When I first enrolled in this course, I had no idea what to expect in terms of my personal growth as a writer and in my enjoyment. What I discovered was a course that I thoroughly enjoyed and that nourished my analysis, research, and evaluation skills through a combination of unique projects, essays, and class time discussion. This class was a major first step in developing my college-level reading, writing, and study skills. The discussions section of the course, where Mr. Lobell continuously provided necessary feedback, as well as the peer reviews we conducted during class time, helped me hone my writing to a higher level. The major assignments we did in this course were an analysis essay, a genre translation project, and a research paper, with us doing oral presentations of the former two. The combination of these projects, the oral presentations, and the peer reviews helped foster a learning community where I got to collaborate with my peers and teacher.

The first project we did in this class was the artifact essay, where we analyzed a specific artifact of a musical. For my essay, I analyzed the lyrics of “Snow” and how they contributed to the work as a whole. I feel like this essay improved my analysis abilities and my ability to use evidence to make an argument. I also gained a new sense of appreciation for musical theater and how so much nuance can be packed into lyrics that the audience may not even think about. I accomplished what I wanted to with this essay, and I feel like I produced a very strong work that flowed well and demonstrated how the lyrics built up the theme that while circumstances may be the same, how one perceives them shapes how they experience them and connect with others.

The second project we did in class was the genre translation project, and I feel like overall that was my strongest work in this class and the one I was the most passionate about. For this project, I wrote a backstory for one of the main characters in “Snow.” This was definitely the project I enjoyed the most, as it was creative writing, which I enjoy more than research papers and evidence-based essays. This project gave me a sense of appreciation for short stories and showed me it may be something I have a passion for in the future. It also improved my writing skills when it comes to writing dialogue. We also presented this project orally, which taught me to take pride in my work and not be afraid to show it off. I accomplished everything I wanted to with this project, and I’m very proud of the work I produced.

The final project we worked on was the research essay, and that’s definitely the one I have the most mixed feelings on. By the end of the process, I enjoyed it, and I feel like I produced satisfactory work, but there are some things I still feel like I could have done better. The essay greatly improved my research skills and taught me new sources I can use in the future. It also taught me how to synthesize evidence better. However, I feel like the 5-7 page limit made it so I couldn’t go in-depth into some things I would’ve liked to, which was frustrating for the final assignment in the class. I also wish we had gotten the library lesson at the start of the project rather than in the middle so I could’ve used what I learned there throughout the whole duration of the project. Overall, it still helped me improve as a writer, but there are some things I took issue with. 

All in all, this was an interesting course that mixed musical theater with writing that I do not regret taking. The projects were a good blend of unique, fun, and challenging without being too difficult, and I felt like I had a safe and supportive learning environment. FIQWS 10113 is a class I’ll carry with me throughout the rest of my academic career.