Jared Lawrence 4/23/2014 College Writing 101-04 Critical Rationale Essay 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. When it came to the process of writing my first, second, and third essay’s, there was clear visual improvement that I have become a better writer in certain aspects. As for essay one, I tended to rely on my writing skills as a high school student rather than use the components of a successful college student essay. This was definite once I received the feedback given by ... ... middle of paper ... ...cessary for feeling confident in my writing and completing my essay three. As I complete my portfolio, my main focus is to emphasize the improvements of my writing by placing my worse essays first, followed by my best essays. This process will not only show how well my writing has excelled over the semester but also it will show that the peer review and conference sessions were very beneficial. This course has made realize that I love to write, as opposed to just being good at it. As far as any other information that I feel that shows my improvement as a writer I would like to include any and all of the information that from the reading assignments as well as any in class information that has helped with my writing skills over the semester. The reading assignments have been instrumental, because they help to give me a framework for what I am supposed to be writing.
The following final drafts, drafts, notes, and peer review letters represent my growth as a writer in the span of one semester. I learned quite a bit about myself and the things i can do to improve my writing and the methods of doing proper research in order to write a proper research essay. Though i have seen an improvement within these essays, i feel i still have much to practice upon.
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
Throughout this semester we have had to write many types of essays. Although this is a college English class there is still room for improvement. I made much improvement during the semester of the class. I was able to identify my weaknesses. I learned how to make improvements to the areas I was having problems in. Although each essay we did was different I was able to begin with one essay and throughout the semester turn it into two other essays. I was able to change my style of writing to fit the type of audience I was working with. I will continue to work on my writing and keep improving it.
My development as a writer has flourished throughout this semester. The first week of this fall semester started out with writing responses from our readings in the textbook. Looking back through and analyzing my reading responses at the semester to now; I noticed a substantial improvement in not only my grammar skills, but also my summarizing, and in-depth studying of writing adeptness. Another way I have progressed this semester is the vocabulary of my writing has significantly improved and become more scholarly. Another advancement I noticed was that the content of my work has matured, along with my organizational adeptness.
As the semester finally approaches the finish line, I revisit my past work to compare and contrast how this class has developed me into a successful writer at the college level. Throughout the year my writing style has developed and become broader as I have learned how to incorporate more of my personal views as well as reliable, unbiased information. This portfolio is a representation of how many things I have learned along the way while being an English 102 student.
Writing essays was never my forte, it just never came easy to me like it would to others. Since other subjects came easy to me and I had to focus more than others on writing, I had a negative attitude toward the process as a whole. During this summer semester, I was able to grow as a writer, and gain a more positive attitude toward how I write and a better feel for writing in college. Writing a paper is a process in which there are many different stages. In high school I would never write outlines or any sort of pre planning work. Other struggles I encountered in my writing were my theses, and framing quotes.
Throughout this semester I have learned many ways of writing through two main essays literacy narrative and comparison and contrast. These two essays have taught me how to correctly fix my comma splices, thesis statements, and capitalization. I have engaged in numerous learning material during this summer class. Many times when I thought it would be hard to work on those three developments I never gave up. I gain more positive feedback from my teacher because he pointed out most of my mistakes I made on both literacy narrative and comparison and contrast essays to help me understand what is it that I need to work on. My development as a writer became stronger.
For my Final Reflection Essay I attempted to focus on the most obvious adjustments I made from writing high school papers to producing college level essays. This approach compelled me to examine a few of the papers I submitted in high school and look back on the steps I took to write them. By reviewing my previous work I realized that during Dr. Kennedys English 111 class I have effectively learned how to apply an outline, utilize research, and incorporate that research into my final paper. English 111 has helped me to understand the importance of the multiple steps of writing a great college level essay by forcing me to complete each step individually. My overall performance in this class has been above average and I have really demonstrated dedication to improvement.
I went into English 101 knowing that there would be a lot of writing. I was never very fond of writing and I was never that good at it. I wasn’t very excited for this class. When I found out how the class was going to be graded I was shocked, I didn’t think I would be able to pass. I didn’t understand what any of the terms on the final portfolio assessment rubric (PAR) were. As we went through the semester however the idea of turning in a portfolio became less daunting. My writing improved and I knew that if I kept revising I would be able to pass.
Throughout the semester, I’ve written several essays and other writing assignments that demonstrate competent writing in all three student learning outcomes of English 1. According to my portfolio, I am excellent in the first learning outcome, which is content, argument, and insights of this portfolio. Furthermore, I show competence in the second learning outcome which is the development, evidence, and organization of my writing. I am also competent in the third learning outcome which is the grammar, mechanics, as well as the formatting of my writing. Overall, I am competent in all the student learning outcomes of this course because my portfolio is composed of two well thought out argumentative essays which incorporate adequate credible evidence to support my stance on a subject. I also show competence in grammar and mechanics because I made sure to proofread my paragraphs However, I struggled quite a bit with these, but I managed to correct my errors after proofreading. I am also competent at properly formatting my essays as I correctly cite and reference evidence in my works cited page.
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.
The semester has came to a close, and as I write this portfolio, I reflect on the topics, ideas, and questions that have arisen and been discussed throughout the duration of this course. I lift up a thick green folder, filled with paper clips, staples, and hundreds of words written in ink (and a few in pencil). I open it up and glance through a collection of focused thoughts that document a growing and stretching in my thoughts about the teaching of writing. I think back to the first time that I entered the doors of the classroom, and honestly, it doesn’t seem that I’ve changed that much. But, I can also glance through my writer’s notebook, along with this folder-full-of-thoughts, and see the long strides that I have taken towards a more complete
The first essay that I have selected for the portfolio, titled “My Journey to Literacy and Becoming a Writer,” is a personal narrative explaining how reading and writing have shaped me as a person. When I first started this piece, it
This Expanded English Composition course has been a thrilling rollercoaster ride where I am filled with anticipation of when it will start, and excited when I conquered and survived it when the ride is over. This class has been exactly that. I felt as if this class would begin intense and calm down in the end or at least I would have a better understanding of English that I either forgot or did not understand. Through this course I know I have made continuous improvements in my writing English essays overall, and my grammar has improved drastically though I know that it still need more development. Last semester and especially this semester I have come to realize that I am not as horrible of a writer as I thought. Dr. Spear says that “[I] have a Cheerleader” style of writing which I have to agree with her about. This class opened my eyes to see how writing has so much to offer and everyone has their style of writing that can be incorporated to meet more than what is required. I feel I have achieved this so far so far and only took to improve more overtime.
As a student at Roberts Wesleyan College, I have had the opportunity to take Principles of Writing. Principles of Writing is a class helps one learn how to communicate your ideas through writing. It focuses on the process of composition, from prewriting through editing, and emphasizes developing. This class has enabled me to become a better writer and it also has provided me will skills to achieve academic success, which can be seen though my essays in this portfolio. I specifically chosen each of my essays in this portfolio to show how I have improved in my writing and development of ideas over my first semester in college. I decided to include all of my essays from Principles of Writing because in each of them I learned something new about my writing.