Reflection – Unpacking Manuel’s Tavern

My final revision on Unpacking Manuel’s is centered around the significant cultural meaning behind a set of plain objects displayed on the wall. The three objects are an advertisement of a paint factory, a sign of a lumber company, and an antiquated thermometer, which really didn’t show strong connection with one another during my research work. So in my first draft, I analyzed the history of the paint factory but completely ignored the other two. I explained how an individual unit(the paint factory) closely relates with its culture(the flourishing business area where the factory is located), and how the two together produce a complete image for the readers. It was ok, but clearly not relevant enough as an entry. After consulting professor Morgen, I was inspired by his words that despite frequent visit of celebrities who made the spot well-known, Manuel’s Tavern is still a blue-collar tavern where workers drink beer and have fun. Thus the plain-looking objects serve as a perfect evidence to the owner’s emphasis on the power of the ordinary. This appears to be a great argument for my entry. I completely shifted my thesis statement to the latter. Though the paint factory is still the highlight of my essay, I can now articulate the once ambiguous relation among the three, and the association between the objects and the tavern.

Through the assignment, I improved my writing as a process. By repeatedly revising my essay and receiving advice from professor and writing center tutors, I learned the subtle difference between similar words, which is extremely helpful for someone like me who struggle to pick the right word. I also got to know the weakness of my writing. My thesis statement was not clear enough for readers to understand what I want to convey. I failed many times in delivering a strong thesis statement and corrected that very sentence for hundreds of times before I came up with this fairly satisfactory one. Though still a long way to go, I know I have become a better writer. Another learning outcome is digital citizenship. It’s my first time to cite online articles so I am still a bit confused about the MLA style of citations but eventually I managed to cite the sources formally. Collaboration is also involved when we reviewed each other’s work and received useful feedbacks. In class, we had a chance to develop rubrics together and I really appreciate this democratic form of learning.

Overall I had a great time working on this assignment. It’s for sure that I have moved a small step forward towards becoming a good writer. I look forward to exploring further and achieving more outcomes in my future writing.