Undergraduates' Reflections on Their Writing Experiences at DU
Richard Colby

Facilitator: Kelli Custer
Panelists: Becca Blanc, Christina Brady, Patrick Cole, Tess Dougherty, Nathan Germann, and Kyle Varvil

Writing Program faculty member Kelli Custer facilitated a discussion with six DU sophomores about their WRIT 1122 and WRIT 1133 classes. Becca Blanc, Christina Brady, Patrick Cole, Tess Dougherty, Nathan Germann, and Kyle Varvil reflected upon their experiences for about five minutes each, and then they fielded questions from the audience. Although each of the students shared their unique experiences, some common themes did emerge.

The first theme was that the students expressed confidence in their writing after having taken the courses. Cole talked about how he was worried when he was assigned large projects in other courses but then remembered the importance of building an outline and the importance of peer editing. Dougherty also discussed the confidence she gained from practicing writing, allowing her to overcome her fear of writing larger research papers. The skills and processes for drafting, organizing, and editing that the students learned in their WRIT courses gave them the confidence to tackle projects in their other courses.

Another theme was that of concepts and approaches used in the WRIT courses transferring to other courses. Blanc said that even though she dreaded having to take the WRIT sequence, she was glad she did. As a digital media studies major, she was able to apply the concepts of rhetorical analysis she learned in her WRIT course to her art classes. Based on an advertisement analysis she did in her WRIT 1122 course, she later was able to apply the process of rhetorical analysis to studying art and an artists intentions in his or her art.

Concepts in research also transferred to other courses. Brady felt that she better understood what good and valuable research was after taking her WRIT courses. Each student felt that research strategies that they learned in their WRIT courses were valuable. Brady and Cole discussed how they transferred what they learned in navigating the online databases and evaluating a sources credibility, and Varvil discussed the usefulness of integrating and citing sources.

The presenters also expressed the importance of writing about the research. Cole shared what he thought was valuable advice his professor gave him: It feels good to do research, but dont forget to write your paper. Dont forget the most important part. This resonated with Cole because he learned in his WRIT courses about the importance of the interplay between content and how it is expressed. Kyle thought the skills for writing informative and persuasive papers were also really helpful in his other courses.

Although students raised recurring themes such as rhetorical tools, confidence, and research and writing strategies that the students raised, there were also some differing perspectives and critiques. Germann liked his particular WRIT class because of the freedom in the assignments. He was dismayed in other courses when assignments would outline every step of the process. He preferred that assignments were more open, allowing him to follow his own research avenues and writing approaches and thus prompting him to develop his critical thinking skills more. A number of the students did express some desire that the WRIT courses might be more focused around writing in the majors or on particular types of writing assignments students in different fields might experience. However, Dougherty, a sociology major, expressed that the writing she did in her WRIT courses was really helpful for her and her understanding of her major. Another approach from Cole was that he had learned a lot about writing for his major from reading journals in his major and thought that this same strategy might be beneficial to introduce in the WRIT courses.

The discussion that followed reiterated the themes of confidence and research strategies that the students shared. Overall, the audience seemed quite interested in the types of writing and research the students had been doing since their WRIT courses and how the confidence and strategies they learned were being applied.

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