Reflection

Reflecting on the past semester in ENG2012, introduction to English, it seems as though the time has passed without notice. I find myself in an interesting position in this class as I am approaching the end of my time here at Florida State University as a senior yet am just now completing an introduction course. What is interesting about this is that many of the classes I have taken focus less on the fundamentals of English studies, as this class does, and more so on the work of others, abstract theories in literature, and the role of English in the media. Honestly speaking, I have not touched on some of the topics presented in this class since my freshman year of college and some I have not learned about at all. This is interesting to me because, as a senior, the first time I am learning about concepts such as a lexicon and close reading is in a class that I mistakenly did not take earlier in my college career. I do not feel that my course history has been greatly affected by not knowing these concepts until now, yet I feel the classes I take next will be. This is because I have not been prompted to think about the way in which a paper is constructed or the fundamentals of writing since years ago. Returning to these concepts has made me think about how I write with more intention and focus on how to read texts with detail. I am sure you saw this lack of attention as in my first paper I forgot to format in MLA simply because I have not had classes in years that required that of me. Prompting me in this way reminded me of foundations I had lost sight of. Even though this is an introduction class, I felt more has been asked of me by this class than other upper-level courses I have taken more recently. While I have noted that this class challenged me, I feel it was necessary for me. In so many of my other classes, I have not been pushed outside of my comfort zone in my writing.

 

In paper 1, we were asked to perform close reading on S-Town and reflect on our interaction with the text and how literary strategies have developed the story. As I mentioned earlier, this class is the first time I have been asked to perform a close reading. I find that in learning to look at minute details in a scene, my eye has been fine-tuned to pay attention how parts come together to make up a whole. Towards the end of the class, specifically in the final paper, I feel I have a better grasp on close reading. I mention this because if I were to go back and look at paper 1 again I may choose to hone in on different aspects of the podcast.

 

For paper 2, the assignment was to compare S-Town to another text by finding similarities in literary strategies. I found this paper to be difficult as it asked us to understand literary strategies in S-Town as well as in another text. This was challenging because when I watch or listen to other forms of media, I am not looking at the literary strategies at play. My solution to my troubles was to compare the general theme of S-Town to general themes of other texts. I feel by having to come up with a similar text required me to think abstractly about texts I have interacted with in the past.

 

Paper 3, the final paper, consisted of coming up with a new argument, constructing a literature review, and writing a research paper. I enjoyed this project the most as it allowed me to choose a topic I was most interested it. The literature review, although cumbersome to write, allowed for a streamlined writing process when it came to the essay portion. As with close reading, this was the first time I have been asked to write a literature review. In opposition to other research papers I have written, the literature review prompted me to interact closely with the research I was using and letting this serve as the basis for the essay. This impacted how I wrote the essay because it was less about the research already conducted but what questions previous publications raised. Another aspect of this paper that I enjoyed is that it asked me to develop a new idea whereas other classes so often focus on the work of others.