In my FIQWS 10108 class, I was introduced to the five lectures Sigmund Freud presented at Clark University in 1909. I was able to learn and comprehend different Freudian concepts and incorporate them into my writing. An example of this would be the first paper I wrote for this class— the summary and response paper— which made me feel insecure regarding my writing. It had been so long since I’ve written an essay for an English class; I even began to believe that I didn’t know how to write or structure a paragraph.

I created an outline to help me get a sense of what I wanted to write about:

By creating an outline, I was able to accomplish both learning outcomes #1 and #3 identifying my audience—both of my FIQWS professors. I knew the purpose of this piece of writing was to show I had a clear understanding of the Freudian concepts and I can apply them to analyze and summarize a story.

I ended up not doing well in that essay and noticed many errors.

After going over the feedback I received, I took the time to draft out my exploratory essay. I began by free-writing— I wrote whatever came to mind even if it didn’t make sense. Then I revised my writing multiple times, leading to an accomplishment of learning outcome #2. Additionally, I met the criteria for learning outcome #4.

When I participated in peer review, I received good feedback. In fact, I received a 75 from the writing section and an 82 in the content section. This was a major improvement.

When I created my CUNY Commons Portfolio, I was using digital technologies to address an audience. This accomplished learning outcome #5. Viewers can access my page easily through a link and can easily browse through work. In this portfolio, I include my drafts for the three major essays as well as the final essays, and I include annotated images of various texts read in the content class.

Learning outcome #6 was not easy to accomplish. I had to search in CCNY’s Library database to find scholarly sources that I can use in my critical research analysis.

By completing the Library worksheet, somewhat helped me stay organized.

I found a scholarly source and was able to integrate it into my critical research analysis.

This quote supported my claim on Japan being destroyed post the 1995 earthquake. This also highlights that I was able to accomplish both learning outcomes #7 and #8. I correctly cited!

Overall, I was able to accomplish what was required of me in regards to the learning outcomes. I wouldn’t say I became a better writer, but I did notice a little growth. I still have a lot to work on for sure.