Course Projects

     Throughout the next semester,  I will be doing four major projects.  There are four different types of projects that I must complete and they must all be done using a different genre.  The four different types of projects are the following: a controversy postmortem, a rhetorical investigation, a public argument, and a reflective self-assessment.

Pierre Gallot, Gene. "Stress". 02/08/13 via Flickr.
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• What am I most nervous about regarding the four major projects?

I am nervous for the timing of each of the projects.  Since I am taking other extremely time-consuming classes, I am worried that my time management skills may fail me and I will be extremely stressed.  More specifically, I am worried that the rhetorical investigation will be very difficult to do because of the two interviews that need to be conducted.  I am not very close with any of the TAs or the professors yet for my classes that pertain to my majors, so I am not sure how I will be able to interview either of them.  I am also worried that for the controversy postmortem, I won't be able to find a topic that I find interesting and that has a lot of information on it.

• What am I most interested in or excited by regarding the four major projects?

I am very interested to see how the public argument goes.  I have strong opinions towards certain things every once in a while, so I am excited to see if those strong opinions will be able to be put to use and what they will be used on.  I am also excited to conduct the interviews for the rhetorical investigation.  Although I said that I was nervous about them earlier, it also brings some excitement since I will get to talk to a TA or professor or a professional about what it's like to do what I think I want to do after college.  I am also very excited for the reflective self-assessment to see how I have grown and improved over the course of the semester.  I am interested to see how much I learn and how much more successful I can be in writing after the self-assessment.

• Based on my understanding of the major projects, what are the elements of this course that I have to plan ahead for? How will the coursework described in the four project assignment sheets challenge my time management skills this semester?

I know that I will have to plan ahead for all of the major projects.  The weekends will be a vital time to get a lot of the planning done.  The interviews for the rhetorical investigation will need to be planned ahead of time so that I can work out a good time to meet up with the professor, TA, or professional.  I should also plan ahead to start thinking of good topics that are interesting to me that have a lot of good and trustworthy information to use on any of the projects (except the self-assessment).   As I said earlier, time management will definitely be put to the challenge this semester.  I need to make sure that I don't let myself procrastinate on any of the deadlines for the projects, as it would result in a poor effort and consequently a poor grade on my assignment.  Putting my school work first is definitely going to be my number one priority for the semester and making sure that I prioritize certain assignments correctly so I have enough time for the big projects.

• How has my past English coursework in high school or college prepared me for the challenges of this course? What skills will I bring into the course?

My past English coursework in high school has definitely not prepared me for the challenges of this course.  My high school English classes were never helpful in teaching me how to write a decent essay.  There were never any big assignments in my English classes.  I did, however, have other very challenging classes in high school and in my first semester of college that I believe has prepared me for the rigor of this class.  I believe that I can bring a unique view of interpreting information into the course.  I like to look at different ways of interpreting information other than just the way that the majority of people may view it.  I am also good at editing and I believe that I could help others correct any mistakes they may have in their blogs when we do the  Read/Reply/Reflect assignments.

• Do I have any questions about the four major projects that haven't been answered by the assignment sheets? What do I still want to know?

Currently, I do not have any specific questions about the four major projects that haven't already been answered by the assignment sheets.  The only thing that I want to know is that this class will help me grow as a writer and that I will be able to get through the class without ripping all of my hair out.  However, I am very excited to see how my four major projects turn out and I wonder if the projects will be as hard as I am thinking they will be.


REFLECTION:
After reading through Eyal Ron and Marisa Kubacki's posts, I feel much better about my stress-level.  I know now that I am not alone in my worries about these projects and that there will definitely be a strong support system out there for me.  I know that I am not the only one that never really learned how to write in different genres and I have learned that it's okay to be anxious about learning them.  I no longer feel like this dog gif.  I feel like I can do this class and feel confident about my work.