Abstract
When writing, we usually follow a normal writing strategy. For example; when we write an essay, we introduce the topic, then write our claim/thesis, then the body paragraphs (we can add as much body paragraphs as needed for an essay because different essays requires different amount of body paragraphs), finally the conclusion. Thinking is really important in writing, if we can think, then we can write it. In this self reflection essay, I will talk about the development of my writing throughout this semester and my theory of writing which is to keep writing whatever we are thinking and then to do some editing before finishing the final draft.
Main Document
Firstly, let’s talk about my theory of writing, well before taking this class I didn’t had any theory in particular, I used to follow my teachers guidelines and write. But now, since this class is a writing for science class and it’s more like a writing with evidence and efficiency so, it requires more thinking. For example, the first assignment for this class was to write an introductory letter. For this assignment, we were required to write about the reason behind choosing a science major. Such as a memory that led us to like science. I wrote about my high school science experience, including how bad I was at science subjects at first and how I eventually started to like science. Through this assignment, our teacher got to know which field of science we are typically interested in, in order to help us with our writing.
We also wrote three summaries and responses, where I choose an article that is related to the field that I am interested in. In this assignment, we were required to summarize an article and then response to the article. This assignment was very helpful because it taught me how to introduce a topic and talk about the interesting ideas the document or the article hold.
For my first major assignment, Technical Description, we were required to describe a process and a product. I choose asexual reproduction for my process and a carrot as my product. I started by introducing what asexual reproduction is and then answered few questions related to my process. After writing about my process, I wrote about my product the same way. Writing about a process and a product is very helpful to science students because it helps us to understand a scientific process or a product better in the future. My second major assignment was “Science controversy paper”, where we choose a controversial topic in science and researched about it. For this assignment, we wrote about controversies surrounding the topic and explained which side we support. My topic was plastic surgery. I chose this topic because there are many controversies involving plastic surgery, especially aesthetic plastic surgery. So, it seemed easier to research and write about plastic surgery. First, I wrote my thesis statement and developed my essay based on my thesis statement. Then, I used multiple sources for this assignment and cited each of the sources that I used. My final assignment was a group paper and presentation. For this assignment, each group was required to choose a topic, research about it and come up with a policy or a resolution about the topic. The topic that my group choose was “euthanasia”. We wrote about the controversies surrounding euthanasia and discussed what it should be legalized. And in the end we presented our research and resolution.
My theory of writing is to think and keep on writing. Knowledge is something that I know or something that I will know after reading about certain topics/ideas. The relationship between my theory of writing and how I create knowledge is to learn about the topic that has been assigned and keep on writing about what I have learn. All of the assignments that I did throughout the semester helped me to change my theory of writing. The “science controversy paper” mainly contributed for this change because it was different than all the other works I did throughout my student career. Since this essay required us to look for a controversial topic and make a thesis statement based on the topic, it made us think more and research a lot about pretty much everything related to the controversy behind the topic.
