P2: Reflective Essay

Doing this research essay really made me realize what goes into doing an article like the ones we read in class. I mean the process is not easy nor is it always enjoyable but at the end, once you have concluded your hypothesis i think we all come to realize what we have done. That is research, which means actually trying to figure something out, going on and having constructive and rhetorical thoughts while you write. It’s all interesting in different ways. When we started thinking and coming up with proposals for project two, i was a little confused because I didn’t exactly know what writing study i wanted to focus on and pursue in research. I had three different ideas, which were meaning, writing prompts and peer response. I wanted meaning because i thought finding sources would be easy and just seemed a little more on the easy side overall. Writing prompts was something else i wanted to do because i had based project one on it, which also made me more at ease. But i decided to go with peer response, just seemed more challenging and current to what we do in this class in particular. So peer response it was. I immediately thought of Gillam for one source, but coming up with a Sommers and how to connect it was challenging, but going into that one on one session was really helpful. Breaking the essay into different sections was a strategy i hadn’t seen done before by a teacher in high school, this made it so easy and comfortable for me to start. I initially wanted to know how effective peer response was. I really thought it was effective, seeing how helpful it was for me personally. But at the end i found out that it is not the same for everyone. Which i guess was a bad generalization on my part. I found out that some students don’t think it is helpful what so ever, while others didn’t even realize they do it. As far as interview with a teacher, i found something interesting. I discovered that group group can be considered peer response/revision. I also got to know how doing research isn’t easy. Specially when it comes to surveys. Not all students take stuff seriously, while others may take something simple and complicate it(but i think that might be a good thing; more writing). All this research made me aware of what others students think and how they feel as far as what peer response and revision consist of. Having learned this new knowledge will expand my learning process this upcoming semester and then next years. I think having gotten to interview and survey people that are involved in the school system gives me a better perspective of how others learn and teach. I know for me peer response and revision is an important part of my learning and writing, so having more information about it will further help me understand ways of studying an working with peers in the classroom.