Read this reading properly and create one valuable question after understanding this reading and also add personal example in this answer and also answer that question in brief after summarising. Reading -Crossing Boundaries: The Impact of Source Integration and Transfer in ISP100

Kaiden Rai

Over the course of this semester, I have not only developed a wide range of new skills but I also delved into various writing concepts that have played a crucial role in shaping my identity as a writer. These new skills and knowledge have not only improved my writing skills but have also deepened my understanding of writing as a whole. Most importantly, the idea of source integration and creating a conversation with sources is a crucial skill gained in this course as it is transferable to my future writing both academically and professionally. This paper discusses the importance of source integration in my work and its impact on my writing as well as how it can be transferred to different contexts.

Transfer can be described as how previous knowledge influences current and future learning, and how past or current learning is applied or adapted to similar situations (Elon, 2015). Transfer includes different types such as low-road transfer which involves the automatic and effortless application of learned knowledge or skills in a familiar context (Yancey et al., 2014). Low road transfer occurs almost instinctively and is often associated with routine or well-practiced tasks. For example, including sources in an essay to support certain ideas, becomes automatic with practice and can be applied without thinking. On the other hand, high-road transfer is a more conscious and deliberate process where individuals actively apply their knowledge or skills in new or unfamiliar contexts (Yancey et al., 2014). High-road transfer requires more effort and a deeper understanding of the principles involved to make connections. Transfer also requires boundary crossing which can be described as navigating unfamiliar territory or contexts, often characterized by significant differences from one's known experiences (Elon, 2015). This is important for transfer as writing expectations can vary across future courses and professional contexts. Boundary crossing allows writers to adapt their existing knowledge and writing skills to meet new expectations. Crossing these boundaries often involves working with new sources, genres, and writing contexts. However, by boundary crossing, writers learn different skills which can help to adapt their knowledge and approach to new environments.

Entering into ISP100 at the beginning of the semester, I felt ill-equipped. Most of the content I was learning felt like a large step away from what I had learned throughout all of my years in school. The ways of brainstorming, drafting, and structuring my writing were completely changed and I had to adapt to a new approach to writing. By adapting to this approach, I was actively engaging with transfer as I had to "boundary cross". The boundary in this case would be the new expectations and style of writing, specifically the idea of source integration in my work. To overcome this boundary, it required me to take a high-road approach to my writing. The ideas that I had previously learned in high school had to be adapted and connected to this new approach. This required me to deliberately make connections between my current knowledge and what I was learning in ISP100 to form a common ground. By having this common ground, I was then able to build on my prior knowledge throughout the semester to bridge the gap in my understanding.

Particularly, the idea of leveraging sources to create a discussion within my writing. My struggle with source integration can be described by Taczak (2022) as a "negative transfer". Negative transfer is when the knowledge or practice used negatively impacts your ability to effectively perform in a new context (Taczak, 2022). From previous experiences, when including sources in my work, I would take the information and drop it into my work to support a point and then have a brief explanation about how it relates to my central thread. However, I learned that writers should have a conversation with their sources in a way that can connect all their points and help support the central thread. This was something that I struggled with as I did not understand how to create this discussion. This made me default to my original approach which often led to a "hit and run" in my work. Figure 1 demonstrates this hit-and-run style where a source was placed into my work but not exactly integrated into the bigger picture of the writing.

Writing Story Assignment Hit & Run

In more recent assignments such as the discourse community analysis, I adapted this approach to create the conversational aspect with my sources, using information from each source to connect it to my main idea. This conversational approach can be adapted in more analytical papers to leverage the knowledge from several sources and piece them together to show how it can support my central thread. Along with having this conversation with sources, it also helps to develop new ideas which can be further implemented into my writing. This is helpful for my further years at UTM and beyond, as writing is a universal skill which can be adapted to different contexts.

Writing not only provides a way for writers to express their thoughts but also serves as a way to create new ideas. When creating a conversation with sources, writers are required toapply both low and high-road transfer as they need to connect their current knowledge with the ideas from the sources. This idea was especially useful for me this semester in my forensics class as I was tasked with writing a research paper about the media's perception of forensic science. Within this paper, I applied the forensic methods I learned in class (e.g. fingerprinting) and then analyzed how it is portrayed in shows such as CSI. While analyzing the discrepancies, I drew upon sources that connected to the topic and explained how they contributed to the misrepresentation of forensic science. By doing so, I was able to avoid the hit-and-run style as each point I made in the paper was built on the sources and other ideas. In addition, I was able to create new points within my paper as I developed a better understanding of concepts when I was working with sources. This concept of idea generation can also be applied to future contexts or areas in my academic career as other courses may include assignments which build on previously learned concepts.

Furthermore, working with source integration this semester has allowed me to learn more about different areas of writing, specifically expanding my idea of genre. Through the genre analysis assignment, I worked with sources to help me develop the idea that genre is not just a classification of similar things. Instead, genres are distinct ways to communicate which can be adapted from previous work within that genre (Dirk, 2020). In the context of genre adaptation, this aligns with the idea of high-road transfer as I consciously draw on different aspects from different genres to work within my specific need. By learning and adapting the idea of genres, it can help in many aspects such as academic writing, as the knowledge learned from one genre can be transferred to others which helps to scaffold the learning of the writer.

Throughout this course, I have not only learned concepts and ideas I can transfer into my future writing, but I have also developed a better understanding of my writing style. One maintakeaway is that I produce my best work when I establish a clear thread from the beginning of the paper. I discovered this from the challenges I faced during the genre assignment, where I needed to approach my work with a more thoughtful perspective to develop my ideas and implement sources to support these ideas. In Figure 2, it can be observed that my source integration could have been stronger. The connection with the source was quite broad and did not aid my discussion in the paper. Establishing a central thread in the paper can help to lead the discussion and create a conversation with the sources. By having a clear outline, the sources can be connected with prior knowledge and then be used to transfer those ideas into a better discussion.

Figure 2.

Genre Assignment Source Integration

In high school, when implementing sources in my work, I was never taught to scaffold sources to create this discussion and follow a central thread. Instead, my paper would be structured with a central idea and the following paragraphs would be a series of arguments with sources supporting them. There was never an emphasis on the connection of these paragraphs asthey still supported the main idea. This is another example of negative transfer as my default response to analytical writing was not necessarily the expectation for the assignment.

Working with this idea of transfer in my writing, I can use this situation to improve my writing in future courses. As stated byTaczak(2022), writing is a process that you continually develop overtimeand it helps you figure out how to frame or reframe various writing tasks. By reflecting on my writing process, I can develop an understanding of my writing choices and strategies. This reflection is important as it can be applied in various situations, allowing me to understand and integrate key concepts and terms in my writing (Yancey et al., 2014). By doing so, I can adapt and refine my approach to new environments and build a foundation for my future writing practices. This foundation can continuously develop throughout future contexts which will help to transfer my knowledge to the new contexts.

The journey through ISP100 has been transformative for me, reshaping not only my approach to writing but also unveiling a deeper understanding of my capabilities. I have developed numerous writing styles that can be transferred to different situations in the future such as an analytical essay or a more persuasive paper. ISP100 has helped guide me to discover this new approach to writing as well as helping me to discover both the strong and weak points within my writing process. As I move on to my further years at UTM and beyond, I feel better equipped to handle these different situations and adapt the concepts learned within this course