Giovanni Gonzales

Professor Intawiwat
UWRT 1102-008
December 2015
Final Reflection

Throughout the duration of the whole inquiry project, I was forced to search for
information in online libraries, and all over the web. To add onto that, the project also will force
you to learn how to avoid plagiarism by creating your own annotated bibliography. In doing that,
I learned that the bibliography is an essential step to success in a good paper. While I was making
my multi-modal project, I was really forced to improvise and overcome the dilemma of not
knowing how to craft or photo shop any kind of pictures. I got some advice from a friend and he
told me to use power point. Since power point is really only used for making power points, I
really had to think hard and figure out how to work Microsoft power point so that I could make
the image look like it does. It took me hours to finally get the finished product and I felt very
accomplished that I improvised a solution. The whole process of the extended inquiry required
my critical thinking skills to be sharpened because I had to formulate how I was going to
sequentially make my project flow and connect. I think that teaching myself how to make my
multi-modal ad also demonstrates use of my critical thinking skills. After my paper is all said and
done, I really take pride in my work because I feel that I accomplished my goal of figuring out
what the American Dream is and how it has changed over time.
When we first started digging into Into the Wild, I was really fascinated with the whole
idea of the story because I have never heard of such a thing before. I really liked the discussion
we had in about the important themes and the significance of Christophers actions. As an
individual, I can say that I personally have gained more perspective on life after reading this
book and analyzing it with the class. In the beginning of the semester, I remember that we spent

some time reading an article called Shitty First Drafts and Exploring Genres. I really
appreciated the fact that you wanted us to spend time on these because it calmly introduced us to
the class. For example, the Shitty First Drafts article pointed out that it is alright to have a first
draft that is crazy and all over the place. It emphasizes that it is necessary to get all of your initial
ideas out on paper, so you can then go back later and narrow down on what you want to say.
Exploring Genres was an article that emphasized that we are eventually going to use different
forms of genres for different rhetorical situations. In the first journal that you made us write, I
really feel like the questions asked helped me analyze myself as a writer. I concluded that I lean
heavily towards composing more narrative like writings.
Overall in this class, I think that my paper was the strongest point of the class because I
was able to demonstrate how I integrated my research of the American Dream into an essay.
Oddly enough, I appreciated the process the extended inquiry because I finally realized that it
basically is a platform that teachers have been trying to get us to follow ever since middle school.
Completing a project like this will allow you to get to know yourself much better as a writer, and
depending on the topic and research, an individual. I value the message of my paper very much
because I feel like most people in America really have lost sight of what the American Dream is.
I wanted to try and bring back the spirit of it by informing people about what I found the
American Dream to be.
The multi-modal part of the inquiry was the toughest part for me because I struggled for a
long time trying to decide what a good second message would be. Plus, the fact that it had to be
in another form besides an essay really irked me. Trying to piece together my final ad for the
multi-modal part was the most challenging due to my lack of photo shop experience, but at the
same time, I really enjoyed the challenge of achieving more than one of the 3 rhetorical devices.

Now, if we are speaking in terms of the class as a whole, creating the actual portfolio was by far
the most challenging and frustrating thing that I have done in a while. I used the weebly website
to compose my portfolio, and it was not as friendly as they claim. Though the format allows for
someone to be very creative and extensive, I found myself having to retype multiple sections of
text due to technical difficulties. I would have one whole page of text completed and well
thought out, then all of a sudden the text disappeared after I deleted a border not related to the
text. This happened to me multiple times and I found it very frustrating to keep having to redo
many portions of work. I have gained a lot of computer experience throughout this whole project
though, so I can be appreciative of the new skills that I have acquired.
As I will point out later, I really value the messages and themes that Into the Wild threw
at me. It was a real eye opener and led me to want to further self explore the true meaning of
happiness and self fulfillment.
I enjoyed asking questions and speaking out loud with the class about things because it
helped keep the class fun and interesting. Through all of our group work and class discussions, I
have gained more of an appreciation for group work and for others ideas because they may help
with my own.
Throughout the semester, I have looked forward and enjoyed coming to class to interact
with my classmates and learn. I have attended just about every class this semester and have
participated in any activity required of us. Each student in the class played their role in
participating and helping the class achieve its goals. My house group was awesome in
cooperating and doing work together. Overall this semester, I think that I have earned myself a
solid high B grade, if not a generous A. This course has been more than interesting and I would
recommend it to others.