Writing papers has been one of my biggest fears as a student. High school English class prepared me for the editing of my essays, for example, grammatical errors, spelling, font errors, and things that were under the category of fixing my paper. I realized that the writing process requires more than just editing, you have to understand that the paper is like a human body, it cannot function if every single part is not effective. I can certainly say that I have improved as a writer a great deal and this portfolio and the final revised drafts of my work certainly can argue for that. English 101 was certainly different from my other English classes; we actually focused on different parts of the writing process in each class instead of wasting our time discussing the same components of the process over and over again. As I reflect on my experiences throughout the semester of English 101 I am aware that I have met very important requirements of writing that I feel were very valuable for me as a student and my writing has improved progressively. Gradually through the whole semester, Peer Review sessions became a great and positive influence on my writing. It is very helpful to have two people with different views on writing read and critique my paper, and give me feedback on what they think I should improve or correct. We didn’t change peer review groups and I was very delighted because I have gotten a chance to see my group members grow as a writer. When it’s time to revise my paper before I turn it in for a grade, it is very helpful to have some options on what to exactly revise in my paper. For example, in my comparative analysis essay, both of my peer reviewers wrote that my introduction was not effective and i... ... middle of paper ... ...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.
English 101 is one of the most common college courses in the world. When I enrolled in the class, I was bothered that I would have spend forty hours in a freshman writing class; along with at least another forty hours throughout the semester writing for the class. What surprised me, was that when I began writing my essays I was not annoyed or bothered; I actually enjoyed the assignments. Most importantly, throughout the course of the semester, I have become a better writer and have ultimately met the course goals of English 101.
In the beginning of the semester, one of my major problems was constructing my thesis statement. A thesis is a short statement, usually one sentence, that summarizes the main point or claim of an essay, research paper, etc., and is developed, supported, and explained in the text with examples and evidence. Without a well-developed thesis, your essay will be unorganized. I always had trouble choosing the main points of the essay. Throughout the semester, writing my thesis statement became easier because I
This trimester I began the class English 101 with mixed feelings. Depending on the topic and style, I could really enjoy writing. However, there were occasionally times where I just did not feel much inspiration, and consequently, my writing quality was not exactly remarkable. My previous course to English 101 was AP Literature, where I learned how to analyze writing and write powerful papers. Although, to my disadvantage for this class, the teacher was more concerned about content than presentation and grammar technicalities. I learned to create good ideas and responses, and while I did possess the ability to convey them with proficiency, I could not express myself at a college level. Nonetheless, I can happily report that I have acquired these skills throughout English 101, learning to curb my near addiction to prepositional phrases, in addition to halting my use of coordinating conjunctions to begin sentences. I find it pleasing to read and compare my first essay to my latest one, seeing all of the differences and enhancements. My writing has improved through the trials of in-depth analyses and short deadlines, enabling me to perform my best no matter the style or topic. Overcoming the oppositions found in the class and my own
At the beginning of the quarter, I had preconceived notions as to what "good" writing looked like, and how I should formulate it. I found that to be successful in this class, I had to leave my thoughts from high school at the door and start from scratch. I quickly came to understand, for example, that a thesis statement is completely different than a claim. This was a big issue for me as I was confident in my thesis-writing abilities at the beginning of the quarter. However, when I received multiple papers back regarding my claim, I was discouraged. Although I didn't have any specific goals for my own writing at the beginning of the course, this immediately became a goal for me to work towards. I needed much additional help, and found the Odegaard Writing Center to be particularly useful. I took what the tutors there had to say directly into account, along with Allison's recommendations. With their help, and also in following by example, I devel...
As I reflect on my experiences throughout the semester of English 101 I’ve come to figure out that I have met very important requirements that I feel were very valuable for me as a student. I have become a better writer; I have also learned valuable information on the proper rhetorical choices as well as understanding the materials we have went over throughout the semester. During this process, reading and comprehending the materials given were not only a difficult task for me but I also needed much improvement in this area. As far as my portfolio layout goes, I decided to use a layout which shows my gradual improvement as a writer throughout the entire semester. Other aspects of the writing process over the semester such as the revision stages were also something that I continued to progress in. I’ve come to realization that writing is no longer a just another assignment that I can just through just before it’s due. This class is the first writing course in which I’ve actually had to push myself. I firmly believe that I have that brought my writing to another level. My paragraphs feel sharper, my ability to reference pop text has gotten significantly better, and, most importantly, I am able to more personal with my writing. I no longer get that annoying writer’s block at the end of papers.
My form and structure are not always the best. In one of our more challenging essays, the Rhetorical Analysis Essay my form and structure weren’t as strong as they should be. As stated before, I made the mistake of not staying focused on the rhetorical elements of my topic and venturing my own personal opinion in the essay, which crowded and weakened my form and structure. Continuing with Murray’s path, the development of my essays is based on the rubric. I always seek to include information that the rubric is essentially telling me to include, but sometimes I fall short of developing my thoughts enough. The dimension of my essays also has inconsistencies. I tend to have a problem of expanding into great detail on one point of my essay leaving another point barely expanded upon leaving my essay disproportionate. Finally, the last thing writer’s look for in their essay is their own voice. Thomas Osborne in Late Nights, Last Rites, and the Rain-Slick Road to Self Destruction states “I strive for a good grade, and will work as hard as possible to achieve one, but there is a voice in the back of my head that is effectively scoffing at the ridiculousness of some assignments and expectations that I have had to complete and live up to.” My voice sometimes gets lost in assigned essays when I try to fulfill certain standards that are put upon me. Thomas and I both struggle with writing what we need to write in order to achieve the grade
Writing is a process that takes multiple steps. Starting with brainstorming and finding a topic, then organizing the idea into an outline. Outlining is an important step as this is where you generally form your thesis statement. This tells the reader generally what your essay will be about. From that point forward forming a thesis statement as one of the first challenges in getting started helps in making a strong path to follow. This makes it easier to put your ideas from the outline into writing a rough draft. Once you have a first draft, proofread and edit to make a final, polished essay. Refreshing this process has helped me greatly in improving my personal writing.
When it comes to revision, I am very lazy and I lack the drive to change my paper drastically. I do exactly what Nancy Sommers, author of the article “Revision Strategies of Student-Writers and Experienced-Writers,” says not to do; I become attached to what I have written. The thought of starting new and throwing out what I have already written ...
I have always been a thinker, but throughout my course work, I have greatly sharpened my critical analysis skills. I realized that breaking up my research when working with my papers allowed me to process and think more critically about what I want to say in my essay. Iv been told numerous times by my professors, tutors and peers to "organize your thoughts" or "provide more support and examples". These are the things that I have worked on and improved over the course of English 1B and I feel that my work shows this. For example, in my peer review essay #1, I realized that the process and research of the information I wanted to incorporate into my essay is a critical step in order to clearly express my thoughts in my essay. I had many ideas and thoughts about what I wanted to say, but had to find a way to put my critical thoughts in an organized way where I could properly express myself. I found that putting all my critical thoughts down on paper though a map or chart helped the organization of my paper greatly. At the start of writing Peer Review Essay #1 I had many top...
In the beginning of English 101 I was what you call a novice writer a person who only wrote what they felt was required. However, certain techniques that I learned in English 101 made me realize that writing was not about filling requirements; it’s about speaking out, exploring and proving a point. “Writing is an exploration. You start from nothing and learn as you go.” (Trimble, 17) In John Trimble’s quote he tries to point out that writing is something that you grow with and learn as you go along. I believe this growth was achieved with a technique that was introduced to me by my professor called repetitive revision. What I found out was that revision of your essays helps in recognizing your mistakes and enhances the flow of your essays. By providing me...
I have always known that writing was not my strong point. Entering writing 101 in September I was very much afraid. I knew that the expectations would be very high for this course; thus it would be more difficult than any other writing class I had previously taken. At first writing was a nightmare for me, but thanks to the assistance from professor Smart and my tutors, I have improved drastically in my writing skills and, as a result I am now a better writer. During the course of four months, I have learned so much. There were a few bumps in the way throughout the semester, but I managed to overcome them. It is hard to believe that my journey in writing 101 is coming to an end. Through my hard work and dedication, this class has helped me to build confidence in my writing that will help me throughout my college life.
Over the course of this semester I learned a lot about myself as a writer. This English 101 class has really allowed me to expand my essay structure and ways of thinking. This was my first college writing course and it has given me much more freedom when writing because in high school I felt limited and like what we were writing was not very important. In high school I would write essays to just to fulfill the required word or page count and to a degree I still feel like this but maybe that is why I am an engineering major but in this course I actually was able to express my ideas and for the first time really test the limits of my writing capabilities. I really enjoyed being able to incorporate my voice more in my essays and I believe that I developed my own personal style a bit from this. At the beginning of the semester my writing was quite choppy and there was plenty of room for improvement in the overall flow of my essays. Now, I use several different tactics such as outlining to create better connections between paragraphs. I believe I was able to move beyond many of the high school ways of writing and make general improvements to my essays.
this area but I’m going to improve on it. The process of using multiple drafts has
This semester in English 102 has been a great learning experience for me as a student. With each writing project I have grown as a writer learning new was of conducting and structuring an essay with MLA, or APA. Also this class has taught me how to create new works research writing from one original writing assignment, which I thought to be very helpful and interesting to learn rather than writing a whole new paper. English 102 was also a great experience with sentence structure and grammar which was another area of writing that I believe I have excelled in. The four writing projects that was completed throughout the semester consisted of a summary and response assignment, synthesized research, argumentative research and an informative paper.
Taking a creative writing class was a good way for me to express my thoughts and feelings onto paper, as well as read my other classmates stories. Reading stories created by other people lead me into their mind brain to experience what type of writer they were, it was an overall exquisite class. I believe that every person has a way of expressing who they are through writing stories of their own, fiction is the best way to express your creative imagination. This class that I took for two years helped me become a better writer and helped me understand the types of writers we have.