Jacqueline Kooser

ENC 4379
Professor Wardle
Due October 15, 2015
WORKING MY WAY THROUGH THRESHOLD CONCEPTS
Throughout my time as an undergrad at UCF, I have had the
opportunity to write about many things that I am passionate about. I
have also had to write about many things that I knew nothing about
prior to writing the paper. Reflecting on what I have written over the
past three years brings up many memories of researching late at night,
double checking my work, and peer reviewing. There are also the
memories of encountering and passing through threshold concepts.
Threshold concepts are portals and or lenses that allow us to look at
and think about things differently than we have before. Looking
through these lenses also brings a new level or type of understanding.
Encountering threshold concepts is an intangible way of growing
as a writer and rhetor. Moving through spaces and reflecting on that
journey is a way to explore and illustrate a writers understanding. As
an upcoming graduate, I have been able to learn from each challenge
and can now apply that knowledge to my future.
As a result of encountering numerous threshold concepts
throughout my coursework at UCF, I am now able to apply critical
thinking to my writing. Coming across threshold concepts such as

writing is a knowledge-making activity, writing expresses and shares

meaning to be reconstructed by the reader, and that writing is not
natural, has effected me as a young professional; each of them leading
back to communicating with an audience.
1.1 Writing is a Knowledge Making Activity Heidi Estrem
My first semester as a Writing and Rhetoric major, I was placed in
a course called Argumentative Writing. My professor was a woman who
was full of knowledge, ranging from history, to art, to literature and
more. I knew that argumentative writing was going to be a challenge
for me, as I am not an argumentative person. Our first assignment was
an analysis on a past American war, and how the story of the war was
presented to the public, and how later on in time, more details and
facts were revealed.
Understanding the knowledge making potential of writing can
help people engage more purposefully when writing for varying
purposes (20). When writing this piece, I encountered this threshold
concept with the mindset that I wasnt going to learn anything
valuable; I stubbornly did not want to accept and learn about this
subject. The hardest part for me was researching something that our
class had such controversial knowledge on. Looking back on the paper
I wrote, I remembered that it was my worst grade received in the entire
class, and I was able to re-do the paper after reviewing it in order to
improve my grade. As stated in Naming What We Know, to bring new

understandings, writing in this sense is not about crafting a sentence

or perfecting a text but about mulling over a problem, thinking with
others (19), while taking on this project I learned that creating a
strong piece took more than just making sentences flow together.
Writing about something that I knew nothing about and having to make
an argument about which side I took was something that turned out to
be much harder than I imagined. When I re-wrote my paper later that
year, I realized how complicated my mind made this process for no
reason other than the fact that I was a stubborn writer. The process of
re-writing this piece brought me to understand the positive aspects of
gaining knowledge and learning new things through researching and
writing. In the post-liminal state of working through this threshold
concept, my changed discourse and perspective on this concept will
only better me as a writer.
1.3 Writing Expresses and Shares Meaning to be Reconstructed
by the Reader Charles Bazerman
While a writers meanings arise out of the expression of internal
thought, the meanings attributed by a reader arise from the objects,
experiences and words available to that reader. (22) Before taking The
Personal Essay for Cultural Commentary, I would have never begun to
understand that readers dont always interpret things the same as the
writer. I learned this during the first peer review. This peer review was
unlike any other I had participated in, for it was a round table

discussion with all of my peers holding a copy of my paper in their

hands while I sat and took notes on their feedback.
I never could have guessed that students who knew nothing
about the situation would pick a personal reflection about a time and
person in my life apart. Coming through a threshold concept of
reconstructing what I already was so certain of, put a different light on
writing for me. As Bazerman states, we view our expressions as deeply
personal, which can cause us to take criticism towards them differently.
I remember looking through each red-penned paper my peers marked
up that evening after class. With fifteen students in my meeting, I had
fifteen peer reviews to go through and apply to my paper to make it
perfect. At first I thought to myself, theres no way that they are right
about this, because it happened to me not them. I knew I had to
make changes to the paper, so I took their notes and did my best. The
paper received an A.
I feel as if I am still integrating this concept into my writing tool
-box. Understanding the constructive criticism that comes from peers
and readers is something that will re-construct and improve what I
have crafted, and I am working on accepting that in the liminal state.
4.6 Writing Involves the Negotiation of Language Differences
Paul Kei Matsuda
Writing is not natural, but what about communicating? In reality,
the knowledge of language held by individual language users varies.

(69) Matsuda explains that as writers, we are always striving to

effectively communicate, but that doesnt mean that differences dont
arise.
When taking Writing Across Difference, I was asked to get
together with a group and demonstrate to the class after conducting
research and reflecting on the data, a language policy in order to
bridge gaps between students, professionals, and more at The
University of Central Florida. Our group had tons of great ideas, so we
narrowed it down to the best one with the help of our professor.
Our group created an online survey for students to take on
Facebook. The survey provided anonymous quotes with multiple-choice
answers of male rhetor or female rhetor. The follow up questions
were also multiple- choice, asking what caused the participant to make
their choice. Our group made our presentation and the class, including
our professor, thought it was awesome. The next and final project was
to write a reflection paper as a group, on our analysis.
A member of our group mentioned to us that she wanted to do
her own paper, due to the fact that her viewpoint on the topic was
different than all of ours. At first, our group was concerned; did our
project offend her or violate what she believes in? We chatted one
morning before class to decide what we should do.
As someone who cares for others and wants to help solve
problems, I thought it was best to discuss it with the student and the

professor, however, once I took the time to write my portion of the

paper, I put myself in the other students shoes and realized that this
paper would not be a natural thing for her to write about effectively if
she were to write it with a group. Opposing viewpoints, different
perspectives, and a tone that was taking a different direction would
have thrown the body of our paper off.
What discouraged me throughout this process was the fact that I
understood that she didnt think of herself as the right person to
participate in this group effort, but how she didnt communicate that to
us throughout the conduction of the project. When reading what Dylan
B. Dryer wrote about how our speech has been bound up in complex
feedback loops with our psychology got me thinking all about
communication when it comes to writing and language. If you cant
communicate with yourself in a way that you feel confident, then how
will you ever be able to communicate with a group or team?
Encountering this concept made me look at language through a
new lens. Realizing that there is always room for error and
miscommunication brought my attention towards learning more about
how to effectively work in a group setting. The group project that
instigated this concept will suffice as an example and reminder
throughout the rest of my writing courses.
Reflecting on my past courses and assignments throughout my
time as a student is something I think is an important and constructive

way to evaluate growth. Threshold concepts occur more than I thought

they did, and I think reflecting on the ones I have passed through will
playa huge role in accepting and passing through the future ones to
come.