Final Reflection: Writing Arts Core Values
The fourth value of the Writing Arts program states that Writing Arts students will be able to investigate, discover, evaluate, and incorporate information in the creation of text.
The best example I can currently provide of this is my Social Media Paper, created for the Writing, Research, and Technology class. Within the assignment, I took a sampling of fifty Facebook posts made by my immediate family members and analyzed them for patterns, common themes, or trends. Through this, I discovered that there was a trend of women over the age of forty were using the social media as a way to improve relations with their female family members, meaning sisters and sisters-in-law. This ability to pull a focused thesis out of a large and varied context is based in critical reading skills and the practice of identifying important information over less important. It is also difficult to merge skills designed for creative text with text on social media websites, but through classes like Intro to Writing Arts and Writing, Research, and Technology, the Writing Arts curriculum has created a familiarity with both that allows me to combine my skills in a single paper.
Within the Social Media Paper, I also incorporate database information and contextual evidence from outside sources, paraphrasing them and quoting, all following the correct citing standard in MLA and/or APA format, so as to support my findings, explain possible counter arguments, and explain why my thesis is ultimately sound.
The sixth value of Writing Arts is that the students will understand the impact evolving technologies have on the creation of written texts.
In Writing, Research, and Technology, I was exposed to and taught about the new technologies that writers are using to both generate work and to present it to the public. The first technology that we worked with was our personal blogs, using the Weebly website. This technology was extremely new to me, and as such, I know that I have grown as a writer and in my understanding of the avenues technology can provide for my work. I now understand how to market myself and my writing to the online community, especially one made up of peers, and how to create an online persona that is both professional and approachable.
Through the use of LinkedIn and Twitter, I have expanded my writing and professional network, which has had an impact on the kinds of writing I am exposed to and the level of work that is expected of me now that I have entered the more professional realm. This shows in my work, especially that of my resume, language in blog posts, and my willingness to communicate with those above me. I point to my website itself as an example of how online writing has changed my voice.
The best example I can currently provide of this is my Social Media Paper, created for the Writing, Research, and Technology class. Within the assignment, I took a sampling of fifty Facebook posts made by my immediate family members and analyzed them for patterns, common themes, or trends. Through this, I discovered that there was a trend of women over the age of forty were using the social media as a way to improve relations with their female family members, meaning sisters and sisters-in-law. This ability to pull a focused thesis out of a large and varied context is based in critical reading skills and the practice of identifying important information over less important. It is also difficult to merge skills designed for creative text with text on social media websites, but through classes like Intro to Writing Arts and Writing, Research, and Technology, the Writing Arts curriculum has created a familiarity with both that allows me to combine my skills in a single paper.
Within the Social Media Paper, I also incorporate database information and contextual evidence from outside sources, paraphrasing them and quoting, all following the correct citing standard in MLA and/or APA format, so as to support my findings, explain possible counter arguments, and explain why my thesis is ultimately sound.
The sixth value of Writing Arts is that the students will understand the impact evolving technologies have on the creation of written texts.
In Writing, Research, and Technology, I was exposed to and taught about the new technologies that writers are using to both generate work and to present it to the public. The first technology that we worked with was our personal blogs, using the Weebly website. This technology was extremely new to me, and as such, I know that I have grown as a writer and in my understanding of the avenues technology can provide for my work. I now understand how to market myself and my writing to the online community, especially one made up of peers, and how to create an online persona that is both professional and approachable.
Through the use of LinkedIn and Twitter, I have expanded my writing and professional network, which has had an impact on the kinds of writing I am exposed to and the level of work that is expected of me now that I have entered the more professional realm. This shows in my work, especially that of my resume, language in blog posts, and my willingness to communicate with those above me. I point to my website itself as an example of how online writing has changed my voice.