When this class first began, it sounded quite simple. Three projects and a few other assignments for the entire semester. Also, the fact that we could edit and resubmit our papers as many times as we wanted for improved grades was exciting and reassuring. Often times writing stresses me out, especially large research papers, so English has never been my favorite. Luckily with the idea of three papers and the ability to resubmit for improved grades calmed my nerves quite a bit regarding this class.
This class was unlike any English or literature class I have taken in college-or high school for that matter. The idea that there were no concrete topics was at first intimidating and required a lot of brainstorming, but actually made the process of constructing our assignments fun and interesting. Writing about something you have strong feelings or interest in makes it that much easier. Little did I know, I would actually come to enjoy this class because of the freedom we were given in our assignments. I would’ve never imagined I liked a course called “Research, Genre, and Context.” Initially this title made me dread the beginning of the semester when I signed up. However, during my CGS 2100 class summer of 2017, I was recommended this course under your instruction by one of my friends in the course. Great suggestion.
The first project alone sparked my interest. A personal narrative, where we were allowed to talk about a community that made us feel accepted and heard. Immediately I knew I wanted to discuss cheer and its everlasting impact on my life. Writing this paper was actually very fun…cheer was a huge portion of my life, so writing about it was easy and brought back a ton of memories. After I wrote my first draft and met with Mat at the Sweet Shop, I was given very helpful feedback that allowed me to edit my paper in a way that focuses on specificity (which seemed to be a lasting trend in my critiques). My meeting made me feel confident on the direction of my paper in its editing stages, and I received a grade I was very happy with.
Project two was initially super scary for me. I had no idea what community I was going to investigate, and my initial ideas were way too broad, which made me even more anxious at the first stage. I remember thinking, “If I can’t even pick a community, the rest of this assignment is going to be impossible.” However after emailing Mat back and forth, I realized I could discuss the accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s degree for elementary ed students here at FSU. This ended up being a great selection on my part, because I ended up learning things that were incredibly important to my future success in the major that I wouldn’t have known without the necessary research and interview we needed to conduct for the bulk of the paper. After I wrote my first draft of 1500 words and met with Mat for my conference, I felt confident about the direction for the rest of my paper. He advised me to really focus on the texts within the community and how they function. Following this meeting and the construction of the last 1000 words, I felt great and like I had learned a ton that would help me in my future endeavors into this community. However, I received a 75% on it which I wasn’t thrilled with. But, the emailed notes Mat sent back with it, and after a quick visit to the RWC, I totally understood the areas I was being was to broad and again needed to be more specific!
Project three was actually super fun to create. We basically had to take the information/community we worked with in project 2 and create three genres that circulated some sort of message about it. This was exciting for me, because I learned so much important information about my community in P2 that needed to be shared to others interested in the program. This assignment gave me the opportunity to do so in an effective and meaningful way. During my work with project 2 I discovered some really important information that would really help incoming or interested students and their process of getting into the major.
This class was a pleasant surprise for me from beginning to end. I was very surprised about the direction of this class, and the way we were given so much freedom in a course I expected to be straightforward boring research and reading out of the textbook every night. Luckily, I was wrong about all of this, and this made going to a mandatory 8am-dare I say it-fun. 10/10 would recommend for this course.