Blake Haymore

UWRIT 1101
Ms. Zicherman
November 28th, 2014
A Look Back
What a semester it has been, oh the things I have learned. I am truly thankful to have
been given this amazing opportunity to take part in the University Writing Programs 1101
course and feel as if it was a monumentally rewarding experience. From the classmates whom I
have gotten to know, to the exponential growth in my writing skill, I cannot begin to explain how
beneficial and enjoyable this experience has been. A last, I must attempt to for this assignment.
There lies the question, where to begin?
I suppose a sensible starting point for this reflection about the course would be about
what I learned. Being I am enrolled in the course to learn. This reflection is in itself a substantial
example of my writing growth. This semester, I learned a great deal of information about how to
insert dialogue into a paper. Through the literacy narrative, I learned useful story telling
techniques and how to keep the readers attention, which can be so important to the message of
your work. I also learned about genre, probably more then I wanted to. We spent quite a large
chunk of this class covering genre and completed by far the most detailed and time consuming
project in this class on the subject of genre. I learned about different genres of literature and also
the different genres that we encounter during everyday life. The most beneficial part of the genre
project however was the opportunity to develop our own definition of genre. Mine read
something like, Genre is the categorization of anything based on similarities, relationships, and

format. I think the opportunity to create a personal definition of a word bring to the student a
better understanding of the meaning. I have also learned a great deal about time management.
While enrolled in this course I cannot say I have been the best at managing my time, in fact I
would venture to say I may have been one of the worst at it. Though the semester started out
somewhat smoothly it was not long before I began to slip up. Missing assignments, forgetting
due dates, and running late to class surely served as a detriment to my academic success in this
course. Never the less, though my academic record may not show it, I have learned a large sum
of information in this course and am planning to use this information to continue writing at a
high level for the remainder of my college career.
This brings me to discuss how I have grown as a writer throughout the semester. I have
definitely become more confident in my writing through this course in great thanks to the
constructive criticism I received from my classmates and professor. In high school, that brand of
respectful and helpful criticism and suggestions was unheard of. Perhaps that would explain why
I had little to no confidence in my writing ability in the beginning of this course. I cannot
imagine how poor my writing would be if I had not been in this specific University Writing
Program course.
The learning atmosphere created by the students and professor is unique and comfortable.
The way class discussions are conducted and the way students treat each other with respect is
frankly rare and refreshing. I enjoyed the opportunity to work with other students to correct and
better my writing. The polite manner in which my classmates helped me to better my writing was
instrumental in the building of my confidence as a writer this semester.
I did not feel a heavy influence on any of the reading we studied in this course, however,
the TED talks we watched in class were quite interesting. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about

culture. Watching and listening to someone who holds a different view point is a refreshing and
rewarding sensation that I was glad to feel when watching the African woman and Wade Davis
speak. I enjoyed the class discussions that were held in response to these. The viewing of this
material left a lasting impression on my view and understanding of the world and the different
cultures that share it.
The piece of work I created in this course in which I am most proud of is by far the
literacy narrative. This solely being based on the fact that when originally assigned, I did not
think I would be able to write a compelling story given the prompt. I did however, in my
opinion, create a final product that I was proud of and one that could capture the attention of my
reader with vivid detail that seemed to place them right into the setting of my narrative. I feel as
if I really stepped up to the plate and knocked that assignment out of the figurative park that was
my prior expectations.
I did encounter quite a few struggles in the class but without a doubt my greatest
downfall was my poor study skills. The constant forgetting of work due the day of was a huge
detriment to my grade and was positively a severe struggle I had to deal with. But along with the
struggle came some instances of joy. Some of the aspects of this class I fear will not be achieved
in any of my remaining college writing courses and that brings a bittersweet feeling to my soul.
Beginning with a professor who is down to Earth and easy to talk to and confront. This is a skill
that so many professors fail to display. As a student, when your professor talks to you as an equal
and not as if they are superior, it causes the student to gain a newfound respect for the professor.
This teaching style is such a help for students like me who, believe it or not, are quite shy behind
their outer shell of faked confidence.

It was so beneficial to have an approachable professor who was always willing to help.
More than a few times this semester, while working in class, I was burdened by the infamous
writers block. Were it not for professor Zicherman, who knows how long I would have struggled
to expand and elaborate on my ideas. I can honestly say that every time I was stumped or
confused she was there to help me work through it. A single incident where Professor Zicherman
was particularly understanding and helpful is when my partner for the genre project withdrew
from the course after the project had been assigned. She sat down with me and helped to adjust
the requirements for the project so that I would be able to complete it on time without having to
do double the work load of the other students.
There was one part of the course that I just did not enjoy at all, and that is the discussion
forums. I personally would prefer to have the discussions in class verbally and not on the
internet, which unfortunately has proven to be particularly unreliable in my dormitory here on
campus. I feel as if I can better express my thoughts out loud then on paper or a computer for
that matter. But in retrospect, if that is the worst complaint I have about the course then it must
not have been too bad.
In conclusion, the experience of this course was a great opportunity to improve as a
writer and as a person and I feel as if I capitalized on the opportunity adequately. I am overall
thankful for this great semester with these remarkable classmates. I would like to hope that my
next writing course will be conducted in a similar fashion to this UWRIT 1101 class. I would
like to conclude this reflection of the semester with a special thanks to my classmates for their
help with my writing progression. And also a genuine thank you to Professor Zicherman for her
patience and cooperation with me this semester.