Mai Dao

Professor Christie Daniels

WRA 110
6 May 2015
Course Retrospective Project
Throughout this second semester of my freshman year here at Michigan State University,
I am glad that I was able to take a class in one of my favorite subjects: Writing and English.
Through the various projects and writing assignments I was assigned in WRA 110, I gained
knowledge and improved my skills on writing and research and working with others. As we wrap
up the semester and look forward to the summer, I am writing this final assignment to evaluate
and reflect on what I learned and gained from this course.
The first project I was assigned in this class was the learning memoir project: a paper on
a retelling of an experience that we learned from. What I got most from this project was to be
able to recount the lesson I learned and really describe it and relive it for the paper. At first when
assigned this project I did not know what I have really learned since I was just beginning my first
semester of college. But after some deep thinking I decided to write my paper on the struggles
that I went through in high school that has made me the person I am today. This first assignment
was the easiest to me. The words flowed easily as I told of my trials and lessons. I really think
this project helped me reflect on that important lesson of growing up as well as reminding me to
be grateful of where I am today. It also reminded me to be grateful to the people that care for me
who have helped me to this time in my life. After a rough draft of myself pouring information

down, I revised it several times to make the story of my lesson be an organized retelling. After all
was done, the grade I received wasnt what I had hoped for. The beginning of the paper where I
wrote of my struggles was strong, but towards the end it tapered off. I used the feedback from
my professor to fuel the quality of my next assignments in WRA 110.
One of the more interesting projects throughout this semester was the cultural analysis
project. We were assigned to choose a cultural artifact and analyze it. I chose the cultural aspect
of depression and self-esteem issues in adolescents today. This subject really struck a chord with
me because I have experienced it as well as a large amount of youth today. I have felt
disenfranchised because of my female gender and Asian ethnicity in my life. I chose to analyze
the artifact Secrets by Mary Lambert. The lyrics in the song were powerful and eye opening to
the huge issue of teens and young adults feeling displaced in this world. Writing a paper about
the point she was trying to convey to the world was not difficult; it was interesting. It made me
reflect and realize that I need to accept myself for who I am as well as accept others so that they
may feel the same way. Teen depression is a real issue that Mary Lambert was brave enough to
address in her music. And when asked to evaluate and contemporary cultural artifact, I was
elated to be able to do my assignment on that one. My professor also instructed me to propose a
solution to this issue, which made me really think outside the box as to find out how to lessen or
end low self-esteem and depression. Writing this paper has really made me culturally aware of
that issue as well as others because of peer reviewing when I used Eli to peer review for my
classmates, I saw various other artifacts that they were analyzing. One that stuck out most to me
was a paper written on Disney princesses and their impact to body image that young girls gain
from it. The myriad of Disney Princesses all include long hair, big eyes, impossibly skinny
waists, and dreams of falling in love with handsome princes. The paper that student wrote

challenged those ideals that are being put in every young girls mind who watches those movies.
I have learned from this project that there are many cultural artifacts that can lead to distorted
and misconstrued ideas that can harm the self-esteem of individuals. Im glad that my professor
introduced Eli peer reviews so that students could see and help with each others work in
progress.
The biggest project this semester was the formal research project. Reflecting back on this
semester in WRA 110, I would say this was the most difficult project. It was the most difficult
not only because of the length but because it made me really question and delve. Several times
throughout the course of writing this assignment I questioned my major and even considered
switching it. But at the end, after I had gathered all the information I could on the subject, I
decided that I am happy with my choice of topic and I will stick with it and further my
knowledge on it the next 3 years. The biggest issue I had with this project was time management.
There were many different aspects that had to go into this paper and the sources that I used were
varied. Internet, book, and first person were what I used to get the information I needed to write
this project. Revisions were countless in the quest to complete this research paper but at the end
of it, I felt very proud of myself and felt a sense of accomplishment.
The remix documentary was the first real group project outside of small group activities
in class. Outside the realm of writing and English, I learned the most about time management
and working with others through this project. My group agreed on the major of computer
engineering to be the subject of our documentary. I learned a lot about this field through this
project and one of the group members studying it. We divvied up parts of the video where
everyone would speak and share the information that the group member whos major that is

gathered. I conducted interviews on other computer engineering students. Another group member
edited the final footage, and another group member did all the recording. I have heard horror
stories about working on group projects in college but my group worked together surprisingly
well. Our final product was something that I believe we were all proud of. This project taught us
to work together as a group and divide up the work as evenly as we possibly could. After this
remix project, our group went on to sign up for the group Course retrospective project together
plus another group member.
To conclude, throughout the various projects I have completed in this course, I have
engaged, and improved in many different aspects of writing; leaving each project with a new
understanding and skill. With this last project, I have really shown my reflection on everything I
have gained from this course as well as wrapping up the semester.