Reflection

RHETORIC & COMPOSITION II REFLECTION PAPER FALL 2016

ENGW 1302.24 Professor Eakman

EMERGING YOUNG WRITER Literary growth of a college freshman

EXCLUSIVE REPORT!

Rookie Mistakes

by Amalia Alcantar

CONTENTS SELF - ASSESSMENT PAGE TWO

RESEARCH REPORT PAGE THREE

HOT TOPIC RESEARCH PAPER PAGE FOUR

ROOKIE MISTAKES PAGE FOUR

Mt. Bonell, Austin

Letter from the editor May 5, 2016 Beth Eakman Re St. Edward's University, Campus Mailbox #998, South Congress Avenue Austin, Texas 78704 Dear Beth, Since the beginning of my educational career, it was clear I more comfortable with math and science.

Although I was born in the United States, I am the oldest child of my Spanish – speaking parents. This prevented me from learning English until I started school. Writing has always been difficult for me; math and science is the same in any language so naturally, I excelled in these areas.

Because writing has always taken a toll on me, I have never enjoyed English or writing classes.

Although I adored Professor Lucksinger, Rhetoric and Composition I did not seem valuable to me. I was fortune enough to attend a high school that emphasized good writing skills and it appeared like I knew most of the material that was presented to us. On top of that, the assignments were vague, thus I was more uninterested in the class and the work I had to do.

I expected the same from Rhetoric and Composition II: repetitive material with general assignments. I was pleasantly surprised to see how you incorporated our personal interests into important assignments that taught us how to properly write a research paper. This method definitely allowed me to have fun writing these rigorous assignments. Not only was I able to learn how to follow the writing rules of my discipline, but I was able to learn more about computer science. The Research Report assignment taught me how to collect data and present it in the required fashion my field asks for. It created the initial platform for the Hot Topic Research paper. The Research Report paper permitted me to collect the thoughts of Computer Science students, professors, and professionals in the field; which helped decide which subtopics within my discourse community were most popular and formulate a research question.

The Hot Topic Research paper was truly more enjoyable than other research papers I have written and because of this, I feel like I have absorbed a lot of the material you taught. Not only that, but because you required us to follow the writing conventions of our discourse community, I believe that I learned something useful. Before this assignment, I did not even think about the differences between writing for an English class and writing for a Computer Science assignment. Computer Science professors will teach computer science material; not how to present this material in writing. This paper introduced me to APA style formalities. Again, I did not realize writing in my field differed from regular

MLA conventions. Additionally, this assignment strengthened my rhetorical strategies. The annotated bibliography component helped me decide which sources were credible to support my claims. Lastly, this paper enhanced my ability to present two sides of an argument. Although we did not pick a side, I believe that being able to acknowledge different viewpoints sets research papers apart from others. The paper is prepared is defend its thesis from claims that counteract the posed solution. I have been writing research papers since I was a freshman in high school, but your specifications helped me learn the most about the process of writing and how it relates to me.

All students ask, “When am I ever going to use this in real life?” in regards to material learned in school. This writing course answered that for me. Since I am a Computer Science major, I sincerely believed writing was unimportant to my major. Thankfully, these assignments opened my eyes and I realized that I needed to keep working hard to develop my writing skills. I have included excerpts of writing in which I believe I have come closer to master. With strong writing abilities, I will be confident when applying for graduate school, grants for research, or to get work published in the future. Thank you for reminding writing is always important, no matter which major one decides to go into.

Warm regards,

Amalia Alcantar 314 Farmington Lane Vernon Hills, IL 60061

Research Report Excerpt By formulating the right questions, I am able to construct a basic outline. I learned to ask the appropriate questions by deducing the significance of the possible answers.

Materials and Methods I asked professionals in the field these six questions: What area within Computer Science do you specialize in?

How many writing­focused classes did you take in college?

What kind of professional experience have you had?

Have you done any research? If so, has it gotten published? How have you delivered your research?

What kind of writing style does one see in professional setting?

In your overall opinion, does having a strong writing background benefit computer science majors, and how so?

It is important to know which area of computer science these people work in, for it might be different (or the same) in subcategories. The second question allows me to know if these people had to take writing­focused classes to fulfill general education credits or major required classes. Knowing the difference is valuable because it determines the true value of writing in Computer Science. The third question is to have detailed answer of the types of jobs a degree in Computer Science allows one to achieve. Although I know computer science is for me, I am still unaware what specific job I should look for post­ graduation. The fourth question is used to learn the differences between research and a professional job setting. Besides the obvious differences, how does writing look like in these two settings of computer science. The fifth question is meant to discover if these people read other work, and if they do, what do they read? Finally, the sixth question is direct to understand personal opinions and if everyone felt the same way.

Hot Topic Research Paper Excerpt Presenting both sides of an argument is key when writing about a controversial issue. It will strengthen the credibility by addressing the readers' concern before they stop reading.

Human instructions are logically better to understand and in most cases, it is the best form of teaching. However, in circumstances where the student has a learning disability, a robot teacher is more effective. Set in Iran, a 2015 study examines the effect of robot assisted language learning in a classroom environment (RALL). 46 females were randomly assigned into two different groups. One group had human teacher and robot assistant in an English course for junior high students, while the second group only consisted of a human instructor. Two questioners testing anxiety and attitude were given to both classes to compare the anxiety and attitude level of each group. In the end, it was “[revealed] that there was a significant difference between the anxiety levels of the students in the RALL group and the non­RALL

group” (Alemi, M., A. Meghdari, and M. Ghazisaedy. 2015). Because the robot provided more interactive games, the students enjoyed their time learning. As their enjoyment and comfort increased in class, anxiety decreased. The decrease in anxiety means students are able to focus more on the content and thus, learn more effectively. Similarly, robots can be programmed to interact with kids with

social disorders such as autism. There is already a robot in England designed to teach students with this disability and it is successful because a robot has “has no concept of personal space or awkwardness, Nao [robot] can teach without setting off a chain of unsuccessful social interactions” (Power, 2015).

Scientists have also commented on this issue, further emphasizing the advantages of robotic instructors, but also advising against robots replacing teachers all together. Sue Greener is professor at the University of Brighton in England. Besides being an examiner at two other universities, Sue Greener is the co­editor of the scholarly journal, Interactive Learning Environment. This journal publishes studies and papers that set out to develop new ways to successfully integrate technology into classroom settings. Greener criticizes the implementation of robots because of the possible unfair distribution and quality of education: “it could be to do with availability of energy (for example load shedding of electrical power by utilities), or money” (Greener, 2015). Greener warns of the disadvantages poor school districts would face if robot instructors became a norm. She goes on to suggest that there is a balance that educators must find when using technology in class lessons.

The balance point is constantly changing across cultures which is why researchers

are not aiming to create a robot to replace human teacher: “Replacing human care­ givers (by robots)” is the situation that we have been strongly opposed to since the first day of our trial”, asserts researcher Tanaka (Tanaka, Fumihide, and Takeshi Kimura 2010, 264). David Johnson, a prominent investor working at Intel, assures that robots will never replace human teachers (Power, 2015).

Furthermore, in Tanaka’s study, him and his team concluded a new effective form of using robots in the classroom. Rather than teaching children, students teach robots the same material they are being taught. By reiterating class material to the robot, students are more likely to remember the information (Tanaka, Fumihide, and Takeshi Kimura 2010, 270). This study promotes the practice of using a robot to assist leading a class.

Researchers and educators both agree on this concept; allowing programmers to focus on robots that will only be used for assistance or specific situations.

Rookie mistakes Do not procrastinate: give yourself enough time to write Read paper out loud: this will resolve silly grammar errors Paper is never truly finished: no matter how perfect, a paper can always be made better Attend peer review workshops: another person's opinion is highly valuable Put away all distractions: writing is hard enough without social media and games