One would have not known much about how to write an effective essay until they have clearly edited their previously written essay during the Expository Writing Stations. Anyone who has looked over their writing multiple times and has found ways to enhance and professionalize it will learn to write in a more clear and concise manner than they had done before. The Expository Writing Stations has helped change the students’ understanding of how to write a proper essay by having the the students edit and review one another’s essays, finding some things that they should have put on their own essay to help enhance the writing. Students also find out about what components of their writing sounds and looks clear, and how their writing could have developed. Their understanding of using correct, accurate word choice and evidence has evolved. The following examples of reflections show how one has thoroughly understood the insufficient parts of their essay and …show more content…
One can check if their evidence suits the thesis and if it completely supports the main idea. They will also realize if they have a thoughtful commentary that links the evidence to the controlling idea. Many times, students tend to forget to give a short commentary for each piece of evidence before writing the main commentary at the end to restate the thesis.Therefore, one’s understanding of how to include proper evidence and a strong commentary will change because they have thoroughly analyzed their writing and have found ways to improve it. The clarity of the commentary and the credibility of the evidence will change after doing the Development of Ideas section of the Stations. Other than proper examples, and a solid main idea, a writer must use a professional, but functional word choice and use correct conventions at all
Every English 111 textbook should consist of three main things: the proper way to write an academic essay, review of proper grammar, mechanics word usage and a short transition chapter of the difference between writing in high school and college writing. Successful College Writing by Kathleen T. McWhorter has many of the essentials but noticed it lacked examples of a noble essay. All throughout class students critiqued essays but never actually saw an example of a good, noteworthy complete essay. Having examples of what a person shouldn’t do in an essay is always beneficial but should be followed by a precise academic essay. How are the student supposed to improve their academic writing skills if they have nothing to go by? Just because the book lacks a few of the basic essentials doesn’t mean the book itself will not be beneficial in any way. The book as a whole is pleasing but still has room for revisions.
As a writer there are many elements of writing that I struggle with, especially when composing an essay. When writing an essay, there are usually many skills that need to be used in order to be successful with the writing assignment. Many times in writing I struggle with explaining and fully developing the supporting details and ideas in my essay. I would also like to improve on incorporating clear topic sentences and concluding sentences, connecting my paragraphs ideas back to my thesis. Lastly, improvement can be made in my writing by avoiding awkward or wordy sentences. Writers face numerous challenges in their writing but strive to overcome or improve these challenges with each piece they write.
In conclusion, when writing, a scholar-practitioner has to ensure he or she present appropriate material to the targeted audience without personal opinion, assumption, and bias. Additionally it is essential that writer, not only checks the validity and quality of the evidence use, but that the writing is objective in tone, clear, concise, and produce a mechanically correct writing that contains evidence-based material.
I have reflected over my written prose of this past semester I have come to understand my strengths and weaknesses in my comments and short essays. I reviewed the goals of the course to understand how they a line with my abilities and future goals. My strength lies in in my ability for contextualization and critical thinking. My weaknesses are in my ability to write and frame an argument based on evidence within the text. The stated goals of the course helped me to outline my progress over the semester. However, for me, the most important part is my ability to move forward and better my written prose. In a review of this semester, I understand how I have progressed towards certain goals and how to move forward with my future goals in the semesters to come.
...ragraphs that support the argument. The easiest part of this component was actually inserting it in my essay after I understood the purpose for it, because at the beginning I was confused on the whole thesis concept. The thesis was the most challenging because I kept asking myself "Can I really argue this for five to six pages?" and also "Is this even considered a thesis statement?" I noticed that I can speak and write more effectively when I'm thinking critically and intellectually. My sentence structure has always been strong and I feel it has grown because of the practice we have had in class with finding thesis statements in our readings. My overall issue with this component of the writing process is using a justifiable argument and remembering to support my argument with claims and trying not to put unnecessary points in my paper while maintaining my ethos.
Writing can be very frustrating; laying your ideas out on paper so that others can grasp the concept you are trying to convey is a very difficult task. In Writing 101 I have learned how to formulate good theses that are arguable and also how to validate articles that have to do with my topic. The most important element of a paper is the thesis statement. It captures the reader's attention and tells them what the essay is about. Having a well-structured thesis along with evidence to support that thesis are the main ingredients to a well-written essay. I have also learned how important it is to research an author’s background to ensure their credibility. This is a very important step in writing because today we can find information on a topic, however, it is not valid. By researching the author, we can see if he or she is an expert in the area and so this would make his or her information more credible. There is a ...
Writing was something I never particularly looked forward to before taking this class. I had a difficult time putting my thoughts together and really getting my point across. During my time in this class, my level of writing has increased exponentially compared to where it was when I was in high school. This class was very well constructed, and made the learning process one of the easiest I have experienced. Furthermore, I found the discussions made me think critically about the subject and that class participation in these discussions was great. I will reflect in this essay on many of the things learned while taking my first college course, writing 101.
College writers write multiple drafts and revise the entire essay or large sections of the essay for higher order writing concerns of meaning, structure, logical development, and concrete support of ideas and assertions. Revising the college essay is far more than simple editing for grammar and word choice. College essays must say something important and meaningful. Deep Revision helps to ensure that the essay says something interesting and worthwhile. Throughout High School I wrote for an educational finance website for high school students called, Investeens. I was the Head Writer for the “Tech Talk” section and reported on different sectors of the technology world as it related to finance. This was my first exposure to “professional” writing. As I sat down to write this essay I read over all the articles I wrote, and it was honestly painful. All I was doing was spewing out facts and observations without any support or general analysis. It disgusted me because I could see myself writing like that now, and I asked myself why that was. When we came into your class on the first day you begged the question, how does one learn to write? We all guessed haphazardly until someone finally said “through analysis”. I don’t think I fully understood what that actually meant. You described this as looking at the situation in front of you and asking why. Why did you write that? Why did you write it that way and not this other way? And by answering these simple questions you not only create a more meaningful essay but an understanding of yourself as the writer and that’s more important then anything you can ever write down. After taking this course I probably wont ever look at the essays I have written ever again, however, through writing t...
Writing is like art- it helps us to express ourselves. However, writing differs from art in that it has to follow specific parameters, such as structure, syntax, grammar, and so on. At the beginning of the quarter, I had preconceived ideas as to what "good" writing was, and how I should go about it. While working on my first assignment, I discovered that to be reasonably successful at this I had to leave behind my perceptions of writing as it is accepted in my country and to start from scratch. Throughout this portfolio, I demonstrate my development and growth as a writer. In the creation of this portfolio, I have accomplished several of the global objectives for this class. These included writing a clear thesis statement, showing awareness of my audience, and revealing the effect of successful, critical proofreading and editing techniques. As I aimed to meet these outcomes throughout the quarter, my writing has slowly, but surely developed into organized, critical, and academically correct text.
Coming to the country where English is spoken encourage me to acquire knowledge on the basic writing skills, which can help me in my day to day life. ENGL 101 is the first level English course that is given at Montgomery College to give an introduction to college writing. Being a second language learner with no background experience of writing skills needs a day to day practice in order to improve the required skills of writing. The various opportunities, including the writing center that Montgomery College provides help ESL students like me to enhance their knowledge of the basic techniques that are needed for a qualified paper. In this writing class, with the help of my instructor, Professor Michael LeBlanc, I have shown a progress in my writing skills even though I still need to work on some of the skills. Two of my writing strengths are integrating information into essays by paraphrasing based on assigned readings and developing paragraphs with vivid details; however, I still need improvement in demonstrating facility with grammatical issues, such as word
I have learned many things throughout the course of the term, including such things as: how to write an essay and how to improve on essays that I have already written, how to locate and composite better research through the use of numerous resources found at the campus library, the internet, and the “Common Sense” textbook, how to cite research, examples, and quotations properly within the contents of my research paper as well as document it accurately according to MLA standards. Through the exploration of the “Subjects and Strategies” textbook, I have learned nine different methods used when writing an effective essay and how the different writing styles affect the overall theme and tone of the essay when used properly. This past semester, I have encountered many difficulties when trying to write these essays, but through the use of the textbooks, the aide of the instructor, and once I was able to classify the different types of essays and styles, I found them possible to overcome.
The book starts with detailed attention to the writing process at a pace that is comfortable for the developmental student. It emphasizes the importance of the controlling idea, the process of gathering information from both personal experience and other sources, the structure of an essay, and the way in which ideas are arranged and connected. In Part Two, students learn how to use models for each of the patterns of development. The sentence/grammar material is self-contained in Part Three for flexible use by students studying independently or by teachers who might want to focus on a particular topic. Students learn how to construct different types of sentences and how to use appropriate punctuation. Ample exercise material reinforces the instruction. Part Four, Critical Reading Strategies, focuses on the process of reading and relates it to the process of writing and provides students with effective strategies for summarizing, note-taking, and annotating reading material.
During my EN 101A semester, I worked particularly on the use of the writing process, particularly on writing a vibrant thesis statement which offers a concise solution to the issue being addressed. I struggled to improve my expository writing through working at the writing center. In addition, I have also worked on improving my critical thinking, which helped me to develop analytical skills in an effort to add my own thoughts, contemplate a particular topic and analyze important issues. My weakest area in essay development during the semester was identifying a clear thesis statement, which was a crucial part of the writing process. I could not give a road map for my paper; in other words, my thesis statement could not tell the reader what to expect from the rest of the paper.
During the course of this semester; the variety of writing styles and essays assigned to me in my communication skills class encouraged the development of my writing skills, as well as provided me with more self-assurance in my abilities. My writing, research, and presentation abilities enhanced through practice, determination, and the understanding I gained during this course. With every single writing assignment, I learned new innovative approaches and skills, which enhanced my abilities to improve my thoughts logically, enabling me to write more clearly, and to organize my papers more effectively. At the beginning of this semester; despite the fact that I already knew the terminology MAP: message, audience, purpose; I never really understood the significance of MAP. For this reason, my writing lacked clarity, organization, and my writings appeared less focused on the topics. As a result my research papers and essays did not flow as smoothly from one passage to the next. Furthermore, I was unaccustomed with the precise procedures used when writing an essay. For instance, my previous classes before college, although requiring a reference page, did not require me to include proper citations in my writings. After evaluating the quality of my writing toward the end of the semester, I recognized vast improvements in several areas of my writing. By concentrating on the beginning stages of my writings, I could distinguish ahead of time my audience and my message. As a result, my essays are clear, and I remain on topic. In addition to that using transition phrases efficiently also helps my writing to flow smoothly. The proper use of transitions makes my writings easy to follow from one topic to the next. I also learned that pre-writing...
I argued that in order to help students we must develop their skills in writing through a process genre approach. “Given that writing is a process and that what we write is heavily influenced by the constraints of genres” Harmer (2004:86). It’s imperative that these elements are included in writing activities. I argued that without the ‘drafting and redrafting’ students are unlikely to improve. Moreover, “Teaching and learning are joint enterprises involving both teacher and student in a partnership” White&Arndt (1991:2). Both must fulfill their roles in this partnership, and though essay writing will continue to be challenging, I believe both teacher and student can become more motivated and see writing as communicative, rewarding and