English IV Reflection

Writing is a skill that improves over time with experience and exposure to different concepts. English 111 provided me with new skills and information that allowed me to enhance my writing abilities. As a student, I was given the opportunity to explore and develop my own writing process. This course explained, in depth, the components of a college level paper and correct grammar rules. By creating and following my own writing process, understanding the correct flow/components of a paper, and improving my grammar skills my writing improved tremendously. Through taking the course, English 111, I was able to develop as a writer and improve my writing abilities.

English 111 was the first class English class that I have taken since my senior year of high school in 2004. When I first signed up for the class I figured it was going to be a bit difficult with reading assignments, I was not expecting to be writing 3 to 5 papers every other week which I found to be hard at first.

English Comp 1 was an eye opening experience. The course was emotionally and physically draining, but I strongly believe it prepared me for Comp 2. Learning and improving are a few of the rewards I received through hard work and dedication during the course. Throughout English comp 1, I discovered my biggest weakness. I improved some of my various difficulties, and I achieved a rewarding high point.

As the Fall 2017 term comes to end, I look back on what I have accomplished in this class. English 102 – Composition II was one of the most challenging and toughest class I have taken at UW-Stout, but feel as though it has helped me to improve my writing skills. Even before the semester started the feeling of anxiety had taken over, as writing has never been my strongest skill, but stayed positive and confident I would be successful. Much to my surprise, my instructor, Michael Critchfield quickly addressed that this class would not be easy and amazingly changed my views of writing throughout the entire semester.

This year, AP English 3 has been my favorite class because of the wide variety of topics that we covered and the essay writing skills that we learned. By providing a large educational basis to students' writing, this class expands the learner's ability to communicate in a profesional, educational manner, a skill with which they will use for the rest of their life. As well as scoring eights (on a nine-point scale) on several English papers, the skills that I have grown and nurtured throughout the semester have helped me score fives or sixes on my AP US History essays (on a six-point scale). Through learning how to go in-depth and synthesize a topic, AP English 3 has taught me how to consistently score high grades on AP essays, as well as communicate

Before I enrolled in English 101 my ability to write specific types of papers (argumentative, rhetoric, narrative, etc) were mediocre at best. However, from reading The Norton Field Guide to Writing and They Say, I Say I gained a deeper understanding on how to better argue a point or write a narrative with a clear theme. Moreover, from my time of being in English 101 I have improved tremendously in the given areas: Rhetoric, Technology, Research, and Collaboration.

As a writer, I am quite sure of myself. I feel that English 101 was a large step in improving and building my skills. Writing is a particular strength of mine, although I struggle when it comes to open-ended prompts. While I can effectively construct an argument, I would consider myself still inexperienced with the writing process. Throughout high school, there were few writing assignments and what I did write was formulaic and lacking substance; giving original ideas or organizing beyond the five paragraph essay is still fresh to me. My teachers would tell us students what to write during a “class discussion” of the literature and afterwards send us to work. Writing outside the basic five-paragraph essay was taboo; each attempt had been met

In my English 111 class, we wrote four essays about various topics. In my portfolio, I will reflect on my writing in my narrative, literary analysis, compare and contrast, and cause and effect essays.

Throughout my academic carrer, I have had a history of struggling with English classes. I was excited to take English 101 because I believed it would most effectively teach me the basics of successful writing and communication. In high school, I developed mediocre writing skills and struggled with reading comprehension so I knew these topics would pose a problem in any English class I take. Despite the fact that I was in AP Language in high school, I learned very little and did not improve my writing and communication skills as much as I would have liked. In English 101 , I would like to change that and enhance my time management skills, grammar skills, and overall writing ability.

What have I learned in English 102? When I began this class, I had not taken a formal English class in over thirty years. I understood sentence structure and essay writing to a point. To elaborate my understanding was based on story telling rather than research and factual commentary. Of course, rhetorical review and research was foreign to me. I had a loose understanding but had never practiced or been in a position to apply these skills. Or at least that is what I thought. Since beginning this course, I have found it both challenging and enlightening. I feel that my skills have developed over the last few weeks and a greater understanding of what it takes to identify and understand complicated subjects has progressed. Not just that I can read difficult scholarly text, but that I can focus on what they are trying to say, their argument, and then develop my own counter argument in support of or against the authors statements. It is more than just saying I concur or I do not agree with you. It is stating how my point of view differs and supporting my statements logically and directly with facts, not just conjecture. Within the following paragraphs I will discuss, in more detail, the specific areas where I feel I have matured and how I intend to apply this new-found knowledge to my future writing as well as reading materials to assess their value.

As the semester comes to an end this assignment gives me a great opportunity to look back on my experiences in English 111. Through my experience in English 111 recognizing several ideas that have greatly impacted me, my point of view on learning, and my actual learning. My experience in college has been beneficial because my professor approached teaching with a more aware effort and taught me how to approach learning and my role as a learner in a way. It is tough to put into words how much I have grown as a writer.

Discussions are one of the most significant method of exchanging information in order to gain a better understanding about a particular topic. In english class this year, I participated in dozens of discussions in which my intellect has grown. Originally, I was solely focused on my grade in the class and only spoke with the intentions of getting the highest grade. Eventually, I realized that I should perform in a matter than benefits the entire class as a whole, giving everyone a better understanding of the material. As soon as I began to function selflessly without worrying about my grade, I had a much more positive influence on the class during discussions.

This first semester at the University of Akron has flown by. I learned many new writing concepts that helped me become a better writer. English composition was a required class that I had to take in order to get my degree. Although this class was required I still wanted to take this class to become more knowledgeable about writing. Coming into English Composition I was worried about all of the papers and the workload that I would have to complete. I knew that I was going to have to write a lot more than I previously had in highschool, but I was unsure of just how much. The works that I decided to include in my portfolio comprise of my Literacy Narrative, Image Analysis Paper, and essay titled Mayas Hardships based on Maya’s experiences in I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings. I selected these works because I felt that they are the ones that require the most improvement to them. The papers i've chosen show how far I’ve came In English Composition.

I have only been attending Cleveland State University for two semesters, and as this course comes to an end I feel like I grown and learned many techniques more than ever. I came to Cleveland State University with only my high school knowledge on how to format an argumentative essay, and throughout this course I now know how to write and format many other papers. Taking English 100 has taught me how to break down and analyze an article, it taught me how to find confidence in my work, and it helped me grow to an even better writer.

English class seemed to be the most dreadful to take within school. Writing essays for most of my grade in a class is not what I was looking forward too. When I entered college I knew that it would be one of many challenging classes I would have to take. Starting from the lowest English class to moving on up, the writing assignments became longer and more thought out. The time came when I got into this class that I knew more work was going to have to be put into essays and thus brought out what I had not seen before in my work progress.