Alec Inanoglu

999831788
3/11/17
Unit 3: Portfolio Reflection Essay Instructor Draft
Before taking UWP 1, I never really looked at literacy as a concept of any writing course. I
always thought of it as something taught throughout ones life with little middle ground as far as
determining whether a person is literate or not. I always thought of literacy as being able to read
and write in a language, but later learned that there is another major idea within literacy, being
able to comprehend language. Literacy also discusses the comprehension ability to go beyond
what the words say, to understanding a deeper meaning in literature, to acknowledging the
rhetorical values of pieces of writing, and to be able to develop writing past what you originally
wrote. The UWP 1 course has shown me that literacy has many levels in regards to how literate a
person can be as well as the fact that there is more to literacy then just knowing a language.
Literacy is the ability to read, write, and comprehend language and can be developed as a skill
and tool. This idea of understanding literacy has been a major tool for me throughout this quarter,
has forced me to go beyond language I see in reading and my writing, and in my opinion will
help me develop my skills as a writer in the future.

In my eyes, each project within the UWP 1 course attempted to present major learning outcomes
in hopes of having students develop further their literary potential. Unit 1 of the course had me
look back at my literacy career and made me define what were my strengths within literacy. I
was able to look back at how my literacy was initially developed and with this knowledge allows
me to further my development of my skills and proficiencies. Unit 2 of the course in my case
honed skills I had previously learned in other courses. As a student within a science major I am
quite familiar with reading research articles, but have never had the opportunity to conduct a
study of my own and write a research paper about it. This project took a style of writing that is
pivotal to my academic field as well as possible carrier and had me develop basics skills in
writing. I was able to practice a writing style that before this, had only knowledge based on
readings Ive done. I feel as though this project is the most beneficial project for me personally in
the UWP 1 course.

I feel as though my development in the understanding of literacy has also aided in my ability to
harness my skills as a writer for other courses. The quick writes given each class help with my
processing abilities to quickly develop both my own opinions as well as providing a argument to
support them. The reading responses helped develop my ability to comprehend language from
another writer and then in response develop my own ideas from them. The different projects each
provided a different stylistic approach, which in turn allowed me to gain practice in a multitude
of different writing situations and styles each with their own processes and formalities.