Actually... I like it.

I had been putting this class off for a couple of semesters because I simply did not think of it as a priority, just a class that I needed to fill my English requirements. My friends mostly had good luck with teachers that 1) would often miss class 2) had very easy and quick assignments 3) were very “lax” when it came to grades. Therefore, the recommendations I received were for teachers that would get me an easy A – something I was perfectly okay with. I decided to take summer classes on a whim and I knew Physics II was a definite choice. I just needed another class to balance out the stress so I thought 'AWD, why not?'. I started checking the teacher reviews, but I found that I focused more on how helpful, dedicated, and “cool” the teacher was rather than having to deal with an incompetent teacher. Charlie did not have a lot of reviews, but it was enough that I was okay with having him as a teacher rather than transfer to my friends' class.

I totally did not expect AWD to be so engaging. I remember disliking English except for a great senior year in high school when I took AP English Literature. Of course, we are not necessarily analyzing poems and famous works of literature, but I think it is the teaching style that I enjoy. There is a lot of freedom to explore various styles of writing. With a teacher's motivation and aid, I feel like English is not just a waste of time. I am actually learning a thing or two. The transition from English Lit. was not very smooth. I felt like whatever skills I had learned were lost or forgotten and I struggled to put in enough effort to enjoy College Writing. I think this class is more relevant to incoming college students because it analyzes the discourse used in their major. The Discourse Analysis helped me understand the scientific discourse in a way that confirmed my interests rather than simply writing lab reports without knowing the meaning behind the stylistic decisions.

Truthfully, I was somewhat intimidated by AWD within the first week. I saw Charlie as a pretty cool teacher, but his enthusiasm for the class and apparent expertise had me worrying about how he would grade because my writing skills were so rusty. I guess this would be a good example of how an initial thin-slice gave me a false impression (I'm constantly thinking about thin-slicing now...). I found the assignments to be both helpful and engaging because they allowed so much freedom. I was often confused with the prompts, but his enthusiasm also helped a lot with how much he could help me understand what he was asking for. I think the tight-nit classroom, although uncomfortable, is better for communication. The peer reviews and in-class discussions have me opening to my mind to less mainstream thoughts. I don't feel afraid speaking up and listening to what everyone else is saying. I find everyone else's majors and interests very intriguing because I have only been focusing on science. Working on the Abstract with a Criminal Justice major allowed me to collaborate with someone that had a completely different focus and writing style than my own. The challenge was making it comprehensive but also flow. The more difficult part of the class is the presentation aspect because I get really nervous in front of an audience. Overall, I'm looking forward to finishing up this short, but educationally rich experience in AWD.

A Reflection on AWD

Over the course of the last 5 weeks I have learned a great deal about different types of writing and how they are used in the various topics of study from which we all come. Getting used to writing essays every week was difficult at first especially coming from co-op where I produced very little written or long-term work. However I think that starting with the thin slicing assignment before diving in to close reading and analysis helped me to transition back to writing in a formal academic environment. Combined with the deep and extensive discussions in class, this type of curriculum has helped to motivate me and keep me interested in the subject matter.
The thin-slicing assignment was an especially unique idea which forced me to think in a way I wasn’t really used to doing. Most writing I have done over the course of my academic career has involved a very clear prompt of what to write about and what the goal of the paper was. While this assignment did ask for very specific factors to consider, it was a rather daunting task at first because it was hard to see anything of value when looking at very technical and frankly boring sounding journal article titles. However, after discussing my basic ideas and hearing what other classmates were doing, it became easier to figure out what the assignment was looking for. Peer reviewing and group discussion of the assignments has continued to help with the other assignments in this class as they provide a more concrete understanding of otherwise nebulous assignments.
Switching to close reading and analysis after this initial assignment made things a bit easier because close reading and building theses off of the analysis is something I have done frequently in the business school and in other English classes. It did in some ways build upon the first assignment because it required us to take many small realizations we could make through a close reading and combine them to see the broader picture. It also helped that we were familiar with journals and the style of writing involved in them because of the thin slicing assignment, so it was easier to find lots of things to talk about for this second assignment.
The abstract assignment was especially interesting because it required us to not only synthesize thought processes and writing styles from two different disciplines, but also to produce a very short writing sample. My partner and I spent extensive amounts of time revising and discussing each sentence of the abstract and frequently found ourselves quibbling over each word in an attempt to find the most concise, yet thorough way to express our point. This greatly developed my ability to understand language and the ways it is employed in writing because finding better ways to say things requires true understanding of whatever is being said.
Finally, I think the most rewarding part of this class has been the in class discussion and Q&A sessions following presentations. These have really shown me how important it is to get outside perspectives on our work because everyone seems to have something material and beneficial to contribute to each other’s writing which greatly improves the overall quality of the work produced.

Reflecting on AWD

The first time I had heard of this course, AWD, was probably my freshman year when I was looking over my degree audit and saw it as a required course that had to be completed to graduate. After successfully avoiding it for two years, I decided I might as well take it over the summer before beginning classes again in the fall. A choice I made, honestly because I did not want to sit through 12 weeks of an english course if it was miserable. So by condensing it into the 6 weeks over summer 2 I hoped for it to be less drawn out and keep me engaged. After signing up for this course and waiting around for it to start, I realized my roommate for summer 2, Pauli would be in this class too. While I did not really have much of an opinion formed on the class before starting it, I knew I was excited to take this class with someone I would see everyday so if I happen to be confused about an assignment or just needed some advice I would have someone to talk too. Also, when your roommate is in the same class as you, you’re forced to wake up and actually attend so that was a good decision.

After the first class, which I was expecting to be dry, boring, and drawn out; but it was the complete opposite as we happened to be missing our instructor; I was excited to see what the next day would be like. Once we got our syllabus and went over our weekly agenda I was honestly excited to see what this class would result in. I have to say that all of the assignments have been extremely thought provoking and completely different than what I expected from a standard, required, AWD class. Since I was not taking the major specific AWD class I was a bit worried that it might be difficult to apply my field of study to the papers, however Charlie made it extremely easy for us to work around that. I definitely felt as though each assignment helped me explore not only my field of study a bit more, but also the touched on types of writings that I have not really had to do since coming to college. While it was quite fast paced, and had a high turnover in terms of assignments I think this was extremely beneficial to me because it made me learn something in class, or talk about something and then go home and work on it right away.

In terms of the structure of the class, working in groups was really beneficial as that is how a lot of our future professions will be. We won’t just be interacting with those in our discourse communities but also those that are from completely different ones and getting a quick glimpse as to how to write with someone from a different background was very helpful. I found it interesting to hear projects from all the different types of people in the class as they all had very different backgrounds, and this also helped me open my mind to different types of writing that occurs all around us. It was also cool to get to do peer reviews that didn’t just involve someone telling us what was wrong with our paper, but offering us advice and guidelines as to what could be done differently.

In terms of personal reflection, I was really excited to take a course in which papers had actual comments on them for why we got the grade we did. My past courses have not been like that, with the professor just updating your grade and not giving you any reasoning behind it. Being able to see where I needed help and what I could work on definitely was a highlight of this course. Also, taking on assignments that could very well be asked of me in my future profession and learning how to structure and research them was another thing that I picked up while being in this course. I definitely think that AWD has expanded my ability to look at the big picture when thinking of a paper but also being able to focus on specific things such audience and information when having to write it. I am looking forward to the end of this course, as I am sure I will have the start to a very interesting portfolio.

Writing Doesn't Just Happen.

            My expectations of this class were initially very amorphous. I had the good fortune, based on the opinions expressed in some of your blogs, to test out of College Writing in my freshman year. But, that meant that I’d have to dust of the parts of my brain that used to process the hidden nuances of literature and composition, parts that had not seen the light of day since my senior year in high school. For that reason, I was both excited and a bit weary to be thinking this way again.

            I think one of the ever-evolving foundations of AWD, based on what we have covered thus far, is the idea that all writing occurs with a sense of purpose, recognition of the desire to write. From something as trivial as a tweet claiming ‘I’m eating a sandwich’ to something more substantial like a paper for this class, people are driven to write by some compulsion, whether internal or external, or both. It is this compulsion that interests me most. To communicate in this way, because it takes more effort to organize you’re words on a screen or page than it does to let them flow freely from your mouth, indicates a response to a greater stimulus and the desire to do something, physically, about it. I feel that this class, in various ways, has made us aware of the reasons why we write, not just how we write.

            This course has culminated in a focus on our fields of study/professions, in terms of the genres we employ and why. But I have found myself applying the question why to other instances of writing completely separate from our studies and workplaces. Communication, in terms of the mediums that exist today, calls upon the written word more so than the verbal. While it can be argued that these media in some ways diminish the power of face-to-face communication, I have found they offer interesting insights into human behavior in this day and age. For example people pen tweets, wall posts, status updates, text messages, etc. constantly. And the physical manifestation of their thought process says a great deal. People today are becoming more comfortable with the idea of writing a feeling than they are speaking it, despite the extra effort needed to do so. In fact, the extra effort is considered less of a hassle than having to dealing with someone in person.

            Tying this back to AWD, I think taking an English course again, and having to write papers that force me to formalize thoughts, has made me hyper-aware of how pervasive this form of communication is in my daily life, both work and play. It has made me contemplate the times that I choose to tweet something I find clever or moving or informational, the times I choose to text rather than call, and why. It all comes down to that. It is impossible to scratch the surface of that question in 500 words, but that is my takeaway from Advanced Writing in the Disciplines. That writing doesn't just happen.

You, Me, Us

Coming into this class, I did not know what to expect. When I was registering for summer classes, I was hoping that there was an Advanced Writing course specifically geared towards business students, simply because I heard that it was much easier and less demanding. Unfortunately, that class was not provided, so I decided to go forth with taking the regular Advanced Writing course. I came in this class thinking that it was only going to be a challenge and a burden to my summer, but it has showed me a lot about myself as a writer, and the areas that I still need to work on and conquer as well as areas that are already my strengths.
Coming from a co-op that did not require me to write extensively long reviews, papers, or anything of that nature, I was nervous to interact with writing again. Even during the semesters when I was not on co-op, I did not have to thin-slice, close-read, or analyze readings because of the nature of the business courses that I took. But after the past few weeks of taking this course, it has introduced me to different methods and styles of reading and writing, and essentially increased my knowledge in this area of study.
I think the most interesting aspect of this course is having to take it with students who come from various different backgrounds and majors. When peer-reviewing and watching presentations, I find it relatively easy to engage with the students because I am exposed to something new each time; not only to the information that is presented but also in the way that it is presented. Our engineering and science students display their strength in presenting their writing in the most clear and concise manner, whereas our literature and more aesthetic students present their writing in a more eloquent and creative manner. The way that our respective disciplines seep into not only our interests but also in, essentially, our everyday lives, humbles me and allows me to see that every individual is different and carries an element of surprise that we truly cannot uncover or even begin to predict.
The different assignments and genres of writing that we covered are ones that I did not expect to encounter. For one, I did not realize that there were terms such as ‘thin-slicing’ that were directly related to the natural tendency individuals think, act, and express themselves. I also did not anticipate having to present in front of the class or working with somebody outside of my immediate discipline. From my personal interdisciplinary assignment, I did not expect to work with a student who was studying Italian. At first I did not think we would have anything in common, but seeing how much Italy influences Marketing, especially the industry I want to enter into post-college, it opened my eyes to see that every person and their respective discipline plays a significant role in society and somehow reflects your area of study, whether directly or indirectly.
Though I have gained a better understanding of our students and the society that we are placed in and how our different areas of study and writing manifest, I believe that I have also sharpened and gained different writing and analytical skills because of this course. Whether it be writing my arguments with more evidence and confidence, or presenting my analysis in a way that is understandable to the reader, I have and will continue to sharpen these skills to not only further my writing in this course but also the writing in my other courses.

AWD vs. CJ

Honestly, I was not looking forward to this class at all, as most of us have already expressed. Advanced Writing is necessarily for CJ, as is all majors I’m guessing? My intentions were to take 3305, which is Advanced Writing but for the Criminal Justice major, but they weren’t offering it this summer and because I was Jan-Start I have to take summer classes to graduate on time and this was literally the only class that was being offered that would contribute to some of my credits. I chose this section because of Charlie’s ratings on ratemyprofessor.com, which were awesome. I’ve heard nothing but horrible things about Advanced Writing, especially the online class. I think I have PTSD about Northeastern writing classes from taking College Writing my freshman year. My professor was an old, miserable man who’s main goal in life was to make everyone else’s life just as miserable as his was. Anyways, I have been nothing but pleasantly surprised with this class. This class is pulling me completely out of my element. I’m a Criminal Justice major. I’m used to being given a topic, told to write a 15-page research paper and that’s the end of it. There is almost zero room for creativity and expression in my discipline. The only thing remotely relatable that I’ve done to this class is a reflection on a paper that I had written. I’ve never actually put any thought into why I chose to make my PowerPoint presentation neutral colors, or why I chose the word struggles over hardships, or what Lil Wayne meant by the term “heat”. Now that I think about it, I don’t think I’ve done very much close-reading either, which was an interesting new concept. Honestly this entire class has been such a struggle for me. I’m completely out of my comfort zone, but I feel like this is a good thing. I’m so used to just research research research that I feel like I’ve become some term paper writing robot. I think the concept that has been a complete eye-opener to me is the term “genre”. I only really knew the word genre to describe something like horror films vs. comedy. I guess I didn’t realize that the word genre could be used to describe something such as a PowerPoint presentation or an email. I think the most interesting part of this class was the last assignment. When everyone in the Criminal Justice field would most likely choose a PowerPoint when the given the option to make a presentation, it was interesting to see everyone else’s first choice of genre that they felt best described their topic within their disciple. Anyways, I’m actually really enjoying this class. It’s a really nice break from the usual research papers and PowerPoint lectures. The class discussions are also a huge benefit. It means a lot to students, well to me anyways to know my opinion and thoughts are being considered as opposed to be completely shut down by a pompous attorney who begins each class by telling us how many degrees he has. Overall this class is pulling out the creativity in me that is rusty and covered in cobwebs because it hasn’t been used since high school art class.

Diverse Discussion

      ENGL 3301 has definitely turned out to be much more interactive than I thought it would be. At first, I had assumed that it would be just like my ENGL 1111 course where painful silences kept us all hoping for the hour to end. The fact that our class is composed by future accountants, business people, engineers, politicians and social workers allows the class to moves forward in ways I would have initially judged to be yet another exhausting class with no character.
     
       Looking at our group from a Macro level, or from the outside, we have individuals whose ways of thinking are distinctly unalike. The diversity in points of views allows for proper and intelligent discussions among young adults that are somewhat aware of their roles in the future communities they are going to be parts of. In a way, we are all ambassadors of our future fields since our university career is training us to acquire the way of thinking the field's discourse community necessitates.
   
       From a microscopic level, the presentations we have done in these past two weeks have resulted in the unlikely collaboration of different fields and personalities for the creation of inclusive academic outcomes. I find it particularly interesting how a Computer Engineering student and a Business student can sit down and create a 250-word document on how their fields work together in our modern society. Alongside, how an International Affairs major can adopt the rules of engineering into creating laws for the sake of human health and water potability.
     
      The result of these collaborations represent the inter-disciplinary capabilities our group offers to manifest our identities through dialogue. As a result, we are conducting the behaviors of our fields as we negotiate with others about how they should be expressed on paper so that others can fully comprehend their complexities in a simple manner. What we have collectively allowed to happen is fascinating since it represents the system we will all engage in in the future post-Northeastern in which our disciplines depend upon each other to succeed in regards to projects or other collaborations.
   
      Furthermore, as these presentations are being exposed to one another, the points of views are particularly interesting as they are expressed through questioning and comments. As our majors come together in the four walls our class is held in, we are creating a common identity that is fabricated with polar opposite ways of thinking united by homogeneity of our assignments as they are expressed and analyzed in multiple ways.

      Lastly, I cannot help but interpreting this as an International Affairs major in this class surrounded by other fields that are individually aware of their capabilities yet compliment each other in ways that are hidden behind the lines of our collaborations. What this means is that our works are complimenting each other without even realizing it due to the social norms of the classroom unifying the wide range of thoughts we take part in. Therefore, we are representing society's way of functioning as a simple paper includes the methodology of individuals that are trained to think differently from each other to create the product that with benefit us all equally.