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Candy Tong
Lynda Haas
WR39C
30 August 2015
Reflective Essay
To help you think like a scholar, a researcher, and a rhetoricianand to be able
to show your insight through writing in several media and genres... are the words that
have been our guide throughout this course, WR39C. This is the last stepping-stone of the
Lower Division Writing Requirement where we are expected to write scholarly at a
college-based level by the end of this class. After participating in both WR39B and
WR39C, I am able to say I have improved from 39B whilst learning new tools from an
argumentative presentation, evidentiary support, and narrative development during this
course. Throughout this reflective essay, I will analyze my assignments from week 1 till
the last assignment, the Advocacy Project.
I believe coming into this class, I was nervous and hesitant. This was only
because writing is not my strongest suit as I am more of a math and science student.
There was little confidence in me during week 1 and 2, but as time flew by I became
more comfortable with academic writing and with the help of my peers I have improved
at a steady pace. One of our first tasks was to create our own blog website. This was my
first time creating an online blog. A website should be appealing to the eye and easy to
use, so those two were priorities when designing and sculpting my website. Attached are
screenshots of my homepage where you will find a bio of myself, an introduction of this

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class, and links to find me on social media; one of the earlier developments of this course.

(Figure 1. Screenshots from website)

From then on we created weekly blogs where the reflections of our daily tasks

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were shown. Looking back at my posts I noticed I was more at ease with the assignments
towards the beginning of the course. As the weeks progressed, I noticed the amount of
stress I was going through. I found it difficult to have mid-week assignments that were
due on Tuesday and/or Wednesday. A lot of the work we did was very time consuming, so
I had to plan my days accordingly. The first big project we were assigned was the
Historical Conversations Project. For our HCP paper, we were asked to find scholarly
articles. My first resource came from Google. It was more than difficult to find a
scientific article that was reliable and scholar. So to further my research I resulted in
getting in contact with the online librarian. I chose to focus my topic on the rabbit's
emotions. Speaking with the librarian was very helpful in terms of getting sources.
However, at first the librarian and myself had a hard time finding articles that helped
support my essay. The first experience with the librarian was not successful; it resulted in
zero scholarly articles. With frustration, I shifted back to Google and there I found a few
articles, but was uncertain if I was able to use them. Therefore, I spoke with the online
librarian again and this time I was lucky to find more articles on Google with better
search keywords such as:
"Rabbits and grieving, "rabbits and emotions," and "rabbits and psychology"
From here on out, I became much more successful. To say the least Ive had the
most challenge with the HCP essay. As mentioned earlier the topic I chose to focus my
study on was the thoughts and feelings of rabbits. I definitely started off this project
very rocky, but after peer reviews I had a better idea of how I should approach this paper.
I learned a lot about my own essay from reading and editing my groups papers too. I as
well figured out the areas where I needed to make major improvement from my

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professors comments and peers help. Historical references and the focus of a scholarly
literature review essay were not presented during this first draft unfortunately. Pictured
below is a comparison from draft 1 and the final draft:
First Draft:
Back in the 1990s, scientists began investing their time in the awareness of animal consciousness, with an
astonishing number of new journals, books, and scholarly journals discussing the subject from different
perspectives. Some of these scientists include Baars (1988,1997), Crick (1994), Flanagan (1992)etc
However almost all of the emphasis was on human consciousness with a few studies of brain mechanisms
related to both human and monkeys on consciousness. There was small attention to other animals equipped
with central nervous systems made up of very similar neurons, synapses, and glial cells like shared in
humans. It is only just recently when scientists such as Allen and Bekoff (1997), Page (1999), and Hauser
(2000) began discussing the extent and nature of consciousness in the enormous variety of animals which
we share this planet with.

Final Draft:
Back in the 1990s, scientists such as Bernard Baars, a neurobiologist who has helped to develop an ancient
metaphor of the mind as theater into a widely-held model and research framework of human consciousness
called Global Workspace Theory, began investing their time in the awareness of animal consciousness, with
an astonishing number of new journals, books, and scholarly journals discussing the subject from different
perspectives. Some of these scientists included not only Baars (1988,1997), but also Crick who shared the
Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1962 for his work and continued conducting research on the
structure of DNA until his death in 2004. Along with scientists Baars and Crick, Dr Patrick Flanagan
invented the Neurophone in 1958
(Figure 2. Excerpts from HCP drafts)

The difference between the two drafts is shown in the details of the scientists. The final
draft shows background information and studies the scientists have researched whereas
the first draft was listed and more vague.
Moving forward, a project that went surprisingly well is our group Social Medial
Campaign. I say surprisingly because we were dealing with a group project that was
based online. Usually group projects are hard to manage because there is almost always
at least one person that does not participate. I happily did not find that problem with my
teammates. Our social media campaign was named Fur Fauxs and all in all it went

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splendidly. Each of us held responsible for something within the campaign. For example,
one member was in charge of the design of the website, a few designated towards the
social media platforms, and another with the info graphics. We responded to each other in
a timely manner and made sure everything was completed on the daily. There was not a
point where we felt weve behind or lacking in an area. I am thankful for such wonderful
team members who are very well disciplined and determined workers. Besides the public
website (linked here: http://kenskim4.wix.com/smcampaign) we have our own
spreadsheet happening on the side lines where we each had jot down our thoughts, links,
pictures, ideas into for our campaign. Below are some images of our 7-day plan:

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(Figure 3: screenshots from our SMC 7 Day Plan)

Through our campaign we hoped to raise awareness of not just misconduct in the
fashion industry, but also the negative effects such practices have on the environment and
on humans. In order to do so, we shared many graphics that showed abused and
demoralized animals to portray the reality of animal treatment, and the results of the
animal fashion market. We also shared articles (such as,

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http://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/5-worst-ways-animals-are-exploitedin-the-fashion-industry/) about the effects of the industry on the environment as well as
progress that certain companies or organizations have made in limiting, and hopefully
eventually ending, animal usage in the fashion industry, both of which address both logos
and ethos.
WR39C in particular has taught me the power of social media. Creating different
types of arguments, visual and written text has helped me articulate my arguments and
understand my ethos as an author. The videos and pictures that we shared appealed to
both ethos and pathos, evoking pity in the audience over the fate of the animals while
also touching on the ethics of the audience. Below are some images from one of the
videos we posted on Day 1 of our SMC 7 Day social media campaign

(Figure 4: screenshots from video, Top Fashion Brands Linked to Animal Cruely in Rabbit Farms.
https://youtu.be/oakOSWAbLBw)

When choosing our posts, we knew that pictures would have the most stimulation
and greatest effect on our audience considering the type of information we were sharing;
therefore, we thought it best to open an Instagram account for our campaign where we

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shared numerous graphic images that exposed both the fashion industry and the consumer
for their indiscretions. On our Twitter platform, we chose to share articles and videos that
focused more on encouraging the audience to take a stance against animal fashion by
commending popular brands and people who are joining the movement, and documenting
the progress made in the industry overall. The response we received during our campaign was
widely supportive. On Instagram we gained 17 followers while on Twitter we had 36, all of which
were users we followed back. In total, we received 48 likes on all of our Instagram posts, 26 likes
on our tweets, and 15 retweets. The tweet that received the most attention this week was one that
discussed fur farms followed with an image of what treatment on a fur farm looks like (Fig. 6).
The Instagram post that received the most likes was the image that showed a PETA protest on
animal wear at the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia (Fig. 7) Our infographic titled Fur

Facts was created on an infographic creation website Venngage (Fig. 5). The infographic
is clean and simple, providing concise information with corresponding graphics.
Through our research, we were able to learn a lot more about the cruelty animals
go through in order to produce various fashion products. We learned that animals are
forced to endure tough living conditions and are killed mercilessly. One major aspect that
we learned through our research is the fact that there are barely any regulations that
prevent such cruelty from occurring.

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(Figure 5. Fur Trade Infographic. Venngage.)

Overall, this class in particular has really tested my persistence for one. As

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mentioned online classes are very difficult to stay focused on especially during the
summer. Towards the beginning of the class I felt that I was more committed to this
course only because I had more free time. But as soon as my days got packed with
rehearsals and shows, time ran out and my attention was stolen. Although I knew already
that my work had to be done and completed each week, so I pushed myself to make time
and to make sure my work was efficient. I guess that also comes with another habit of
mind, responsibility. It was my own responsibility to push myself to do the work; to make
sure my work was turned in on time, and to remind myself to not put it on the side. I also
became more curious throughout the course. It was interesting to see what my classmates
were interested in. Ive definitely been opened up to more about animal cruelty.
Furthermore, I believe engagement is one of the Habits of Mind that I fulfill easily. I
am a very devoted and a determined learner that likes to do her work to the fullest
potential. That is how you fully succeed in whatever you do. No matter the duration, I
always tend to have interest in the topic. Unfortunately creativity is an area I feel that I
have not fulfilled to the maximum. Writing is not second nature to me; so therefore
creative writing is something that is not up to par. I truly hope to get stronger in this area
and to better my learning in the next few years.
In conclusion this class in particular has given me a greater appreciation for
animals. It has been the most captivating writing class in the series. I have bettered my
knowledge with reviewing scholarly articles, close reading, and even sculpting an
infographic together. WR39c too has given me another chance to prove that I am able to
write with confidence. I look forward to my other courses where I can apply the same
knowledge I have learned in these past last 10 weeks to the assignments I will be having.

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