Reflection Essay : My Journey As An English Writer

A freshman college level English Composition course aims to improve students' abilities with writing, critical thinking, mechanics and usage, punctuation, grammar, and vocabulary. By studying English 101 at Luzerne County Community College, I will work diligently to improve in all of these aspects. My main focus is to develop skills specifically to create clear and concise thesis statements, strong and persuasive essays with cajolement, and to develop different perspectives on narratives and other essays. These writing skills may also improve my critical thinking and reading skills.

My writing experience about the career paper was more informative than I was expecting. By reading the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH), I quickly realized that there was so much information about a career in medicine, I was not aware of especially with regards to employment and predicted employment rates. However, the most difficult part of the writing process was trying to incorporate personal information into the narrative while using statistics and descriptions from OOH to come up with a coherent essay. For example, with a plethora of personal information and details about factors that has motivated me to pursue a career in medicine, it was difficult to summarize and incorporate information from OOH into my

Over the past year I had a chance to develop a deeper understanding of what it takes to develop successful paper. Taking English 1010 was a great experience because it prepares students on becoming better writers through college life. Even though this is my second year in college I was unable to take English 1010 the first year, but taking this class truly show me what college professors are looking for when we are ask to write a successful paper. College professors expect every student to be able to evaluate each topic and be descriptive in their essay.

A writing experience that was significant to me was when I was taking AP Language my junior year. We just had finished watching “To Kill A Mockingbird” and our teacher instructed us to write an essay. The topic was the importance of fatherhood and we had to use examples from the movie and real life to support our claim of how fathers are essential to a child's life. The writing experience changed me because I never had a father in my life.

Throughout English 1010 thus far, I can certainly say that my writing skills have been tested and tried. Writing for fun and composing rhetorical essays for a college-level English class are vastly different styles and require contrasting attitudes, voices, and points of view for each. Before writing essays of the former diction, I must admit that I did not understand the rhetorical strategies and had no idea there even was a rhetorical triangle. The assignments included in this portfolio show the advancements I have made in my writing with an academic tone.

My overall experience in English 101 has definitely changed the style in which I read and write. This online English 101 course has introduced me to many different types of writing that I did not know even existed. From weekly discussion boards, to the interview college, to the rhetorical analysis and research essay, I have learned how to properly and effectively write with many different tones and attitudes. Not only have I learned how to write with many tones and attitudes but I have also strongly caught onto the concept of how to address multiple audience groups in the most appropriate way possible. After reflecting on all of the concepts I have discovered in English 101 this semester, I have realized that I have not only grown tremendously

My writing essays represent a timeline of improvement , from my first essay to my last essay I’ve noticed my growth as a writer. It was not until later on the semester that I realized that I lacked substantial academic vocabulary and had ongoing run on sentences, grammatical errors. My word choice was really repetitive with the constant use certain words. I have progressed where I have expanded my ability to use clear description and make my technical information clear. For example when writing essay 2 and 3 having to insert figures helped me portray my argument much more clearly. When addressing the figures in my writing they had become much more clear. Considering our class revolved around technological developments of the future it was very

During the fall semester I enrolled in an English 111 course to help improve my writing skills. Throughout the semester I was instructed to write four papers, not including this one. The topics for my essays were about; the value of education, victims and creators, a report essay, and last but not least a review essay. Each essay became more challenging than the previous one. As each essay came along, I applied the skills I learned in class and necessary peer evaluations to correct my mistakes so that I could get better at writing.

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.

Throughout this semester in English 101, I have made a significant improvement on multiple things, including how to be an exceptional writer and thinker. English has always been one of my most favored subjects to study because to me it instructs students how to be intelligent, how to become a more creative and critical thinker, and be able to develop ethical values and imagination. You can express yourself more efficiently in English than you can in any other subject. This class has truly made me a more confident writer and helped me express myself in different ways through the different types of papers I wrote. By writing different types of papers I have improved multiple areas of my writing. I have grown as a student in diverse areas such

Proficient writing is an essential skill in all aspects of academic and professional achievement. English 101, Introduction to Composition and Rhetoric, provided the framework to good writing, teaching me composition and rhetoric fundamentals, polishing up my grammar and style, and expressing a clear message. English 102, Composition, Rhetoric, and Research, continued to build on the skills I learned in English 101, focusing on the subject matter research process and employing various rhetorical and literary devices to better express a clear message to the reader. The course also improved my critical thinking capacity, allowing me to culturally evaluate my target audience, present logically flowing arguments using appropriate language and structure, and critically reviewing my writing projects for content and expression. Every writer inherently knows there’s always room to improve and I hold fast to this mindset in all academic, professional, and personal writing projects. English 102 has both challenged and inspired me to grow into a much better writer than before I began the class, providing the necessary skills to be not just a good writer, but a great writer.

I learned a very broad variety of English skills in my English 101 class. From the time of doing research before writing an essay, I wrote from the reader’s perspective, considering first what the reader would be benefited from hearing. I discovered methods of writing so that the reader would be able to easily follow my ideas and see connection between them. Along with that, I learned to actively read what others have to say, alter my writing based off of them, and courageously participate in the academic conversation. During this English 101 class, I acquired necessary English skills to participate in the academic conversation.

The Fall Quarter here at Bellevue College has helped me increase and further enhance my writing capabilities. Having to forget all my past knowledge in high school level writing was challenging but necessary. In the past, my writing never had the opportunity to progress. My high school essays were all carbon copies of each other. I would do the bare minimum and not put any effort into my writing, but still I would somehow receive a passing grade. The majority of the time I would wait until the night before the essay was due to start it. It would usually take me less than three hours to complete a paper. I became more focused on doing exactly what the teacher wanted than working on developing my style and enhancing my writing skills. After taking English 101, I have learned that writing is a process and I can’t write an essay the night before it’s due and expect a satisfactory grade. Taking English 101 has led me to think more critically towards my writing and others, develop style and tone, and learn how to use collaboration to my benefit.

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.

Growth, I believe, is inevitable when one is compelled to learn and apply that knowledge which has been presented to them. This semester has proved to be a time of development, change, and substantial growth. During my time in English 101 I have had the chance to really explore new genres of writing such as memoirs, rhetorical analyses, and persuasive essays. In this class I have been able to build upon old writing skills and cultivate new ones; and I have also come to recognize what I like and dislike writing about through the completion of the assignments we were charged with. Through this semester in English 101 I feel as though I have had the opportunity to enhance my ability to apply the rules of rhetoric to my work, convey my thoughts and ideas with greater clarity, and recognize the places where I can improve my work through the revising process.