Demonstrating Critical Reading Strategies

Reflecting as a writer and thinker I have noticed tremendous improvements in my work. My whole thought process and way of viewing topics has changed, giving me a better understanding when I write. In the beginning of the term I ran into many problems in College Writing I for instance, I was not too familiar with writing in MLA format and struggled reaching the page count. I found myself to procrastinate when papers were assigned making my anxiety levels increase. Despite my struggles as a writer and thinker, I learned how to overcome these obstacles. I learned to be open minded and looking at topics from another perspective.

Throughout the past week, we have been reflecting upon the work that was completed throughout the semester. I found that my writing has improved

This year I have learned a lot from College Writing, this class has taught me a lot about my own writing and what makes a good essay. I have learned a lot about myself as a writer and as a person throughout the course. In this reflection of the past semester I will be going through my past papers and talk about what I liked and how I could’ve made them better. I will also be going through the activities that have shaped my writing the most. Hopefully, I will be representing how I have grown as a writer throughout the year because of this class. Before taking this class I was already relatively confident in my writing abilities and was excited to take the class. Now that the course is completed I am even more confident in my writing because of all the new techniques and helpful tips I learned.

The past two semesters were great experiences. Within this past school year my knowledge as a reader and writer has improved. It felt like it was just yesterday, when I had a lot of difficulty writing and poor reading strategies. Now, as I said before, I am an improved writer and reader. The assignments and class activities over the two semesters were great benefits to me, and helped me make progress towards the first year learning goals.

The beginning of my junior year seems like it was such a long time ago. This may be because of how much I have grown since the start of the year. When I began AP English, my writing skills needed improvement. For instance, I often used incorrect grammar and struggled with staying on topic. In just one semester, my writing has improved immensely. The more than I write, the more I learn about how to craft a good paper. I have worked on improving my grammar, using rhetoric, addressing my subject, and many more elements of writing. In addition to improving my writing, I have gained many skills to become a better student. I have learned about effective study techniques and time-management skills that allow me to be the most successful. Since I always try my best, I know that over time I will continue to grow in my studies. This year I have gained countless skills that will help me succeed in English in the future.

I believe I have made tremendous progress as a writer from the beginning of the year. I feel as though I am a total different person as a writer than I was at the beginning of the year. I know I have made progress in the area of citing sources and knowing whether or not the sources are reliable or not. I think I have come along way from the beginning of this course.

Your teacher will use these rubrics to evaluate the completeness of your work as well as the clarity of thinking you exhibit.

1. What were the 3 main strategies for being a better reader? List at least 1 activity from each of the 3 strategies that you plan to use in reading for our class this semester. What do you find appealing about those activities?

McLaughlin, M., & DeVoogd, G. 2004, ‘Critical literacy as comprehension: Expanding reader response’, Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, vol. 48, no. 1, 52-62

According to the graphs my reading rate has significantly, decreased from 111 words per minute to 78 words per minute. I have implemented the following strategies to try to improve my reading rate when it comes to reading. Then, my comprehension has also decreased went from 100% to 88%. I have also implemented the following strategies to improve my comprehension as well.

In my Blog Post #1, I mentioned how this concept seems to be challenging to me. However, through blog posts, reader response letters, and analyzing other students’ work, I have actively been engaged in the concept of critical reading on a weekly basis to familiarize myself with this key concept. An example of this is the first reader response letter, when I had to analyze and interpret a variety of short readings, “In ‘Being Curious,’ I can relate to the author because he exclaims that being curious can help you solve problems faster and easier” (RRL #1). These assignments have led to me to think critically and analyze material to provide connection in my writing; therefore, these assignments gave me the opportunity to actively engage in the key concept of critical

I feel I have significantly improved on my aspects of punctuation in grammar; the progressions Leslie suggested to me on said aspects synchronized with the grammar lessons taught in my English Honors class. I also feel that my vocabulary has developed extensively throughout the course, as well as my structural and organizational skills in my writing pieces.

Over the course of this past semester, my ability to write has improved tremendously. Prior to undertaking this course, my expertise in writing was not as fine-tuned as it should have been. I had never previously been enrolled in a class specifically tailored to writing-- which was quite clear. Upon reading my past works, it becomes apparent that my writing style consisted of fluff, small words, and inconsistently structured sentences. These problems have, for the most part, been remedied with the coursework I have tackled in College Writing. Rather than long, drawn out papers that take an eternity to reach the primary point, my recent work is much nicer in terms of composition and grammar. I credit these improvements to the three primary

English Comp I have taught me a great deal. This subject has helped improve on some writing skills that I never payed attention too as I began my writing career in middle school. I have improved in a major way in several subjects that can impact a person’s writing in a dramatic way. Evidence from three of my EN113 papers this semester provides evidence that suggest that I have succeeded in improving on my organizational skills, identifying grammar issues, and elaborating and describing events in more detail. Reviewing my previous papers, I have realized that I am still working on improving my MLA format.

There are a few different reading strategies that can help a person become a critical reader. A reading strategy that could lead upcoming undergraduate students to become critical readers is a strategy that is called “Crap Analysis”. There are more strategies used to become a critical reader that includes increasing