Going into ENGL2089 (Intermediate Composition), I was somewhat wary of taking a class all about writing, especially because I had taken almost exclusively taken science classes in my first year of undergrad. I wrote two papers, one being a literacy narrative, telling a story of how I had gained a literacy, and the other being a discourse analysis, or a paper examining a literacy I had gained and the process surrounding it. It is important to understand that a "literacy" in this context is defined as the ability to read, understand, translate, or interact with a text (“text” doesn’t have to mean written language), and that is acquired and practiced. For my literacy narrative, I detailed my experience with Bearcat Buddies, a tutoring service provided by UC students for struggling primary students in the Cincinnati Public Schools district. In my discourse analysis, I wrote about my experience in the Lewkowich Lab (see also: Biomedical Research and Mentoring Program), including the context and background of my research, the process of gaining my literacy, my mentor's qualifications, the analysis and evidence of my literacy, the application of my research to my future medical career, and methods of sharing my literacy with a general audience. My discourse analysis, I found quickly, was the more rewarding of the two papers to write. The length, depth, and amount of work I put into the paper led me to realize just how much I have accomplished in my lab. This paper showed me that I have improved my scientific and general writing skills, APA skills, and Microsoft Word skills. Learning how to explain complex concepts to people outside of my discourse community and field proved a challenge, but it was rewarding showcasing my work and teaching others, and I learned more about immunology and my topic of allergic asthma as well. Below, I have attached my discourse analysis to browse. Most importantly, in the future, I feel much more comfortable writing papers, both general essays and scientific papers, because of this class.