My Reflection Of Writing

When writing an essay or summary, one of the most important factors I feel helps the reader understand what the essay will be about is the thesis. Having a well-structured thesis is helpful because it gives me an idea of what I want the general direction of my paper to be. For example, in my literary, in my thesis I write, “In the essay ‘Pride’ by Dagoberto Gilb, he shows how even though people are poor and Mexican American they can find pride in their culture, work, and success.” (“Have Pride In Where You Come From” Final 1). This thesis clearly states all three points and it is easy for the reader to understand that the essay will be about being prideful. Another example of a strong thesis is in my proposal essay, in my thesis I write,

People have many ways that they write. Some do a process of doing drafts so they can look through, edit and make the paper better. Others will just write a paper and turn it in. My process consist of starting with making a thesis. Then from the thesis I create the topic sentences for the topic at hand. The best way to write the essay in a good format and have good detail in the writing I would write a paragraph a day. By doing that process it allows me to get what is needed out on the paper so none of the paragraphs are mixing content and making the paragraphs less structured. This process not only makes writing essays less stressful while also getting the paper done quickly.

I have been practicing on how to improve my writing over the past few weeks, which has taught me a great deal about writing. My teacher would like me to evaluate and explain my strengths and weaknesses in my own writing. This evaluation is in between my two essays. One on my own and another with my teacher's help. I have strengths and weakness in my introduction, body paragraphs ,and my conclusion.

When I look back at my writing before having any college experience, I can see that I had a lot to work on. I can say that I was never really a big fan of writing anything much less essays. Even when I was younger, I just did not have a great big interest in writing. This was because I felt that I could not elaborate as well as others. I was not use to having to write anything really, but I now feel that I have a better grasp on the steps that I need to take to get my writing on the level that it needs to be.

I have many talents but I would have to say writing is not at the top of that list. I am not a terrible writer, actually I have been told I am pretty good. It is the fact that I am not confident in my writing abilities. When I am given a writing assignment it takes me awhile to fully know what I am writing about, I take forever to start a essay but once I get my ideas on paper it turns into a piece of cake. I guess it is because I have so many thoughts and opinions running rampant and I have a hard time taming them all. Because of this I can take longer on a a essay than needs be. When I took AP Literature last year I would always have trouble finishing my essays, they would start off well but towards the end, they would not make any since. Tell me to

To effectively revise and edit my research paper, I read it carefully, as I played the reader`s role instead of that of a writer. In addition, I used a number of strategies to effectively revise and edit my research paper. First, I read my paper aloud as I listened for errors. After carefully listening, I was able to identify and correct errors in my writing, including grammar, incorrect sentence structure, incomplete ideas, and incorrect punctuation. While reading, I could stop and rectify the mistake at the point where I could note it. In addition, I read each sentence at a time so that I could digest the structure and identify any error. Prior to the reading, I noted down the common errors I usually commit while writing such as the omission

When I write an essay I go through the same process almost every time. I start by creating an outline of what ideas I want to present in the essay then

After looking back at all the writing I have accomplished in this class and experiences I have faced in other English classes, I realized how they have affected me as a writer and where I stand as one as of now. The writer I am today has been greatly benefited with years of learning English in school and other literacy sponsors. Throughout the years, I have learned a number of ways to write and I have been positively impacted by these methods. I now know the type of writer that I am and how I write best and in under which conditions. Now, I have my own writing process that most likely differs from my peers.

Throughout my years in writing and taking English courses I have always been a faulty writer and never have been strong in this aspect. Truthfully my writing was the same until I came to college and took English 104 with Professor Horjus. Horjus had taught me things about myself and my writing that I never gave my full attention too and explaining my thoughts. Professor Horjus had started off class on making us say things we could work on after turning in an essay and feel we lacked or felt very strongly about. Being able to talk about the lack of my writing skill or even the strong aspects in my writing let me see that everything teachers have taught me in the past has honestly not really helped. College English has defiantly shined a new light on writing for me.

During this semester, I have finished writing three different types of paper, which are summary and response essay, rhetorical analysis essay and argumentative essay. At first, I didn’t have a brief idea of how to write those essays, and I felt confused. However, with the help of professor, and the “They Say I Say” book, I could continue to study and knew what to do with my paper. I still consider writing as a complex task to do, I have to do a lot of preparations before I start, such as searching information on the internet or in the library, having an outline, writing a draft and so on. When I start writing, I have to take care of the grammar, spelling of the words, and add enough figurative language; after I have finished, I should have a works cited page and check again about the grammar and spelling. It is a tiring process to write an essay, but I try my best to enjoy it.

Over the course of the semester, my writing has definitely grown in confidence. Last year my writing seemed full of too many ideas. I was trying to throw in every piece of information I knew about the paper I was writing about. I struggled to get the correct voice out that fit with the information I was trying to present. I feel that the pressure from my Ways of Knowing class to get the perfect thesis, made me struggle through the entire paper to have the perfect evidence, while incorporating fluid sentences. Since then, I feel as though I can take a breath. I can let the words flow from my mind to paper without the cringing of trying to force a perfect paper.

To begin with, my thesis statement would be very broad when I would write essays in high school. Throughout my body paragraphs, I would write down the first idea that popped up into my head. Therefore, I would often get lost in my own thoughts and I would have multiple topics compressed into one paragraph. However, this class showed me how important and helpful a specific and narrow thesis is because it will help me organize my thoughts and write an interesting paper. For example, in my essay “Truth of Bipolar Disorder”, I specifically wrote in my thesis that I wanted to talk about the syntax, diction, and irony that Sascha DuBrul used in his article “The Bipolar World”. Since my thesis was specific and narrow, it also functioned as a guide that I can use to organize my thoughts in a way where each piece of evidence would be in its own designated paragraph. A clear thesis prevented me from losing track of what I wanted to talk about because each thought was already laid out in my thesis statement.

When I was in gradeschool, I was always fascinated by reading and writing. I always watched by mom write things down in for grocery lists, to do lists, and simply signing a permission slip for my brothers. I always wondered how one person could contain all of that information in their heads, for knowing how to spell thousands of words.

I have a grown as a reader in these past few months by looking through the four main lenses, Community and Society, Human Nature, Interpersonal Relationships, and Nature. I also learned to analyze narration as it is a beacon for what the author is trying to get to the reader. I will breakdown why I chose the pieces I chose in my final portfolio in this final reflection.

Ever since I was younger I loved writing and reading. I would write short stories when I was younger, and you could always find me with a book in my hand. But as I was growing up that love faded because I soon found grammar and spelling hard to get correct. Also, when I would read out loud some words I could not pronounce so there were times when my peers would make fun of me. These experiences have turned me away from writing and reading, but I believe that this class had helped me get some of that love back. This class made me like reading and writing again because it has helped me improve my grammar, thought process, and critical thinking.