Reflective letter
Midterm
Dear Marlen,
I’m writing this letter after working on homework for most of my Sunday, probably not the best idea! In fact, my time working on homework was lengthened because my blog for tomorrow was deleted when my computer shut off and I had to do it all over again. As you may guess I’m not in the best of moods right now so I hope I do not come off as too horrible.
I want to start off by saying I am learning a great deal of what I believe to be very valuable information in this class. I never thought of myself as a good writer, or even an average writer, and I guess I never really tried all that hard either. I did what I could to get a decent grade, but I have decided to put my best foot forward in this class, and I believe that although the work load is quite a lot, it will help me become a better writer overall.
I came into this class expecting to write a few papers, may a lengthier one as the final, but to be honest I did not anticipate the amount of work we have received ( I don’t think anyone did). After your speech the first day, I told myself that I would not let this class get to me. I know I am a good student, and I know I can get work done, so I decided to stick with it. This decision has eaten at me every single day. I am glad I am pushing myself as a student. In the future when I am finishing college and looking for a job, I cannot give up on the search if I am overwhelmed with filling out too many applications or going to too many interviews. I bitch and moan about this class most days, but every time I post that blog; I do feel proud of myself. On the other end, I could have just as easily taken another section of 202 and learned much of the same information. Then I would have time to do more for my other five classes and rugby and sign in. I guess I hold a little resentment towards to class itself because it is my hardest class this semester, I mean who doesn’t hate their hardest class!
As I said, this class will be beneficial, and I have to keep telling myself that. But I must say that I am nervous, very nervous, about producing a high-quality paper. Never before did I realize how much work goes into a paper of this type and how many parts there are. I’m still very confused on many of the parts of this process and am very frightened about how I am going to complete them all. I know it is going to be time consuming, I just hope I have the time to work hard and put my most into it. It really isn’t worth all this stress if I don’t try one hundred percent is it?
Overall, the class is a pain in the ass, but so is my little brother and I still love him. I know I will take a lot from this experience and grow as both a writer and a student. I will continue to put my best foot forward and take everything I can from this class. With all that said, I hope you don’t think I’m too horrible and I’m greatly looking forward to what will come of all this hard work in the end.
Sincerely,
Murphy Bennett
Final
Marlen,
This semester has been hell and to be honest your class at been at the root of my dismay, but in the end I couldn’t have asked for a more interesting, educational, and enjoyable research writing class. It was a difficult and challenging class to say the least, but in the end I have taken a great deal of knowledge from this class both about myself as a student and more importantly about research writing. Despite what you think, I did enjoy the class and I did enjoy you as a professor.
When I first got the emails from you in the summer, I thought to myself that you were honestly just trying to scare us. Not that I didn’t think that your class would be hard, because I did hear that it would be difficult and I did read the ratemyprofessor.com comments, but I guess I didn’t take your email all that serious. It may have had to do with the fact that it was summer and I didn’t care to think about school at all, or it may have been a result of the fact that I knew Paige and Bitsy were going to take the class with me. Whatever the cause, I came to school not worrying about your class as much as I probably should have.
You probably don’t know this about me, but I have the worst memory in the world situational wise. What I mean is that I don’t remember my trip to Disney World in eleventh grade all that much. I don’t remember my high school graduation, only in a few bits and pieces. I don’t remember the first few days of your class. I don’t remember exactly what you said we were getting ourselves into, all I remember is you telling us not to worry about our grades. That was a shock to me. I finished 5th in my high school class and I came to IUP on an academic scholarship for going to The Pennsylvania Governor’s School For Teaching. Basically I am a nerd and grades are very important to me. I decided right then and there that even if I had to do a lot of work that I would trust you with the grade part.
As you know, I struggled throughout the semester. I brought six credits from high school to IUP because I took a College Writing class my senior year. This allowed me to skip over the first two English courses I would have had to take here, so your class was my first and only one that I will have to take. I feel like that may have hurt me when it came to being prepared for your class. I felt overwhelmed because I was thrown into two writing intensive courses this year and haven’t written more than a three page paper yet while at IUP. As a result of the lack of preparation, I became frustrated easily with this class. Not because I didn’t like it or I didn’t like you, but because the work in this class wasn’t coming to me as easily as my other classes. I’m a total perfectionist and this class was testing me hard core!
Once I got my topic picked and set in stone and I got on my way, I think things got better. I really am passionate about my topic and learning about it more through my research was probably my most enjoyable part of the class. I am so happy that you allowed us to pick our topics and not have to write about something we really didn’t give a shit about. Had you chosen our topics, I think I would have hated the class!
I can’t say that I am not extremely happy that the class is over because I’m ecstatic, but I do want you to know that I am taking a lot from it and am very happy that I stuck with it. I am very proud of myself, more so than I have been in a long time. I know how much work I put into my paper and did not think that I could come up with such a professional piece of writing. I have learned a great deal about myself as a student and more specifically as a writer.
The one day after class when I approached you with a question about the presentation, you gave me some awesome compliments on my paper. As you know, I kind of blew them off because I don’t take compliments that well. I tend to get embarrassed but after that class I went back to my room and thought that myself that I deserved those kind words from you. I don’t want to sound conceited but I put a lot of time into that paper and you were right it is good. I want to thank you for that. I will think of that when someone compliments me from now on and instead of blowing them off, I will give them the thank you that they deserve.
Thanks again for pushing me farther than any professor I have had yet!
=) Murphy Bennett
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1.
marlen |
September 22, 2009 at 9:28 am
Dear Murphy,
Well, this says it all, right?
“Overall, the class is a pain in the ass, but so is my little brother and I still love him.”
LOL! Congrats on successfully completing the first month of research writing. Yes, it is a lot of work, but you’re doing a GREAT job so far. Your blogging homework shows much effort and critical thinking, and I’m excited to follow the progress of your paper. I would say that you’re definitely on track for an “A” right now.
I love your participation in class and really appreciate how much your questions and ideas facilitate learning for other students. Please keep up the great work!
As for the stress level for this class, you wrote: “I never thought of myself as a good writer, or even an average writer, and I guess I never really tried all that hard either.” So now, guess what…you’re really trying hard and sometimes it’s a pain in the ass. We’re only at the very beginning, so hang in there, ok!?!
Proposal: Your topic is both fascinating and broadly-focused. Because we can’t actually track participants over time to examine the long-term effects of music genre choice, we have to think of another way to collect data about music choice and some other construct.
Additionally, I’d like to see some evidence that you have started reading for your research. For example, you wrote:
The Deaf Community is one that many people overlook or forget about when planning events for the general population. Many people do not think that someone may show up to a town meeting or to a presentation by a motivational speaker and not be able to hear what is going on. This is a major problem that many people have, and I feel it is a major problem that is going on at the campus of the Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
How do you know this? Can you prove it by providing a citation to an original source?
The Deaf Community is one that many people overlook or forget about when planning events for the general population (Johnson & Washington, 1989; Allister, 1998; Wong, Ardton, Feit & Finesi, 2009). For example, a 2004 study concluded that the majority of attendees (including board members) at a town hall meeting in a mid-sized, American coastal town do not consider whether or not all attendees are able to hear what is going on. This is a major problem that many dead people must deal with, and because of the large population of deaf students and faculty at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, I feel it is a major problem that should be brought to the attention of all students – I believe in equal access, treatment, and possibilities for all students on a university campus (see Hargrove, 1998 for more info on equality on college campuses in the USA).
As you continue your work, do more reading and learn more about research writing, your proposal will surely change shape and focus. Can’t wait to read your Intro paper!
If you haven’t already noticed, your blog work is direct preparation for critical reading and writing. In fact, you’ve already been researching for 3 weeks now and practicing skills that will support you when writing your paper.
Thanks for being an inquisitive and motivated student. I look forward to working with you throughout the rest of the semester.
Marlen
2.
marlen |
September 22, 2009 at 9:29 am
p.s. the pain of cut and paste at 5:30 in the a.m. is that sometimes I forget to cut out a comment that was meant for Marie…
3.
marlen |
September 22, 2009 at 9:33 am
good lord, shoot me now:
“This is a major problem that many dead people must deal with”
LOL!!!!