Final Reflection
Throughout the entire spring semester, my writing ability has grown tremendously. Entering my freshmen year of college, I was not confident in my ability to write a paper. Now, after months of improvement, I see areas I have grown in and also areas that need development. Three areas I have grown in while under the supervision of Miss Bone are cultural awareness, sentence structure, and the use of punctuation. Because of this course, I am all around more conscious of cultural aspects- both locally and internationally. Also, prior to this class, my sentences followed one very simple, specific structure. Now, I am able to execute multiple types of sentences, which add personality and a unique tone to my writing. A portion of my writing that still needs plenty of progress is my use and explanation of evidence. I am able to convey the evidence, but I fail to tie it back into my thesis to complete my argument.
At the beginning of the semester, I was not completely confident in explaining what defines culture. Our first assignment, the summary paper, helped introduce culture to me by using a classmate as an in-depth example. I learned that culture has different aspects such as location, music, food, religion, language, and ancestry. I exercised the ability of cultural awareness all semester with my Tumblr posts. I learned about appropriation and how to determine whether an adoption of culture is appropriation or misappropriation. Throughout history, many appropriations can be seen and cultural sharing is introduced. Sports are a popular option for cultural sharing- martial arts, baseball, and basketball are a few that come to mind. In one of my Tumblr posts, I said “Jackie Chan popularized martial arts as a sport and martial art based movies in American entertainment. He along with Bruce Lee together revolutionized the way we view martial arts as a sport. I do not think the sport would be as popular as it is today if it were not for these two men” (Entry 16 n.p.). I did not notice the impact these two men had on martial arts in America until I was more aware of culture. Another popular sport in Asia, baseball, is actually very much alive in the Asian youth. I explained how “Asian countries are also very interested in the sport of baseball, especially Japan. Baseball is an American-made sport that Japan has taken from us and adopted as a sport in their country” (Entry 17 n.p.). This is an example of cultural sharing that I would not have realized until this semester. I learned that other cultures can take parts of American culture and introduce it to their society. Baseball in Asia is a prime example of this. Lastly, a third sport erupted in the 1990’s as Asian athletes were being drafted in the National Basketball Association- the dominant basketball league in the United States. Basketball, created by Dr. James Naismith, is an American-made sport that has caused recent attention in China. The most notable Asian basketball player is “Yao Ming, a retired 7 foot 3 inch center who used to play for the Houston Rockets” (Entry 21 n.p.). Many companies have introduced globalization and expanded beyond the borders of their origin. Maybe the most notable company in the topic of globalization is "McDonalds, an American company that has locations popping up all over the world” (Entry 20 n.p.). McDonalds is a franchise that originated in America, but evolved into a worldwide fast food chain that has introduced American fast food to the rest of the world, including Asia. I was not aware that many American made companies- not just McDonalds- are on foreign soil. Many cultural aspects have been appropriated or shared between cultures that many people don’t realize. I personally did not comprehend the effects of cultural appropriation and sharing until I took this course. I learned how culture can be shared or adopted, for good or for worse. Now I see it in nearly everything I set my eyes on.
I have always thought of sentence structure as one of my more superior writing elements. However, after learning about dirge sentences and rock anthems I realized this was not the case. Many of my sentences did not differ in structure; they lacked variation and were not unique. I learned how to mix up my structure and keep the paragraph flowing for the reader to understand and develop thoughts. If sentences are too short and choppy, it can be hard to follow the reasoning behind the writing. Additionally, if the sentences are long and dragging, it can be quite boring and the reader can become lost in the words- forcing them to re-read the writing. Towards the beginning of the semester, you can see blandness in my sentences and the structure does not differ greatly which in turn made my paper boring. In one of my first Tumblr posts, I wrote about Mulan saying “Mulan is a woman and is portrayed as fragile and innocent. However she proves Asian culture wrong as she shows she can serve in her country’s army. This was not a normal thing as women could not join the military in her culture and time” (Entry 3 n.p.). As you can see, these sentences are short and follow one after another without much transition or pause. During the rest of the semester, I can see my sentence structure improve little by little as I start to see various clauses and transitions. An example of proper sentence structure that will keep the reader engaged is "Herbal medicine was westernized in America due to Asian immigration. Just as Chinese restaurants began popping up, so have herbal medicine shops. Unlike food, herbal medicine cannot be altered to meet the needs of another culture” (Entry 13 n.p.). Another prime example of proper sentence structure would be to use a variety of short, medium, and long sentences to spice up the way your paper sounds when it is read. I posted on Tumblr about the topic of World War Two and the conflict with Japan by saying “The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was an attack against Japan during WW2. Many Japanese hated the Americans for this, while many also hated their own government for putting them in this situation and not protecting them. Now America and Japan are allies” (Entry 24 n.p.). By learning how to vary my sentence length and structure, my literary skills have increased immensely.
Punctuation is an element of writing that I think I have developed the most. I learned to use punctuation in the right context and to create style and tone with such tools. Correct punctuation can be used to spice up a rather boring topic and to create breaks in between or after sentences. Using punctuation incorrectly, however, can potentially ruin an entire sentence by changing the intended message to something completely different. Before this semester, I was not confident in my ability to use various pieces of punctuation such as colons, semi-colons, dashes, and commas. Now after completing this course, you can see my confidence in using these pieces of punctuation throughout my writing. The semi-colon may be my favorite piece- you will see it in almost every paper of mine. You can see proper use of the semi-colon and comma in the following Tumblr post, “I came across a list of the most spoken languages in the world. Some people may think that English is the most spoken language; however, Mandarin has over a billion speakers. I think it’s weird that many Asians learn the English language, but many Americans don’t learn Mandarin” (Entry 4 n.p.). The most confusing piece of punctuation for me prior to this semester was the dash. However, after practice, I am fairly convinced that I can utilize the dash to its full extent. You can see proper use of the dash in the following Tumblr post: “Here’s a music video of G-Dragon in collaboration with Skrillex and Diplo- two highly viewed American EDM artists. It’s good to notice appropriation of American EDM music and culturing sharing with Japan through the use of music” (Entry 28 n.p.). I developed my use of punctuation throughout the entire semester, and my progress can be seen throughout various pieces of my writing, especially my Tumlr posts.
An area of my writing that still needs some improvement is my use and explanation of evidence. When my papers call for evidence, I seem to provide a solid amount of satisfactory evidence. However, I fail to develop my argument by using my evidence to provide reinforcement. Miss Bone has told me countless times in our paper conferences that my evidence is there, but I need to expand more and utilize it. It is comparable to bringing a sword and shield to war, but not using them in fights. In my research paper, my topic was the decline of the American automotive industry because of the Japanese automakers. This paper was abundant in evidence, but I failed to use the evidence to support my thesis. I introduced a piece of evidence as “a survey conducted when gas prices were high resulted in eighty-six percent of respondents listing quality as the most important factor when buying a new car, with safety coming in second at eighty-two percent and fuel economy in third at seventy-three percent” (Research Paper Final Draft 2). After I introduced the evidence, I followed up by saying “Consumers want a reliable product that is long lasting, has consistent and stable performance, and minimizes the necessity to correct malfunctions in the vehicle” (Research Paper Final Draft 2). I essentially provided a solid piece of evidence but did not develop my thoughts or tie it back to my thesis. Examples of my lack of usage of evidence can be seen throughout my entire research paper. I explained that “they [Japan] have invested a lot of time and effort into developing a hybrid engine for many models and created a brand that focuses on the youth” (Research Paper Final Draft 4). Initially, I tried to develop this piece of evidence and tie it back to my thesis by saying “This further exemplifies the successes that come with Japan’s achievement of superior customer service because they cater to the exact needs of the American people and provide a vast array of options” (Research Paper Final Draft 4). My problem is that I go from one piece of evidence to another so quickly that the reader cannot fully grasp the purpose of the evidence. I need to slow down, develop thoughts, and try and persuade the reader that my thesis and the evidence I provide with it is meaningful.
Throughout the semester, my composition skills clearly improved; I have noticed development in the skills I have been taught which has made my writing better. This class has been very exciting, and I will certainly continue to implement the topics I have learned from class in my future career. A main benefit of my learned skills- cultural awareness, sentence structure, and punctuation- will be putting those skills to use in my professional life. Having the confidence to approach a potential employer or a client in writing is not only satisfying but rewarding. Having the correct grammar and punctuation skills is sure to impress any employer, which will help me jump start my career and give me a competitive edge. Besides impressing employers, it genuinely feels good to know how to correctly use the English language instead of using slang that is not quite as impressive. Throughout the semester I have certainly improved my writing skills, but because of that I have also seen a difference in my speech, even in casual conversation. Many people do not realize the important of literature, and I am glad that I have come to understand its relevance in life.