Creative Writing Reflection Essay

When I first got accepted into Stuyvesant High School, I heard countless of rumors stating: “Oh the workload is terrible”, “The competition is so fierce” or “Out of schoolwork, extracurriculars, or sleep: you can only pick two.” I found it hard to let it faze me, since I graduated from one of the most prestigious middle schools. However, the rumors transformed into reality when I stepped into Mr. Nieves’ Freshman Composition Class. The workload at the beginning of the year was brutal, coupled with assignments from other core classes that seem unaware of the workload of other teachers. Reading assignments were a regular, and there were journal entries and occasional quizzes to keep us in line. What made it bearable was the friends I made in that class; everyone had their own opinion about the topic we were talking about, and listening to other perspectives really broadened my horizon and enriched my learning experience in Stuy. Another thing that this class has taught me is the importance of time management, a skill that I will carry on for the rest of my high school career and life. When I choose to sign up for Mr. Nieves’ AP American Literature class in my Junior Year, I was hoping to relive the discussion-based lesson plans and meet more outstanding peers. I was not disappointed, to say the least, reflecting through all the experiences at the end of the course. The lesson plans he laid out for us were an interesting mix between small lectures and class output, and what I

To begin with, I joined English 101 because I am doing general studies at the moment. Secondly, I took the placement test and the score I received was best suited for English 101. In addition, writing was never my strongest subject, but I am willing to put the effort to be a better writer. I expect to gain from taking English 101 is to argue and support a position, edit and proofread thoroughly, and understand the stages of the writing process. I’m sure I will have concerns in the future, but I’m not worried about them because I will seek for help when I’m in need. Furthermore, I will use all resources available such as going to the teacher for help, getting toured, EMCC Computer Commons, Buckeye Campus- Student Services, EMCC Library, and

This semester has impacted me and my writing abilities greatly. I feel I have improved in all aspects of writing. Throughout High school writing was never my preferred subject, but after taking this class I have developed an interest in writing and no longer look at it as a chore, but more as a method to express myself.

English class has never been my strong suite. I always had to work twice as hard in English then I did in any other class. Writing paper always had me stressed and overwhelmed, I felt discouraged in my work. l never seemed to be able to get to the level I wanted to. I would try my hardest and paid attention in class, but when it came to writing the paper none of that seemed to help. I think that my experience in English Composition 1 has helped gain and grow in some areas, but I don’t think that it highlights a well-written college essay. Some elements that I worked to improving was introduction paragraphs, tone, style, and thesis statements.

A person communicate different variety of ways, both verbally and non-verbally. Primates and other animals have been communicating without the use of language since long before humans invented verbal communication. Some scientists believe that even today, most communication between humans is non-verbal. Both types of communication differ significantly between genders and across cultures.

Maria P. Rey's, Letter to West Port High School's English Department, was written for an assignment in her English Composition course at the University of Florida in late October of 2009. In Rey’s letter, she tries to entice her former teachers to re-evaluate how and what they are teaching to their students. Rey explains that her former instructors are not teaching their students a standard format, but that she actually received conflicting guidelines from different teachers. Rey continues with describing to professors the four rules that obstructed her ability to be a good writer. The first of these are the five paragraph essay model that is taught in most schools. Rey believes this method can inadvertently cause issues for a writer. One being

I learned that being specific in my writing was crucial especially when the topic question is so broad. In my rough draft, I was not specific enough, leaving the readers wondering what I meant by the “No Rules” rule but I revised that in the final draft and included a few specific examples to make my argument clearer.

In my opinion, I need help with all the writing principles; but if I had to choose three I would pick, control paragraph length, avoid redundancy, and use active voice. I will start with control paragraph length; I do seem to put more than one topic in my paragraphs (Cardon, 2013). I understand that readers who read my work could miss the idea I am trying to get through to them.

Refining my writing skills is essential at school, work and socially. Continuing to improve my writing skills is currently essential at school because I have to write a lot of research papers which require writing a report on the finding(s). (Citation need it) Improving my writing skills will help me at work to start composing professional e-mails instead of writing a short message on a sticky note or verbally. Socially improving my writing skills will help me immensely because I foresee myself putting together material for a community event and I would like to portray the written information accurately. (citation need it)

All through this course, I have taken in various systems for composing different sorts of essays. This class has truly enhanced my written work abilities; I can now effectively think of enough words, which was a major issue for me before this class. I couldn't have done these without the inside and out rules gave all through this class from the instructor's assignments and lecture notes.

English is a hard language to learn, for there are numerous elements of effective usage and writing. Many people, including me, struggle in writing because of a lack of knowledge. Since middle school, English was not a strong suit of mine. I struggled with the simplest of tasks often taking a considerably longer time to complete a task than the other students. Unmotivated teachers and a lack of interest resulted in remedial writing skills. To put it simply, I had little confidence in my writing and I dreaded taking the class because of the writing involved. In spite of my fears, I took the course and I was able to perfect and challenge my mediocre writing skills.

Being a high school student while taking two college English composition classes has been anything but effortless. Essay after essay and something is almost always due the day of class. The assignments are never worksheets that take little to no thought or quick reads in a text book. No, what happens in English 111 and English 112 is the gaining of rhetorical knowledge, mastering the process in developing an academic essay, and plenty of critical thinking.

This semester, we have practiced several reading, writing, and critical thinking skills. Many of these that have helped me become a better writer this past semester. The readings, writings, and critical thinkings were not the only things that helped me become a better writer. I highly believe that the constructive criticism from yourself Professor Freeman is what helped the most. Every Time you graded a paper and left comments it pushed me to do better and improve on the next. So if I was to take anything to English 101/Composition 2 it would be a combination of determination to be better and all of my skills i’ve learned over this semester, such as outlines, organization, analyzing, and how to write a working thesis.

Since beginning to write papers in English class, I have had countless successes and failures. While many of my English classes have taught me how to improve my writing, I have not learned very much in others. My most recent English class was last year, my sophomore year. My class was particularly undersized; therefore, it gave each student the opportunity to have additional individual attention. Throughout the class I experienced high points, weaknesses, and even difficulties that I never overcame. Overall, my writing skills improved, but only marginally.

It is my belief that through this class and the tools provided, that my growth as a writer has grown through leaps and bounds I would never have assumed possible. It is not so much the skill I refer to, although I would think skill has gone up in some levels as well, but more so the appreciation for the craft of writing itself. Intially, at the start of this class my sole goal was to further my understanding and appreciation of the writer's and books that I so love to read. Through further evaluation within the first week, a few other goals came to mind, of which were, making writing a habit, finishing what I start, stop second guess my writing skills and making effective use of detail and description. Through the use of the many articles, various reading materials, whether poems or short stories, and especially through the workshop, I feel I was able to really push myself to accomplishing these goals. I have thus far learned how important it is not to be skilled at writing per say, but to have the will to write, that poetry is as much about it's sound as it is about it's subject, just how important character development is, how the narration and point of view of a story is essential to the way the story is told, and just how much of a difference peer's critiques can make to your writing.