Project One Reflection
The task required of project one was to create a cohesive conversation on the liberal arts. It entailed of incorporating the ideas of George Anders, Christopher Rim, and Jeffery Scheuer with your own thoughts. In order to complete this project, there were assignments such as annotations, homework entries, a first draft, peer reviews, a revision, and a final draft.
Annotations
For the annotations, we had to read and annotate three articles. I was very successful in this task because I really thought it through. I included multiple comments per page, underlined important parts, asked questions, circled things I was unsure of, made not of things that surprised me, noted the structure of the articles, and summarized points. The goal of annotating is to break down the writing and analyze what is being said. I found it helpful to identify crucial parts and try to explain what is being said in my own words. Throughout my annotations, I made a few noteworthy comments including my response to “embraces the ideal of the integrated curriculum, encompassing virtually all nonprofessional higher learning, from the natural and social sciences to the humanities and the preforming arts” (Scheuer). I said that I was not previously aware of the common conceptions of the liberal arts and that this made me understand what the liberal arts really are. I found this annotation noteworthy because it shows my realization of what liberal arts are. An additional example of my annotations was in response to “The arts, religion, and sports are all potential venues for cultural conservations” (Scheuer). In the margins, I said that it is important to engage in cultural conservations to develop an open mind, diverse perspectives, and connections. I found this annotation noteworthy because I explained the value of engaging in cultural conversations and the benefits from it.
Homework Assignments
Another important aspect of project one was the five homework assignments. I completed all five assignments and submitted them all on time. If I had to score myself on the homework assignments on a five-point scale, I would give myself a five. All my assignments were substantial because I wrote a lot, put in a lot of effort, and thoroughly answered the prompts. I spent a significant amount of time per assignment and really tried my best. Some noteworthy entries were number two and four. In homework entry two I made a large chart where they put the different ideas of Rim, Anders, and Scheuer into their own column. I made another column where I put the similar ideas that they share. This chart was beneficial to me later because it displayed valuable information. This entry took me a lot of time since I had to reread the articles and sort through all their main points.
Homework Entry 2:
| Christopher Rim | George Anders | Jeffery Scheuer | Similarities |
| Focuses primarily on technology advances and its effect on the liberal arts. | This article has interviews and stories from people whose lives have been impacted by the liberal arts. It uses more of a personable approach rather than just facts. | Provides the history of the liberal arts and the background of its name. | All of the articles talk about the threat of the liberal arts going away. |
| Defines liberal arts as an approach to education, a philosophy of education. | Focuses on how first generation students are finding success through the liberal arts. | Talks a lot about critical thinking and inquiry, and how it is useful to the liberal arts. | Each article argued the importance of the liberal arts. They all said that it could aid in future careers, teach important skills, and can be used in the real world. |
| Proposes that a solution to the “dying liberal arts” is rebranding as the implication of skills development in technology. | Talks about how the liberal arts can provide skills needed to be successful in many jobs. | The liberal arts are critical to citizenship. It describes the three types of citizenship: traditional civic dimension, economic, and cultural. | People misunderstand what the liberal arts mean. Some also believe that it has to do with only history or english. In reality, it can include many types of careers. |
All three of the articles share a common theme of how valuable the liberal arts can be. However, they each take a different direction to it. Christopher Rim talks more about technology and how the liberal arts needs to apply the advancements to it. George Anders focused on the value that liberal arts has on first generation students’ pathways. Jeffery Scheuer ties critical thinking into the liberal arts. He discusses the effects that applying critical thinking to the liberal arts has. All three of the articles agree on the fact that a liberal arts education provides students with so many skills. These skills are important for student’s academic, professional, and personal lives. The articles all shared that common theme, but used different scenarios and evidence to back up that shared message.
Attendance and Focus and Engagement
I went to every class except for one due to a family emergency. However, I made up for that absence by making a discussion post and responding to other posts. On an attendance rubric, I would say I was proficient since I technically had no absences. When it comes to engagement and focus, I would also say I was proficient. In discussions, I voluntarily speak and participate. Plus, I actively participate in my small group, come to class very prepared, and attentively listen. I tried my best to be totally engaged in every class.
Rough Draft and Peer Review
I completed every assignment during the prewriting stages. An assignment that helped me the most would be homework entry four. In this prompt I made an in-depth outline of my essay. It included my main ideas and the supporting evidence to back it up. I used this outline to help me create my essay. This assignment also required me to sort through all the articles to help me find my evidence. I had to closely examine the real meaning and all the information in the articles. During my peer review, I implemented many of the comments given to me. Some valuable ones left on my rough draft were to make my introduction and conclusion more cohesive, reevaluate the necessity of one of my quotes, and to clean up my organization. I believe that incorporating these revisions made my overall draft much better.
Homework Entry 4:
I used the outlining method to help organize my thoughts. I have done outlines before but never with this much detail. I like how it forced me to come up with evidence ahead of time, before I started writing. I had a habit of building evidence as I went. I have a feeling that laying out all this information ahead of time will make it easier for me to write. I incorporated quotes into my evidence, but I will not use them all in my essay. They were more to help with identifying the evidence to pack up my ideas. I will use the “They Say, I Say” method to tie in some of those thoughts and ideas. I was struggling to come up with ideas for this essay, but I am feeling much better since I have a clear outline to help me.
Title: A Conversation About the Liberal Arts
Main Idea 1: The liberal arts teaches necessary skills that will aid in a student’s future.
Supporting evidence that provides evidence for 1: Students learn more than just information
A: “Employers are increasingly hiring on the basis of an applicant’s demonstrated skills rather than their formal degree” (Rim).
B: “Heightens our abilities to speak, listen, write, and think, making us better learners, communicators, team members, and citizens” (Scheuer).
Supporting evidence that provides evidence for 1: Critical thinking and inquiry
A: “Critical inquiry is not a map or a list of firm rules but a set of navigational skills” (Scheuer).
B: “Critical thinking skills enable students to become lifelong learners and engaged citizens” (Scheuer).
Main Idea 2: There is a threat of the liberal arts going away
Supporting evidence that provides evidence for 2: May be seen as a job where you can’t make good money or get a good job
A: First salaries may be lower than vocational fields (Anders)
B: “college applicants grew increasingly concerned about the number of job opportunities yielded by their degree” (Rim).
C: “students want jobs not debt” (Scheuer).
Supporting evidence that provides evidence for 2: In reality, there are opportunities with a liberal arts education
A: Failure to acknowledge the technological advancements in the liberal arts (Rim)
B: Doesn’t account for the nature of the liberal arts (Rim)
C: Liberal arts major can pursue advanced education. History majors can become lawyers, philosophy majors work on Wall Street, etc.
Main Idea 3: Liberal Arts are not just about an education
Supporting evidence that provides evidence for 1: Creates people who can make an impact
A: “She was being trained to have an impact in the wider world” (Anders).
B: “cultivating free thinkers and innovators, not mere workers” (Rim).
C: “‘an education based fairly and squarely on the nature of knowledge itself” (Scheuer).
Supporting evidence that provides evidence 2: Creates better citizens
B: Creates well-informed, critical citizens. (Scheuer)
C: “And the liberal arts prepare students for citizenship in all three senses–civic, economic, and cultural” (Scheuer).
Course Learning Outcome Self-Assessment
The course learning outcome for project one is: “At the conclusion of English Composition, students will be able to demonstrate the ability to approach writing as a recursive process that requires substantial revision of drafts for content, organization, and clarity (global revision), as well as editing and proofreading (local revision).”
I was never taught to look at writing in a process like this before. It was a little new to me, but I was able to adapt to that change. A piece of evidence would be my homework entry number five. I discussed some of the peer review comments that I received and how I could implement them into my final draft. I mention my realization of how crucial the peer review process is. Sometimes it takes another’s perspective to help you realize things that you need to change. It can often be difficult to truly judge your own paper. Another example would be the difference from my rough draft introduction to my final draft indruction. In the rough draft, my introduction did not effectively introduce what I was talking about in the rest of the paper. After revising, my introduction became much clearer and cohesive. Both examples show my ability to look at writing as more of recursive process.
Homework Entry 5:
After reading my peer review comments, I now notice that my body paragraph organization could be better. I need to make sure there is a clear beginning, middle, and end to each of the paragraphs. My review comments have some great points that can improve the quality of my essay. It brought some “writing habits” of mine to my attention. For example, it was noted that I could blend my sentences together better. “Being in touch with critical thinking skills can guide students by initiating many ideas and questions. Practicing critical thinking can lead to achieving clarity on a difficult or confusing topic”. These sentences sound very choppy and blunt. I can reword them a bit to make it flow better. I also learned that I have some unnecessary information that doesn’t add to the purpose of my essay. Without doing a peer review, I would not have noticed all these issues. It is very beneficial to have an outside set of eyes look at it and point out things. Personally, I was happy with how my draft went. I know that there are plenty of things for me to fix but I think I have a good base. My first priority is to fix the blockiness of some of my sentences. Now that I read it, I can see that it doesn’t sound very smooth at all. My next goal is to take a look at all of the evidence that I have. Some of it might not be necessary to my point and could distract from the message I am trying to get across. This quote by Rim “‘Liberal art institutions must continue to find ways to better equip graduates to advocate for their degree’” does not fit into the argument I am trying to make. I need to reexamine its place in my paper or find evidence to back it up. All of these goals feel very doable and I think it will greatly improve my paper.
Excerpt of First Draft Introduction
“It teaches students necessary skills that will help them in the future, creates people who can make an impact on the wider world, and lead to respectable jobs down the line”.
Excerpt of Final Draft Introduction
“It teaches students necessary skills that will help them in the future, while also creating people who can make an impact on the wider world. Despite the numerous positive attributes, there is a common worry that there are no job opportunities associated with a liberal arts degree”.
Overall Reflection
My goals for this paper were to use strong word choices and to not be redundant. In order to use strong word choices, I used a thesaurus to help me. I tried not to reuse words too frequently. Using the thesaurus helped me find words that I would not normally think to use. I also tried to pay attention to not repeating myself too much. While editing, I had to rephrase and get rid of some sentences which say the same thing. I made sure to pay attention to the repetitiveness. Reading the sentences aloud helped me identify what sentences I should take out. It was nice to have specific writing goals because I was able to use them to improve my writing.
I think the aspect of creating ideas and finding evidence went the best for me. I took extensive notes on the articles, paid attention to each article’s main ideas, and planned out information that would support my ideas the best. The annotations and the comparative homework assignments helped me understand the articles better. I was able to incorporate all the things I learned into my essay.
I think I could use the most improvement on my revision. I struggled a bit trying to find ways to improve my essay. The use of peer review definitely helped me though. I tend to struggle to find mistakes on my own paper, but having a new perspective helped me. My previous English classes rarely did peer reviews, so this revision process was mostly new to me. I think that my biggest issue was that it was not something I necessarily comfortable with yet. However, more practice on this process will benefit my future papers.
My overall experience with this project was positive. I tried my best, which is what really matters. I completed my work on time, followed the process, and accepted that this would take some practice. I learned what my strengths and weaknesses are, and I can improve during the next project. This project was interesting to me as I enjoyed the topic. Plus, learning about the writing process was fascinating. For the next project I want to continue to stay up to date on my work, ask questions when needed, and focus on improving my revisions.
