Ruby Espinal

Reflection

Within this writing course, I was shown various forms of writing and how to approach them. Some of the things I learned about writing over the semester is how to write a proposal and conference paper. Before taking this writing course, I was not familiar with what a conference proposal or paper was. The instructor was able to explain to the class thoroughly on how to write conference proposal and and papers, while also providing various examples for us. When it comes it having a research problem, it has to be very specific and have a targeted audience. In the beginning I had trouble trying to express my thoughts and ideas onto my paper and looking for a research problem since I was not too familiar about Iranian culture. After doing my research, I was able to develop a conference paper on the Iran-Iraq War and its influence upon Iranian women. Within my conference paper, I implemented various sources and examples on the effects of the Iran Iraq War on Iranian women, and how can this topic be more acknowledged within society. Throughout the course, the instructor taught the students how properly write a conference proposal and paper while also giving us advice on how to improve our papers in other classes we may have writing in. We were also given the opportunity to attend a computer lab and learn how to properly site sources for our papers. We were shown how to search for peer reviewed journals and implementing them our papers as one as our sources. My instructor was also able to provide helpful feedback so that I can improve my writing on my paper. The instructor also allowed us work with our fellow peers and even do peer reviews. I enjoyed the peer reviews because it allowed me to see feedback from other people besides the instructor. This was helpful to me because I was able to learn from other students and see what others may find what I am doing good in my paper, and what I may need to improve on in their perspective. I also learned how to use multiple sources to back up my evidence within my paper. I think that this is important because It helped make my argument in my paper stronger. I also learned methods that I can use in the real world such as writing cover letters and resumes. I think that this will be important because many students are not familiar with writing resumes or cover letters when they are applying for jobs. Something that I would like to improve for the following semester is to make sure that my papers have a more authoritative tone. Sometimes my papers may lack that, and by doing this I can make my paper’s sound less casual. All in all, this writing course has taught me many tips and has also showed me my strengths and weakness on how to become a better writer and how to improve in my writing overall. I will carry these tips with me within my other classes.