Danny O'Connor

Honors Seminar: Intermediate Composition

 

 

 

I must admit, I was skeptical at first as to what would qualify an English composition course as an honors experience. Surely it would not require anything more than an extra writing assignment, right? At least that was my initial thinking. As I write this now, however, I am pleased to admit that my suspicion was unfounded; as a result of this class, I not only drastically enhanced my literary ability, but also learned to observe my surrounding environment with a heightened and unique perspective.

 

I attended this class on the third floor of McMicken Hall at 9:05 every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning. I decided to sign up for the course because A: it would count as an honors experience-allowing me to complete two in one year- and B: I have always enjoyed writing a great deal, and figured that this class would enable me to expand on that particular skill. The intention of the course’s curriculum was to expand the students’ understanding of “literacy.” I place the term in quotes here, because the class ultimately revealed that the word literacy can mean a great deal more than merely the ability to read and write. Eventually, we utilized this deeper understanding to learn more about the concept of a genre as a method of communication. After accomplishing this, our final major task was to apply this knowledge to the crafting of an ethnography of a discourse community, a concept we spent time in class learning about. After writing this final paper, we produced a smaller piece reflecting on our work, and the growth we exhibited in our writing over the course of the semester. Through this assignment I was able to shed light on the internal revelations I had made through my work.

 

I can comfortably say that the class far exceeded my expectations. While it certainly equipped me with an enhanced writing skillset, the class also gave me a heightened world perspective. Our professor often stressed to us the importance of not merely researching data and regurgitating it into a paper that sounded nice semantically; real research entails the expansion of obtained data, and using it to add something new to a particular field of study. So in a way, I learned how to be a trailblazer with my writing. One thing that I know for certain, however, is that I have found myself applying my knowledge of discourse communities to several aspects of my life. Whenever I attend meetings of groups that I am involved in, I catch myself viewing my surroundings through this scope. As a result, I have not only grown tremendously as a writer, but have also become a more intelligent member of the community.

 

An honors experience indeed.  

 

 

 

For my artifact, I have attached two pieces. One is my final major writing assignment- an ethnography of student government at UC as discourse community. The other is the reflective essay I wrote for the conclusive portion of the class. This paper should serve as an efficient compliment to the reflection above.