Final Reflection

Ms. Amstutz
In this reflection I will be addressing the process and steps I took in which I
completed my final portfolio, as well as the process in which I learned about the different
documents I can create with my acquired writing skills. I will also be addressing the
Student Learning Outcomes that I learned throughout writing and producing these
projects, discussions, and other various means during this 8-week course. In this
reflection I will discuss the means in which I edited, revised and re-drafted my projects in
order to create the most influential projects for the readers and myself. I will describe the
process in which I created my final portfolio and how I edited it in order to create
stronger arguments and influential writing that would compel the readers to create an
opinion on the issues and current topics I have chosen to write about.
I have chosen to write about Project #2 the analytical report that I created
throughout taking this course. In this project I learned how analytical reports could be
universally used in all aspects and career fields. I also learned that these analytical reports
are important research tools, in my field especially. For this sequence I conducted
research on a current issue in the criminal justice field and proposed an argument that
could help solve the current issue being considered at hand. In this project I made sure
that I included 3-5 graphs and images of crime hot spots in Albuquerque, that I used,
which were provided by my SOC 312 professor. I used these images to support my
argument in the most effective way by showing that crime clusters in certain areas.
When it came to supporting my argument about crime clustering I used social
disorganizational theory, a theory that I was currently learning about in my SOC 312

class to help explain why crime occurs in clusters around a community. This theory
explains how if a community has no social control, more crime and delinquency seems to
occur. I proposed that hot spot policing would seem to be an effective policy implication
to help in solving the issue of high crime neighborhoods. Some difficulties I came across
when addressing this issue, was finding ways to create an argument that would influence
the reader in realizing that high crime areas around Albuquerque are prevalent. I
concluded that if we dont assess these problems the community, education and overall
network of these neighborhoods are in danger, which will affect the whole economy and
well being of the community.
It was very hard to find ways to address these issues because I could only explain
this social disorganization with a theory of explanation, and not much research has been
conducted on this issue, in the city of Albuquerque. I also learned certain implications the
community would have to address in order to decrease crime and delinquency in these
certain neighborhoods. I was studying this theory in my sociology class, so I was already
very familiar with the theory, so therefore I decided to apply it to a personal level and
explain why crime clusters here in Albuquerque, a place I call home.
Some general things I learned is that when applying this theory to the actual
research it does seem to explain the increase of crime and delinquency in certain areas. I
also learned about the history on the theory, which first came about by early Chicago
theorists, who explained why urbanization seemed to increase crime and delinquency. I
chose this topic because I am very interested in Albuquerque and as well as the safety of
the community. I feel as though creating this analytical report, has taught me how to
successfully create a document with information pertaining to current issues we are

facing in our own vicinities and communities. I do plan on taking this information I have
learned about my community and the current issues, and using this knowledge in my own
future career to help solve these problems by acting upon them and creating ideas which
will help benefit for the over all well being of the community.
In conclusion, overall not only has this analytical report helped me in becoming a
better writer, but these three project sequences have helped me become a stronger writer,
as well as enabling me to practice my writing skills and try on improving them. I would
have to argue that this course has taught me effective ways on creating professional
documents that I can take with me and use in my career. Also with peer reviews from the
discussion boards, I was able to receive feedback on how effective my writing was and
the certain things I needed to take into consideration when revising my documents. As
well this course has taught me how to create effective documents at specific times when
needed, which helped me in using my time more efficiently and being able to revise and
edit my projects within a certain amount of time. I will definitely be using everything I
have learned throughout this course in my future work and academics.

Student Learning Outcomes:

Analyze Rhetorical Situation: In Project #2 I created an analytical report targeting the
audience and explaining why crime might occur in certain areas of Albuquerque. This
topic was a very important issue to me and throughout this sequence I had to learn how to
create a rhetorical situation pertaining to this issue. Students are expected to effectively
determine what the theme of their writing is supposed to portray and write in that genre.

Since analytical reports are highly professional, I had to use information and research
from scholarly approved articles and research.

Find and Evaluate Information: This student learning outcome can be applied
specifically to this sequence because throughout Project #2 a student was required to find
at least three credible sources and research these sources for their analytical report. I
made sure that I only used scholarly-based websites as well as credible sources. When
researching my topic, I also made sure my information was valid, reliable, as well as
making sure I could apply the research I found pertain to my specific argument. This
learning outcome can also be applied universally, since throughout our academic careers
we base everything we learn off of research and making sure the information we use is
credible to our specific field of study.

Compose Information: I composed my information in IMRad format, which is how an

analytical report is supposed to be composed. I learned the importance of how you
compose information and the way you display your information is very important to the
over-all aspect of your writing. Throughout Project #2 I realized the way you compose
and portray your information could determine your credibility or not. This student
learning outcome is a very important outcome because the composition of the
information matters just as much as the information being displayed.

Present information: I learned how to effectively present my information in this

analytical report to make sure my graphs and data were displayed. Presenting the

information in the correct way, made my report stronger by using graphics such as maps,
which portrayed the specific areas in which crime was reported throughout the
Albuquerque area, this showed the audience that crime and delinquency is evident.
Which was my whole argument, portraying the crime as evidence. I learned that the way
you present information is very crucial, so placing my graphs and images in certain areas
was very important to affecting my report and making it more interesting and influential
to the readers