The most important thing I have learned for my composition process is how to research properly. In high school, my research was all over the place, very unorganized and I didn’t always use reliable sources, but now, I feel that I know how to inspect sources, annotate them for their key points, and organize them in a way that best serves me and my writing process.

Both my MMT and Research Essay have basically the same purpose and exigence, but differ drastically when it comes to their respective intended audiences and formats. For my essay, it was a serious academic paper intended for scholars, and it was presented as such. For my MMT however, I tried to make it as engaging as possible for someone who wouldn’t normally be interested in learning about such serious topics. I felt that this was the most fitting way to address the intended audience for my MMT, my peers, as I know many of them would not read my paper, but they might laugh at my video, all while still learning about the serious violence imposed on marginalized communities through systemic racism and its impact on American infrastructure.

As I continue my research, my argument has evolved to include more of a historical context on how modern day infrastructure developed to be as harmful as it is today. This involves examining the historical decisions, policies, and societal structures that prioritized segregation and economic gain over environmental sustainability and equitable access. By tracing the roots of today’s infrastructure back through redlining, I am able to better explain how these policies have contributed to environmental degradation, systemic inequities, and public health challenges.

My research papers intended audience is for academics and professors. The purpose of my research papers is to inform people about the violence hidden within Americas racist infrastructure. I chose the specific info I cover in my essay because I want to show people how infrastructure harms real people in very real ways. The genre/format of my paper is a Research Essay. This situation is already a reality.

The sources I am using for my research essay are mainly online articles I have found through Google and the online CCNY library, with the exception being one YouTube video I found through an online article. They influence my writing by giving a solid vocabulary I can draw from and utilize in my essay. They all support my topic by providing accurate, often untold, stories and information.

One thing we have done that has been helpful for my writing process is the annotated bibliography because it helped me learn how to look for sources, how to analyze a source to see if it is credible (CRAAP Test), and how to use citations properly. One thing that is slightly confusing for me is the highly specific ways you have to cite sources, both in text and in my soon to be created references page for my research essay. We have gone over this in class, and there are also plenty of websites and videos online explaining how to properly cite. I will use this helpful knowledge to avoid plagiarism.

One of the learning outcomes I feel I have learned is to “Develop strategies for … drafting”. I have learned this through doing an outline for my learning analysis essay. The strategy I use to draft an outline is to get all the information I want to include in my essay written out on the page, and then start gradually sorting through the information and formulating an argument with it. This is a major improvement because I used to just start writing my papers and hope for the best, but now I’m being forced to plan them out more, which hopefully improves their quality.

Some of the annotations I had for the article “Environmental Racism and Climate Change — Missed Diagnoses” included information on what environmental racism is, how it manifests, and how it impacts marginalized communities. I also included the part that talks about how the climate crisis is going to continue to exacerbate pre-existing infrastructure disparities between wealthy and impoverished communities. I dont think annotating helped me because I had to do it for this assignment. Annotating usually only helps me when I care enough to do it because I want to, but when I force myself to annotate, I find it has less of an impact. I don’t think I need anything else to process this article.

My learning analysis essays genre was that of self-reflection. The purpose of the essay was to help me understand myself as a learner, and therefore be able to fulfill my potential as a student. My audience was myself, my instructor, and any of my peers who reviewed it. The context of my essay revolved around how I transformed the ways I learn to be applicable to my passions. One learning goal I achieved was learning how to properly organize an essay. I improved on this skill by learning how to create an essay outline and by receiving feedback on it.

One thing we have done in class that has helped me with my writing process was the learning analysis essay. I normally procrastinate a lot on my schoolwork, yet the rigidity of the due date meant that I did not have the usual leniency I have come to expect. In this way, this assignment helped me to overcome the normal barriers I encounter with my writing and I was able to concentrate and get the paper done. Moreover, peer reviewing another students paper helped me to see mistakes in my writing that I wouldnt have been able to see otherwise. I also enjoyed seeing my peers interpretation of the assignment. I can apply the idea of revision to my work by reviewing it to make it stronger. I can also implement ways to make myself less distracted while doing schoolwork, i.e. putting my phone in a different room while Im working (which is what I did while writing the learning analysis essay). I havnt found anything super confusing, not yet at least.