That’s right a C-. This is the grade I received for paper one. I felt good about this paper, I thought I would have at least gotten a B. It just goes to show that I need help with somethings. I am my own worst critic; I hate that I try so hard to be perfect. The comments that I received from my professor were not awful, but they got my attention and make me think twice when editing my papers. From the comments on paper one I now know that I am horrible at using slang words like guy, girl, dirt bag. Also, I use a lot of contractions such as that’s, he’s and I’d. I also am not very good at identifying where to put commas. Needless to say I have some important aspects of writing that I need to build on. I will be using some materials that my professor provided for me, to help me understand college writing a little easier. …show more content…
The MLA Format was good, and as far as the comments for paragraph one, the outline was good. I was not aware that in college writing it was not formal to use contractions. Avoiding contraction is pretty simple yet difficult in this day and age, all one has to do is say the full two word instead of combining them. For example, instead of “that’s” use “that is”. This is difficult for me because I do not talk like this in everyday life. Throughout the paper I continued to us contractions. I am and will continue to keep contractions out of my essays and papers. To help me do this I will read up on contractions and understand more on why we con not use them in college
I guess I was very confused about formatting in general. In my refutation paper, I listed several sources, but none of them were cited within the text. The formatting was also not up to MLA standards. The grade I received on the MLA quiz also was not good. I worked on this my using the MLA website for help when I needed help. The book also helped quite a bit as well. The improvement is evident in the Problem/Solution paper. The margins are up to standards and everything is formatted correctly. I’m glad I have worked and improved with MLA. I will be using MLA a lot throughout the rest of my college career and it is very important that I know how to use
2. Your conclusion paragraph should be more detailed. Restate in just a few sentences the points that you made in your paper and what conclusions you have drawn from those points.
The art of writing is a complex and difficult process. Proper writing requires careful planning, revision, and proofreading. Throughout the past semester, the quality of my writing has evolved significantly. At first, I struggled with the separation of different types of paragraphs, and I found writing them laborious. Constant practice, however, has eliminated many of my original difficulties, and helped to inspire confidence in my skills. As a collegiate writer, my strength lies in my clear understanding of the fundamentals of writing, while my primary weakness is proofreading my own work.
YOUR PAPER WAS EXCELLENT. YOU BEGAN VERY STRONG, BUT THE PAPER STARTED TO GET A LITTLE TOO OPINONATED TOWARDS THE END. YOU MIGHT WANT TO HAVE A CLEARER CONCLUSION NEXT TIME. DO NOT USE CONTRACTIONS IN YOUR PAPERS. OVERALL GREAT!
Consistency, is what essay formats seek to provide for readers. Without essay formats, readers may find themselves lost in the style of the author’s text rather than contemplating the ideas and thoughts that the author wants the reader to acknowledge. However, why is it that there are so many different essay formats? Wouldn’t it be simpler to just have one universal essay format? The two most widely used formats, MLA and APA, both have great degree of similarity as well as very distinct differences. Most of the similarities exist due to their effectiveness. On the other hand, the two formats’ distinct differences such as in-text citations or setting aside a whole page for a title, serve to strengthen the clarity of ideas within a field of study the author is trying to convey. Different formats exist due to the specific necessities fields of study require in order to convey their ideas to the reader.
I now understand how to format a paper and the importance of an outline. English 111 has helped me see the difference in the quality of papers I wrote in high school compared to the quality paper expected in college. When writing my Argumentative Essay I put much more effort into my outline than I did for any other paper in this class. Writing an outline improved my paper in ways I did not take advantage of on earlier assignments. Before this class I never spent time on an outline and considered outlines a waste of time. I now see how helpful an outline can be and plan to use one for papers going forward. The skill area I most improved on from our midterm project has been citations. I have utilized the “Cite It” link from the James Library for MLA style on both of my final papers for this class. The guide provided through the James Library gave many examples which helped me visually see the difference in what was expected. By using this resource I not only improved on MLA format for our class, but also improved upon the APA format for my Sociology
Lee, I. “How to Write a Bibliography: Examples in MLA Style.” Nov. 17, 2002. A Research Guide for Students. Dec. 2, 2002.
Lunsford, Andrea A. “MLA Format for In-text Citations.” The St. Martin’s Handbook. Fifth Edition. Bedford/St. Martin’s. 20 July 2008. .
War has a definite effect on the mentality of a soldier, so much so that many result in insanity during or after the leave of combat. Timothy Findley’s The Wars, portrays the “stupidity, futility and the horror of the terrible losses of the First World War, describing war as an image of the worst that can be within a man” (Anne Nothof Interview). Findley portrays mental aspects as well as physical, that lead to Robert Ross’ demises, specifically, the conditions of war, overall aspect of war taking someone’s life and the feeling of loneliness and silence.
I think a lot of the paragraphs that are broken up could be in the same paragraph, considering the topics seem to be similar. Examples of this are your first and second paragraphs and the fourth and fifth paragraphs. Overall, your paragraph breaks are good and stick to their topic, but I think the few I listed would make it flow better if put together.
Throughout the semester i only learned few new things but i did improve and solidify my skill of writing. Before my first year of college my skills have always undermined by other high school english teachers and with that came disappointing grades. I am writing this paper as a reflection of the semester and the progress i have made as a writer. I now understand many things that my high school teachers have done a poor job demonstrating and i am grateful that i decided to take my own route in my education instead of their syllabus. I entered the semester with anxiety that i would perform as i did before but i clearly outdid my own expectations by receiving top grades on my essays.
Overall, your paper was well organized. You state your points in your thesis statement and you stick to them within your paper.
I’m going to stop here, since I am beginning to see small, easily fixable patterns in your writing. You’ve got a good paper going here, only requiring a few revisions to be truly great. Good job! 140/150
In the course of this semester of writing, I grew more than I ever had in my ability to write well. I remember on the first day of class several other students were talking about how hard this writing professor is. I was a bit worried and even thought about switching to an easy professor for a guarantee A so I can get a 4.0. Now, I am grateful that I chose to decide to work hard for a 4.0 instead. Even though I may not get it, I am still glad I stayed because for once, I learned and became a better writer. I can see that my knowledge of conventions definitely improved from last semester. I really loved the feedback for my assignments, since it allows me to realize what I need to improve on and what I should keep doing. Unlike the previous semester, the writing professor only told us our grade on the very first assignment after two months. There were no feedback on how I could improve either, so I had no idea if I was having trouble with anything. Prior to this course, I always had trouble writing sentences and organizing them in such a way that flows and delivers my idea well. I also rarely outline or plan out how I will write a paper too, and even when I did, it was very vague. Out of the five learning outcomes, I grew the most in rhetoric knowledge and writing process from the reading responses and 4 assignment.
Dr. Shook’s critiques directed me to revise for the lack of transitional phrases between main ideas within my essay, as well as my tendency to compose run-on sentences. Accordingly, I inserted transitions that connected the major points that my essay touched upon. In order to do so, I used phrases such as “furthermore” in order to create a better flow without compromising the important ideas that were essential in regards to properly communicating the context to my audience. By commencing the process of revising my first essay, I developed the understanding that one of my shortcomings as a writer at the beginning of the semester included compiling numerous ideas into one sentence, consequently making it too “heavy.” By taking corrective action, I separated sentences that surpassed three lines into two entities. I found that Informal Assignment 10: Writing with Clear Style, assisted in improving my understanding of how my style of writing assists in communicating to my audience. Initially, I failed to realize that clear communication is of the utmost importance in regards to becoming an astute college writer. I entered English 101 focusing on incorporating words with over three syllables to intelligently convey my argument instead of focusing on how clearly my argument will be received by my