My Experience With Academic Writing

My experiences with academic writing have been everywhere from good to bad. I started high school with very little knowledge when it comes to writing, and unfortunately ended high school around the same place I began. I acquired a few important grammar skills, however that was the extent of any knowledge gained in high school. Fortunately, I had an excellent experience last semester in English 1301 taught by a South Plains College professor and I was able to expand my writing skills and gain confidence in my ability to write. We wrote five major essays; that of which included, a compare and contrast essay, three definition essays, and an argumentative essay. The longer I was in the class and the more assignments I completed, the more I matured

These strengths allow me to express myself in my writing in a more sophisticated manner. My biggest weakness is my insecurity when it comes to grammar choices such as a correct way to phrase things and punctuation. I intend to build on my strengths and weaknesses by doing a good job of utilizing my resources. I have learned that is is immensely important to check over my work multiple times before submitting an assignment and to always use my writing handbooks and guides to answer any quick questions I have when regarding grammar writing techniques. My resources I plan to use include attending my professor’s office hours, using the university writing center, and accepting constructive criticism given to me by the graders for this course. My goal for this class is to expand my writing skills, obtain more confidence, and build on the excitement I have for

Throughout the essay, different types of reforms are explained and this creates a strong sense of optimism because it shows that there is more than one way to achieve success through reform. However, the second article, “What I Learned About School Reform” by Diane Ravitch, holds a contrary opinion. Ravitch began by explaining her pervious stance as a democrat, and continued to explain her new more conservative view on educational reform after serving under George Bush and working as the United States Assistant Secretary of Education. She explained her many years of working, and the seeming to be unsolvable problems with the school system in America today which led to a change in her opinion on the issue. The conclusion isn 't necessarily that no reform needs to take place, but different to “The Myth of Helplessness” in the sense that the reform isn 't something that government officials can help. Simply put, “We must be sure they are prepared for the responsibilities of democratic