Literacy Narrative Reflection

Dear Mr. Arnold,

I chose to tell the story of how I became literate in baseball because it has always been an activity
that is dear to my heart. Before college, baseball consumed roughly half of my time, which is why I am so
passionate about the game. For the most part, the core of the writing process felt as if it was occurring
very naturally. This is, in great part, due to the fact that I was speaking about a subject that I loved very
much. I began my process by brainstorming during class. In previous classes, my teachers would suggest
that record my ideas while brainstorming, but I had never given it much of a shot. In all honesty, the
brainstorming that I performed before writing was most certainly the unsung hero. While most of my
brainstorming consisted of listing, it was also comprised of freewriting and looping, all of which did an
amazing job of organizing and gathering my thoughts before I had to formulate them into logical
sentences. If I had not brainstormed and gathered my ideas before writing, writers block would have
most certainly occurred more frequently than it did. I know this because I have written many high school
papers in which I did not premeditate on my writing, and the effects of writers block were much more
evident. I also credit peer review and drafting for aiding in the writing process. I wrote my first draft in
accordance with the methods suggested by Anne Lamott. I enjoyed this process because it eliminated the
pressure of trying to successfully create a thoughtful paper in one draft. The Literacy Narrative taught me
that the best papers are comprised after multiple drafts and immense amounts of editing. I take much
more pride in my Literacy Narrative than I did in my high school papers, most of which I finished in one
draft of minimal editing. Peer review was helpful on multiple fronts. Most importantly, it allowed for me
to observe how a reader, who most likely had very little exposure to my subject of literacy, understood my
paper. It was critical for me to participate in peer review because my peer partners, who had little
previous exposure to baseball, wanted me to elaborate more on certain subjects. In response to my peers
feedback, I formulated a paragraph in which my father and I bond over the Philadelphia Phillies World
Series Championship. This helped my story because it accurately conveyed the bondage my father and I

had over the Phillies and baseball, in general. I also elaborated more on my high school career. I discussed
the struggles and accomplishments I experienced as a high school baseball player. My peers both
suggested I do that because providing more current anecdotes and information helps deliver to the reader
a wide range scope of my progress into literacy. This is crucial because I did not want only baseball
players, or myself, to understand my writing, but instead, I want everyone to understand how I became
literate in baseball and take meaning from it. My goal was not to simply provide baseball statistics, but
rather to provide the reader with a story that may improve his or her lifestyle in some fashion. There were,
however, some instances in which the writing process was hindered. At times, it seemed difficult when I
asked myself, How do I connect the story with someone who may not relate to baseball? To overcome
this issue, I discussed my struggles during baseball, a topic all people may relate to because everyone has
failed at some point. I feel that the literacy narrative was one of my greater works, largely in part to the
brainstorming and peer review. I feel a significant amount of pride on my narrative because it truly
reflects my progress of becoming literate in baseball; I also believe that it provides anecdotes that may be
helpful to the reader. For example, it is my hope that the reader will analyze my strategies for overcoming
failure and use that to overcome his or her own failures. The literacy narrative has enhanced my writing
process by effectively displaying that premeditation, brainstorming, and peer review is very efficient. It
has also contributed to the development of my unique writing style, with which I feel much more
confident in after writing the literacy narrative. I feel my writers diction truly sprouted while writing the
literacy narrative. The literacy narrative proved to be very beneficial as it proved to me the benefits of
brainstorming and contributed to the development of my own, unique writing style.
Sincerely,
Will Misenheimer
20 September 2015