Looking back on my time in this course, I feel as though I have experienced immense growth in integrating my own ideas with those of others. Focusing on my earlier pieces, a lot of the quotes that I had selected were very surface level. Often, I was grabbing snippets rather than quoting powerful passages from the articles. This led me to having shallow and mundane analysis of the quotes and did not leave much room for me to insert myself into the conversation. Looking at my chosen work sample, I had selected a quote from Kaia Anderson, a peer author of mine. Focusing on the quote highlighted in screenshot #1, what I had selected was detailed, and could be interpreted in many different ways. Selecting a quote such as this one allows for a greater analysis. Comparing this quote selection to one found in my earlier works (highlighted in screenshot #2), I would say it is a much more complicated quote, offering me more to work with. I also feel that my analysis of quotes is an area that saw much improvement. A large theme of this course was “They say, I say”. In early works, it was a lot of “they say” (screenshot #2). I did not find a way to introduce myself into the conversation and put forth what valuable information I had to say, rather I focused more so on translating what the author had to say in my own words. This led to my essays being entirely made up of he thought of others. However, understanding the practice of “They say, I say” and the dinner table analogy, where you want to ensure that you have a seat at the table with the authors you have quoted, the importance of integrating myself into my own writing was instilled into me. This was seen in my analysis of the same quote from screenshot #1. I feel as though I respond well to Kaia’s quote and then offer a passionate response to showcase where I stand on the subject using the “I” statements we had discussed in class and providing necessary personal experiences that relate to the quote. This course has taught me that quoting authors is a balancing act, and while it may be difficult, you need to find the happy medium that ensures all voices are equally expressed.

Screenshot #1

Screenshot #2