge, which involved looking at a series of articles and deciding which were fake news, I was able to get a better idea of what types of article seemed more credible and more effective.  While completing my third level of the hacker badge, which involved revising a fake news article to be factually correct and credible, I was able to use the knowledge I gained while completing the second level of this assignment to make my revised article appear more credible and better achieve my purpose.  The fact that the assignment was broken up into three distinct portions also made it easier to remain on-schedule.  Because there were clearly defined points when I had to stop and wait for instructor or peer feedback, I was able to set more clear deadlines for myself that I felt more obligated to meet.  This entire process helped motivate me to remain on-track and likely helped me complete this assignment as well as my other badge on time.  

I believe the completion of metacognitive reflections, which were a part of both my hacker and sci-com badges, has also helped me become a more effective writer and composer.  For example, in my metacognitive reflection for my hacker badge, I was able to reflect on the areas in which I felt most confident and content as well as the areas in which I would have put more work into if I had more time.  This ability to reflect on my own past performance as well as identify points where I wished I could have put more time will help me in the future when completing similar assignments, as I will be able to better distribute my time in the different areas of the assignment, allotting more time to various parts of the assignment which I have identified as more likely to need further attention.

Photo obtained from WRT104 Course Website
(https://makercomp.wordpress.com/portfolio/badge-4/)

I believe that my completion of the hacker badge is most indicative of my growth in the area of "writing processes."  Like all other badges in WRT 104, the hacker badge is divided into three levels.  I began my work on the hacker badge by reading through every level of the badge.  I then began working on the first level of the badge while beginning to brainstorm about ideas for the final project.

The first level of this badge involved writing several summaries about various videos about fake news, as well as discussing my own personal opinions and beliefs about fake news.  Following the completion of this level, I then had to meet with my instructor before moving on to the second level.  This soft deadline helped keep me on track, and meeting with my instructor helped ensure that I would be able to make any corrections necessary to my first level of the badge in order to ensure that it was an appropriate and effective draft.  The second level involved filling out a provided spreadsheet about different aspects of a list of provided articles, with the ultimate goal being to be able to decide what the primary markers of a fake news article are.  This also helped prepare me for my final project, as I learned what aspects of an article help ensure credibility as well as what markers constitute fake news.  Much like the previous badge, my work on this badge also culminated in meeting with my instructor to ensure that my draft was successful in achieving my purpose.

The third level of the hacker badge, which involved completing my final project, was the most intensive portion of the badge.  It was also the part of the badge that I believe best exemplifies my growth in terms of the writing process.  While the third and final level of the badge was a large task to undertake, the fact that I had been brainstorming and thinking about it for the past several weeks made it feel more manageable.  The third level of the badge also offered me more opportunities to work on my skills with draft composition, as there were multiple points where I had to stop and receive feedback from my instructor and my peers.  The feedback I received from these peer and instructor reviews was very helpful in helping me revise my drafts.  Finally, I completed my metacognitive reflection of the third level of this badge, which involved analyzing the different aspects of my work on this badge.  In this metacognitive

The initial article can be viewed through this link, while my final project, the revised article, can be viewed through this link

Overall, I feel that my work on this badge best exemplifies the growth I have made throughout the course of this class in the focus area of writing processes.  Throughout the course of the semester, I believe I have become a stronger and more confident author, and I feel that the skills I have refined during the WRT 104 course will help me throughout both my collegiate and professional careers.