Midterm Reflection

1. What has surprised you about this class?

I was a little surprised by the structure and grading in this class. Traditionally I have always received a grade soon after turning in a product. It is very unusual for the primary course grade to fall under a single final portfolio.

2. Which class period was your favorite?

My favorite class period was the one we spent discussing the Serial Podcast and its merits as an inquiry in the context of our project. The subject matter was very interesting and I found the subject helpful for refining my approach to the main project.

3. Which class period was your least favorite?

My least favorite class was the peer revision period for the annotated bibliographies. While I like peer reviews, the actual discussions were dry. Also, without any particular guidance for discussion I feel like I didn't get as much useful feedback as I did with my inquiry proposal.

4. What’s your favorite thing you’ve read for this class?

I have enjoyed reading my peers' inquiry proposals and blogs that focus on their topics. They have allowed me to keep up with many of the interesting topics that my peers are researching as well as see how personal views are changing.

5. What’s been the hardest part?

The annotated bibliography has been the hardest task in this class to this point. While the format was very simple, its rigid structure was unappealing and made the task far more laborious than other bits of writing that we have done.

6. If your experience in this class so far was a movie, what movie would it be?

Perhaps my memory for movies is failing me but I cannot think of any movie in particular. Frankly, it would be the kind of movie that you'd rather talk about than watch. Sure it can be thought-provoking at times, but it isn't very original or interesting on its own.

7. Do you feel like you’re giving this class as much effort and attention as you’d like to?

I'll be perfectly honest and say that I am coasting through this class. I have already taken several writing and rhetoric classes at the college level, so nothing has been particularly new to me. I don't put nearly as much time into it as I do with other classes, except when an important deadline arises.

8. Is there anything you’ve learned or heard in this class that might affect your life outside of it?

I was already familiar with all of the technical aspects of writing that we have discussed in class due to my experiences in similar classes in the past. The thing that has stood out for me is the culture shock I experienced in this class from many of the opinions and research topics I have encountered from my peers. I am used to a far more liberal culture at Penn State, so the wide acceptance of more socially conservative values was a bit weird at first. I have never been in a class where so many people would have attributed the Bible to being the most influential piece of writing in their life. This is in no way bad, but it has caused me to revise the way I interact people in everyday life.