My writing capability in English 102 has surpassed my skills that I had acquired in English 101. In English 101 I somewhat considered myself a failure. Although I made it out of English 101 with a C minus it is quite possible that I will advance with a low A in English 102, “If you focus on results, you will never change. If you focus on change, you will get results.” (Dixon) My English 101 class was also at my local community college where I believed it would be an easier class than at a four hundred level university, but I was proven terribly wrong. Certain aspects that helped myself ultimately was the checklist of points provided by Dr. Kelley when assigned an essay topic, the textbook, “A Writers Reference”, and the hardest task for me this semester was the group project. One thing that helped me the best was the list of points to establish in each essay given to the class when the topic was assigned. I personally have a problem with structure in my essays and having this list helped tremendously with that problem and also in other areas of my writing. It helped the paper with organization, research, and writer’s block. When researching my topics I knew what I was seeking for based on this list, “If writers block is staring you in the face, describe its shape, …show more content…
Not one of my teachers that I had ever had explained in detail how to execute a work cited page. This has always been a major problem with each paper I have ever written, “The authors state, ‘citing quotes can be annoying (Hu, koller and shier 45)”. (January 2015) English 102 was much easier considering I was at the disposal of a manual also known as “A Writers Reference”. Having this book as a guideline just made the whole shebang come together in my head. Making a work cited page is effortless now that I have something to look
As the first semester of my sophomore year wraps up, I begin to realize that I have learned a lot in all of my classes. The class that I learned the most from has definitely been my English 111 course. This class have given me so many opportunities to improve my writing skills. With all of the success I’ve had in this class, I believe I will do just fine with writing later in my life.
English 1020 has enhanced my reading, writing, researching and reflecting skills by giving me the opportunity to practice writing, reading, and reflect on diverse topics. My perception of writing was also positively impacted by taking this course. I now view myself as skillful writer rather than just a college student taking writing courses to pursue my degree. I have become a skillful writer because I now take in consideration prior knowledge and new information I have gained from English 1020. I put into practice these skills whenever I write content relating to the four learning outcomes. Reading, writing, researching and reflecting are the four learning outcomes I utilized during the
I am currently an English 160 student who is hoping to move on to the next course, which is English 161. I understand the requirements for English 161. It require students to explore a topic in some depth and conduct independent research related to that topic. Conducting research allows students to learn what it is like to participate in academic culture, posing questions about important issues and developing an argument in response to what others have said. It expected students to learn the most valuable skill in college, which is critical thinking. Students have to be able to read challenging readings. Although I still have problems with English, I think I’m qualified to move on.
All I had ever known was MLA so it was quite a shock when I found out I would have to learn how to cite in APA. The first thing I did when I found out how we were going to cite our papers was go to Easybib to have the website to it for me. Turns out Easybib wants you to pay them if you want your sources cited in APA format. Once I found that out I scoured the web to find a website that could do it for me. I could not find a dependable site anywhere so I had to go look in the english book on how to cite. When I got to the section on citing sources in my book I realized that this is where I should have went right from the start. The book had every type of citation you would ever have to use. But even after I found out how to properly cite my sources, it was still another question for me
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.
Throughout the semester I have learned an astounding amount of information. The English 101 curriculum has not only taught me how to write in general, but also taught me a variety of ways to get my point across to the reader. Before I took English 101 I was an average writer at best, but now that I am taking a class that focuses on writing strategies I feel that I have been able to improve as a writer. During the course we were taught how to write an informative essay as well as how to write a persuasive essay. The type of writing that this class has taught me will most definitely help me with future classes as well as my future in the real world. Throughout the English 101 course I have been able to improve as a writer by composing essays
English has never been my best subject. Reading books can be exciting, but the writing aspect of English can be dreadful. Somehow, however, I passed all my advanced English classes with at least a B, and my teachers always considered me to be “above average.” My impartiality toward English shifted to an indifference near the end of my high school career; my indifference then shifted to appreciation. This appreciation is attributed to American Studies and Honors Writing, the most difficult English classes at Belleville East Township High School. American Studies and Honors Writing have strengthened my writing skills beyond what I believed possible. I still do not believe that I am the best writer, and English may never be my best or favorite
Weak skills that I began the class with have become strong and my strong skills have become stronger. Having the opportunity to write a variety of different essay styles has challenged me greatly to improve my writing techniques. Each essay I was required to write brought its own struggles for me. I had to draw on the information that was presented through the class as well as look to the textbook for guidance. To ensure I did well on each essay I thought about my topic, researched the topic, then began to outline what I wanted to write about. Finally, I would write the essay and submit a rough draft. English 102 has given me the skills and training I need to move on to other classes next semester that will require writing essays. I now have a confidence in my writing abilities that this class has given
As I look back on my English 101 experience, I have come to the conclusion that I have learned many new things that have improved my abilities as a writer. I have learned some new techniques that have improved my ways of approaching an essay. I learned all about the rhetorical appeals and how to apply them in my writing and how to look for them in a essay written by a author. I have also learned how to argue both sides of a argument, and how to look for reliable sources and to properly quote and site the author of the essay. I feel as if I have become a better writer and my improved writing skills are shown within each essay.
...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.
As writers, many students write to the expectations of their professors and not to their fullest potential. Throughout English 101 I had been writing only to please my professor or to fill the basic requirement to pass English. I always felt that my writing ability was never enough for my professors throughout the previous years. They always wanted clear and concise essays, which for some reason was unreachable by me. However, starting college and taking English 101 helped me with my weaknesses and changed my technique of writing essays. My experience in English 101 taught me to write to my fullest potential and to write what I felt; rather then writing what was required.
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.
When I arrived at Yale during the fall of 2009 for my freshman year, I started my undergraduate career wanting to practice medicine. Also, I wanted to receive a well-rounded education in an array of subjects. To this day, the education I received at Yale inspires me to delve deeper into pressing issues within our society and utilize the information that comes from a diverse knowledge capital to create strategies and make informed decisions.
Overall, I believe that this course has enhanced my writing. Previously, I never added an element of first person in my formal essays. I believe it was because in high school there was a bad connotation with it, but now I’ve learned that adding my own opinion enhances my essay and makes it more interesting and elaborate. I think it’s really useful to incorporate my own opinion throughout my essay to make it more personable and relatable. I’ve also found that the They Say, I Say book has helped me a lot in terms of structuring and formatting my thesis statements and topic sentences. This has majorly improved my writing and has allowed me to be more clear and concise with my ideas. Before, I always struggled with writing my thesis and topic sentences
Much like Benjamin Franklin believed, I feel that a person should take advantage of the time the person has in life with activities a person wants to do or needs to do. A person should not spend much time on activities the person does not want to do. Life is way too short to concern oneself with work or other activities one wants nothing to do with all the time. When possible, I try to forget about my responsibility and just let go of the ‘things’ that do not matter to me. I think a person should try to occupy oneself with something productive, worthwhile, or necessary at all times. Even though a person’s life is left up to a person to live, I cannot imagine thinking that I owe my time to society through working a job that I simply despise. I am a compassionate person, but I do not owe anyone anything regarding my time.