Reading “I am an English Major, Now What?” written by Timothy Lemire was an interesting discussion to explain to the students that their careers can be successful with English majors. This book was designed to help academic students understand the purpose of English skills and communication with the proper techniques to enhance achievements. The English major involves a variety of reading and writing, but people can find real jobs to help them achieve happiness in their life. In addition, the student needs to know who they are, what they can do, what they want, and where to look for opportunities. Colleges and universities around the world has a different set of requirements for the major in English, but to earn a degree in English, the student should be able to at least read two three-hundred page novels and write a five-page paper about the novel. According to Lemire, “There are English skills that the student should learn at a bare minimum, such as proper grammar, manage deadlines, and …show more content…
For a successful job search, the academic scholar will become comfortable to pursuing job leads, and setting up informational or formal interviews. A clean, professional presentation in clothing, hair, speech, resume, and portfolio will help the academic scholar gain attention. You never know who you will confront in the hallway, library, or across campus as this mysterious person could be someone who works for a job that you are looking for. Always dress to impress. According to Lemire, “As good a resource as the Internet is, do not limit yourself to online job listings” (6). The intellectual next step is to complete detective work in your field of study. The student’s should investigate their college career center and asks questions to professors. Furthermore, this process is a constant procedure of evaluating the students self, gaining experience, and learning new
As I look back into my high school years, I thought I wrote papers well. But then coming into a college environment, my papers were mediocre. By overlooking at my past papers, I found that they were unorganized, sloppy and had bad use of diction. From now on, I will use the tools I learned in English 1100-40 as a foundation for the future papers I intend on writing in college. Following the criteria of organizing ideas so that they flow, impacting the reader with diction and also by being creative, will help become an ideal writer. Following the criteria of staying motivated in short and long term goals, taking responsibility for actions and finally the ability to study well will help me develop into a supreme student.
English in its entirety can be simply described as author, biologist and physician, Lewis Thomas had once said, “We pass the word around; we ponder how the case is put by different people, we read the poetry; we meditate over the literature; we play the music; we change our minds; we reach an understanding. Society evolves this way, not by shouting each other down, but by the unique capacity of unique, individual human beings to comprehend each other” (Thomas 120). The impact literature can bring onto others is simply amazing and is a gift that should be shared with everyone. This spring semester has quickly broadened my perspective. Being that this is my freshman year in college I prodded around ideas of what majors I had interests in. I toyed around with political science, but I found that I spent more time on arguing with what the political figures stood for than actually studying. I was almost certain I wanted to be an interior designer but I became overly fixated on how to properly draw three dimensional boxes to further myself any farther. Truth be told, I am the type of person who rather create something encrusted with detail than something cut in dry like politics or basic shapes. I have always have had a love for literature and especially poetry. At age eight I became a published poet in a children’s book. Even at a young age I knew with words I can create something to quench my need to express how I feel about a certain topic or issue. Therefore I have recently declared myself as a literature major. Through the structured English 1B's course and power of words from authors; Boisseau, Bishop, Glaspell and Ibsen I have gained valuable life lessons .
Human’s core knowledge starts when we first enter kindergarten and, according to Murray, ends once we finish high school. The completion of high school comes with a diploma and “considerable flesh on the liberal education skeleton for students who are still interested” (Murray 237). Murray believes that only the top five percent of high school graduates will be successful in obtaining a Bachelor of Arts degree because of the sheer difficulty of the degree and the challenging courses that are required. The lower down the “linguistic ladder” (Murray 239) one is, the less likely they are to thrive in college or enjoy the readings
I have been interested in many subjects through my years in high school; though many of my fascinations have died out over time I still respect and love English. Half of my family is built on poets and story writers, so when I announced my curiosity about this subject they jumped at the opportunity and fed me the idea of being an English major. No one on either side of my family has either: never attended college or never finished. I have many plans on being the first woman in my family to go and graduate at a university or college.
I had always wanted to be an English major. In high school it was the only class that I enjoyed. I loved reading and writing about literature. There was something in the words of struggle and sadness that so many authors wrote about that gave my life meaning through a context of the joy and sorrow that are inextricably linked to living. Despite this, when it came time to choose a major in college, I steered clear of English, my thoughts filled with the intimidating associations of stodgy professors who deconstructed every sentence on a page, bantered using esoteric verbs, and deemed students the flawed population, and that they, erudite and pristine, were socially obligated to instill a fraction of their wisdom into these malleable minds of the naÔve, or just plain stupid. I did not want to willingly submit myself to a major where I perceived I would be subjected to daily criticism of my intelligence. Throughout college, I changed majors several times, each time considering English, but turning away for fear of failure. When I graduated, after a period of complete indecision, I decided that I was going back to school and getting a degree in English. This strange, motivating desire to possess an English degree consumed me, and I knew that I had to prove to myself that I was capable of earning this degree. I had to prove to myself that I could overcome this hurdle. It is funny how one obstacle can create in our minds this wall of fear. So much of life is learning to overcome a fear that often dictates our decisions, desires and dreams.
From this course I have learned that being a writer is much more than writing grammatically correct. A writer is one who studies deeply and takes into mind the audience and the context and then begins to form their paper. Writers are rhetor’s, encoders, and members of discourse communities. As a writer, I hold the power to influence anyone that reads my writing, whether I intend to influence that person or not. Being a writer from my understanding this semester should actually be called a rhetor or encoder, because just about every piece of writing contains rhetoric and intertextuality of some sort, whether you consciously recognize it or not. I find that the knowledge, skills, and new ideas I have acquired this semester will significantly influence not only my college career but also benefit my life in general.
My experience into English 111 not only left me anxious, it became a self-revelation. My learning capabilities were challenged because writing did not come natural and the possibility of becoming a prominent writer were going to take a lot of time, effort and hard work. In spite of not knowing what to expect, I entered into this new semester pumped up carrying an “I can do this” attitude and feeling confident.
Transitioning from high school to college can be overwhelming. Before English 1301, I thought that I did not have to worry about being prepared for college. I quickly realized that my little background in writing essays was not going to be enough for college. Writing is not just something that I will use in English classes. In college, I will have to use effective writing skills in all my classes to complete research papers, essay tests and communicate to professors. Throughout my education, writing strategies persisted to be something that did not come easy to me. I dreaded writing because I could never find ways to get my thoughts down on paper. Ironically, a class that petrified me due to the amount of writing that was required ended up helping me in so many ways. English 1301 and my professor prepared me so much for college and real life.
Dual Enrollment English was the first real college-level class I ever had. I actually have taken other college-level classes before it, but Dual Enrollment English was the only course that gave me an accurate representation of how college will really be like and what it will expect of me. My journey through Dual Enrollment English began with a sense of fear and self-defeat and ended with a sense of satisfaction and confidence with many highs and lows along the way. This portfolio catalogs the evolution of my writing during my two semesters in Dual Enrollment English including seven different types of papers as well as each of their respective drafts and tutor feedback.
Throughout my childhood, the idea of having a college education was greatly stressed. As a result, it was my duty as the next generational child, to excel in my studies and achieve a life of prosperity and success. Learning became the basic foundation of my growth. Therefore, my youth was overtaken by many hours spent reading and writing what was known to be correct "Standard" English. I first found this to be a great shortcoming, but as I grew older, I began to realize the many rewards acquired by having the ability to be literate.
The pain and agony of knowing that I might not be prepared for college classes is a weight I have bore on my shoulders. One of my goals has always been to lift the stress of college classes off my back and have the assurance that I am ready for the challenges that are ahead of me. Since day one of high school, being engaged while learning has been my biggest desire so that I am well prepared for the next step in life: college. Dual Enrollment English was exactly what I needed to be well prepared for college. All of my high school career, I had never known what it actually meant to do well and be ¨successful.¨ An abstract idea occurred to me, in room 201, as I was sitting in the front row of my Dual Enrollment English 111 class; this idea
Writing is an important process which allows you to communicate professionally and academically, in an effective manner. Therefore, when writing it can be applied to any situation. It is best described when you are interacting between persons, places, and things. However, when taking ENG 3010, the main focus in the course was to analyze your academic major or future profession. More importantly, you had to learn how to identify different genres and how to develop your writing skills for particular contexts, purposes, and target audiences. When writing in these various scenarios, I found it to be a bit challenging. I was faced with these challenges only because I was unfamiliar with the writing situations. It was different from any other English course because the approaches suggested that you write for an audience only in your major. But with focusing on my writing skills within my discourse community, I was able to take my writing to a different level. The challenges that I faced became knowledge. It has helped me to ensure that all of my papers have balance and are well organized. As a result, I have developed strong skills with identifying modes of writing and communicating in my discourse community, research skills such as: writing a research proposal, literature review, annotated bibliography and proposing a working thesis. With these skills that I have developed from this course, I will be able to achieve the goals that are needed in my future classes and in the workplace after college.
As a writer, I struggled my first semester, which took a huge toll on my excitement for both English and writing. Although, I came to realize that with a little help, proofreading, and editing (several times), I was able to generate a well-written essay or at best an average one. Regardless of my poor start, I continued to appreciate my love of English language arts courses. I was blown away by all the juicy classical literature and landmark poems I was able to read and comprehend. I loved all of my classes in college, and I honestly enjoyed the readings! There is so much that can be learned from examining literature and research. Without having read and wrote countless assignments about various topics, novels, poems, and more, I do not believe I would still be motivated to become a high school English teacher and literature professor. My love of reading is a love that I hope will be contagious enough for my future students to capture and spread. In the meanwhile, my continuous love of the Brothers Grimm Tales has inspired a concentration in Children’s literature for my second master’s degree, and I am almost positive that I have conjured a snippet of my future dissertation as well from observations in select
Aptitude plays an important role in learning. If you have it, the job becomes simple. If you don’t, the final outcome is always doubtful. Some tasks, like playing a musical instrument, require a very high degree of aptitude. The average person would face great difficulty in learning such a vocation. Other, more mundane but crucial ones, like driving a car, cooking or writing can be learnt by most people with a reasonable level through training. English composition was never my choice subject and essay writing was not exactly the most joyful assignment at the high school but there were indicators that writing skills would play a crucial role in my future life, irrespective of which career I chose. Take, for example, Anthony Balderrama’s advice. “We spend more time writing in our professional and personal lives than we probably imagined we would back in school. What you may not realize is that these written exchanges can boost your career or hinder it, depending on how you treat them.”(Balderamma, 2009). Taking up Foundations of Academic Writing (FAW) I and II at the university was, therefore, a carefully thought out decision. The FAW syllabus tackles different aspects of academic writing in a systematic way. There is measured emphasis on different genres of academic writing, and there is lots of repetition. As a result, slowly but surely, change starts to happen. Now, as the course reaches the final stages, I can observe these changes in the quality of my writing and overall understanding of the subject. Writing an essay is no more the ordeal that it used to be in the high school.
Being a successful student and achieving continued academic success is fundamental in order to complete an associate degree and become a successful professional. College is challenging, but it can be a rewarding growth experience and easier when setting up goals. Having educational and career goals helps students keep the focus and motivation. Besides, having knowledge of different learning styles can help students learn about themselves and increase efficiency while studying. Writing skills learned in college are also a powerful tool for both academic and career success. The campus is a great place to find tools to succeed and achieve continued academic success. It is also important to keep academic honesty as a good habit and as a value of integrity throughout college and later on in the professional environment.