I have learned many things throughout the course of the term, including such things as: how to write an essay and how to improve on essays that I have already written, how to locate and composite better research through the use of numerous resources found at the campus library, the internet, and the “Common Sense” textbook, how to cite research, examples, and quotations properly within the contents of my research paper as well as document it accurately according to MLA standards. Through the exploration of the “Subjects and Strategies” textbook, I have learned nine different methods used when writing an effective essay and how the different writing styles affect the overall theme and tone of the essay when used properly. This past semester, I have encountered many difficulties when trying to write these essays, but through the use of the textbooks, the aide of the instructor, and once I was able to classify the different types of essays and styles, I found them possible to overcome. From all the things that I have covered, none of them were as trying as the inevitable research paper. I was worried about the final product and the grade I would receive because I have not had much luck with writing research papers in the past. I find them to be too tedious when having to cite research and quotations that I often did it incorrectly. My works cited page was often messy and unorganized and I could never find enough things to say about my topic in order to fulfill the designated word quota. This time around, I felt a little more confident because I had an outlined guide found in my “Common Sense” text that helped me overcome my worry about the specifics of citing and quoting as well as the organization of my works cited page.... ... middle of paper ... ...larify the structure and destination in which I was headed. By revising my essays I was able to make the content and message seem more important and made the final drafts seem a slight degree better than the originals, but the finals were better nonetheless. The instructor did a very good job in guiding me and helping find my way into writing by focusing on some of the problems I was facing and clarified them so that I would better understand them. The instructor helped me expand on my grammatical by helping me discover what it was that I lacked while constructing basic sentence structure; the usage of commas and semi-colons, quotations, and how to sight titles of books and articles within an essay. This English 101 course I have attended has helped me develop better writing skills as well as helped me create more profound essays and a very satisfying research paper.
During my first semester at the University of Alabama I wrote several essay including a response essay, a rhetorical essay, and annotated bibliography and a research essay. Although these assignments each had different objectives, they were all written to work towards reaching the Student Learning Objectives for English 103 that were provided at the beginning of the semester. This semester I worked to further my skills regarding my ability to employ writing strategies appropriate to each assignment’s purpose, locate assignment-appropriate sources from multiple places, and ethically use source material in academic arguments.
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
Every English 111 textbook should consist of three main things: the proper way to write an academic essay, review of proper grammar, mechanics word usage and a short transition chapter of the difference between writing in high school and college writing. Successful College Writing by Kathleen T. McWhorter has many of the essentials but noticed it lacked examples of a noble essay. All throughout class students critiqued essays but never actually saw an example of a good, noteworthy complete essay. Having examples of what a person shouldn’t do in an essay is always beneficial but should be followed by a precise academic essay. How are the student supposed to improve their academic writing skills if they have nothing to go by? Just because the book lacks a few of the basic essentials doesn’t mean the book itself will not be beneficial in any way. The book as a whole is pleasing but still has room for revisions.
This class has been significantly more difficult than any other English class I have taken all throughout high school. This semester, I have been introduced to different styles of writing that I have never been exposed to before. This class has been stressful, but also fun. With using all of the resources I have been given throughout the semester, I have been able to do my best to further my writing abilities and hopefully only continue to grow them as I finish my later years in college. Throughout this essay, I will discuss my failures, my successes, my overall performance in the class, and my skill development skills.
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.
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.
Teaching me and every other student how to more full express themselves in writing and to process what they have read helps them better themselves. Overall I feel I have achieved what was set out for me in this class, to gain a better use of the English language and to express myself in my writing in more constructive ways. I be able to gather the information giving to me by another person or body of work and express my own thoughts and ideas that were generation from the information provided. The ability to clearly communicate my understanding of things in the world makes it easier to get along with others. I had a difficult time with this class, I will not lie, but at the end of it I do feel like I have come out ahead and can express myself in more constructive ways, at least in writing that
...on, this course has taught me many different aspects to writing that I was unaware of in high school. This course has been incredibly fulfilling for me and has been nothing short of an amazing experience. I truly believe all of the things I have learned within this course, such as, writing proper thesis statements, proving my points within the body, discussing topics that critically engage my readers, the use of grammar, and many other essential skills will help me tremendously on my educational path. Although I have learned many skills as to writing a quality essay, I know there are many aspects to writing I can improve on, such as, expanding on my introductions and providing more background within my topics to the readers. I am extremely grateful for the various skills I have learned throughout this course, and I fully intend to utilize them all as I move forward.
The transition between high school writing and college writing marked a difficult time for me. In high school, I never had the motivation required to develop my writing skills and writing essays was not my forte. I would express my jumbled thoughts on a paper and turn them in for a decent grade. Upon coming into English 1101 with this lax mindset, I immediately encountered many weaknesses in my writing, struggling with constructing an essay with a proper direction, style and grammar. As I began reviewing my problems, I started understanding these issues and eventually learned to improve upon them. From my portfolio, I hope to demonstrate my improvement upon these weaknesses in English 1101.
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 given the quote by Carl Sandburg, "It is necessary ... for a man to go away by himself ... to sit on a rock ... and ask, 'Who am I, where have I been, and where am I going?'." When I think about this quote it reminds me of how college began. When I first became a student at Texas State Technical College, I was studying video game design and development. This was a fun a good learning experience, but the real world came crashing down when I started looking into jobs in this market. There was a lack of available jobs and a large competition for the ones that existed. So after a little thinking about who I am, I realized it would be better to switch degrees and take on something more widely available, Web design and development. This was the start of a new path and the only reason I had to come back and take this class.
In this class, I have learned many things. To narrow it down to three is difficult. I have never been the person to enjoy writing or literature, but I have grown to appreciate it during this semester because of the things that I have learned. During this semester I have learned to appreciate asking for help, that it is okay not to know something and fully understanding something is not just about knowing facts.
Over the past semester, I have found the most challenging part of this course to simply be the transition from high school composition classes to college. Because writing expectations are so different in college than in high school, even with AP and Dual Enrollment “college level” classes, I first found myself being overwhelmed with the pressure to write the perfect first draft. The pressure came from knowing how much a final draft of a paper contributed to my grade. This left me sitting in front of my computer for hours at a time with thoughts of what I wanted to say racing through my head, but unable to deliver these thoughts into organized, structured sentences. I learned, through writing my persuasive essay, that instead of trying to write the paper start to finish and already in its perfect form, it is easier for me to look at the paper through its different components and focus on them individually, then work to best organize my ideas fluently.
Whenever it come to the research paper, I struggled tremendously. The topic for the paper was “How to do Good Research.” While brainstorming I began to get overwhelmed. I have never done a research paper before and I didn 't know where to start. This is where I can grow as a writer. Acquiring more knowledge on how to research accurately and correctly would be helpful. There is an abundance of information online, trying to sort through it all is mind-boggling. Learning how to correctly cite sources following APA guidelines would be beneficial as
During the course of this semester; the variety of writing styles and essays assigned to me in my communication skills class encouraged the development of my writing skills, as well as provided me with more self-assurance in my abilities. My writing, research, and presentation abilities enhanced through practice, determination, and the understanding I gained during this course. With every single writing assignment, I learned new innovative approaches and skills, which enhanced my abilities to improve my thoughts logically, enabling me to write more clearly, and to organize my papers more effectively. At the beginning of this semester; despite the fact that I already knew the terminology MAP: message, audience, purpose; I never really understood the significance of MAP. For this reason, my writing lacked clarity, organization, and my writings appeared less focused on the topics. As a result my research papers and essays did not flow as smoothly from one passage to the next. Furthermore, I was unaccustomed with the precise procedures used when writing an essay. For instance, my previous classes before college, although requiring a reference page, did not require me to include proper citations in my writings. After evaluating the quality of my writing toward the end of the semester, I recognized vast improvements in several areas of my writing. By concentrating on the beginning stages of my writings, I could distinguish ahead of time my audience and my message. As a result, my essays are clear, and I remain on topic. In addition to that using transition phrases efficiently also helps my writing to flow smoothly. The proper use of transitions makes my writings easy to follow from one topic to the next. I also learned that pre-writing...