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

Upon entering Columbia College, writing was one of my weaker areas. It was very important that I gained the necessary knowledge and confidence to become a better writer. I didn’t know how to express myself and felt as though my writing was not my interest. As a result of taking English 101, I have gained a better understanding on how to properly research and build a satisfactory paper. Every paper that was assigned seemed like a struggle to complete. Before entering this class, I did not know the meaning of a thesis or why it was important, however, I obtained this skill quickly. I noticed that every paper has an argument and the thesis helps clarify the rebuttal. Now, I have a new outlook on writing. It’s a way to express my thoughts and allow others to see things through my eyes. There is no doubt that I still have a long way to go, but I know if I continue to write, I will get better. Just as I developed more skills in class, the various papers assigned helped to better structure the writer in me. In addition, the subject areas were not only interesting, but very informative and made it much easier to write about my experiences.

Many people experience exclusion in their lives; yet, when they feel included, they experience the process of healing. In the memoir Coming Back Stronger: Unleashing the Power of Adversity, Dw Brees’ journey to healing is explored. This experience of exclusion to inclusion is also discussed in Becoming Human by Jean Vanier. The New Orleans Saints accepted Drew, a severely injured quarterback at the time, just as Jean Vanier accepted people with intellectual disabilities into L’Arche. Withal, Drew is given the opportunity to motivate and inspire his team, and those people included in the L’Arche community are given the opportunity to develop new, meaningful relationships. For Drew, having this opportunity results in a milestone for the whole team that represents hope for New Orleans, while the people with intellectual disabilities being able to be in an inclusive community result in the maturity of the heart. Both works suggest that being inclusive towards other people, especially those excluded in society, by welcoming them into a particular community result in a person’s internal and external healing.

Everyone on the planet has a goal set in life, but only a handful attempt to improve to obtain their goal by studying the subject their goal is in. In my English class, English 101 this quarter I was astonished by how much I had progressed as a writer sharpening my writing skills and also learned a lot about writing that I hadn’t learned before. In my writing portfolio for this quarter I had to write an autobiography essay, a research essay, and this reflection essay to develop my writing skills better. The writing assignments were fun to do because it challenged me to work on essays of different styles that were new to me. The essay assignments helped me grow as a better writer that gave me the self-confidence and skills to take on the world on my own.

While attending writing class, I learned about the 4 steps in writing, bases for revising, organizing, and connecting specific information, and I also learned about the different types of essays such as descriptive, narrative, process, cause and effect and argumentative essay. I have been a student at Milwaukee Area Technical College for 1 semester, and over the course of my enrollment I have grown and learned more that I knew prior to attending this writing course. Participating in this writing class has taught me so much more than stuff about literature and language, it has taught me another way of expressing myself. I have learned here how to write and express myself, how to think for myself, and how to find the answers to the things that I don 't know. Most importantly I have learned how important technique, outlines and organization are. My goal in this paper is to inform writers about how my writing skills have improved.

Before now, I use to write essays without taking into consideration the elements and rudiments that make an essay holistic and complete. I have always picked up a pen and paper and write without considering who will read my write-up and the structural development of my essay. Essay for me has always been nothing but pouring out my ideas on paper and ink. Until now, vagueness and ambiguity have been the major characteristic in my academic writings because I never thought the need for fluidity and coherency of my sentences. As such, I discovered that in some of my past write-ups, ideas are presented in choppy, ambiguous and frivolous manner which is one of the major reasons for my

Throughout the seven weeks that I have taken this writing composition course, I have developed skills to help me improve my own writing. Using the writing process is one of the main focuses in the course. The writing process helps writers develop and revise their essay as they work their way up to creating the final draft that can be presented. Although there are many areas in my own writing where I can get better, I have found that my writing has improved in many ways while practicing using the writing process.

During this past semester in senior composition, I have learned how to properly write an essay. In the first semester of my senior year, I took creative writing with Mrs. Leese; I learned how to write stories and how to find books that I would actually like to read. That class got me to enjoy writing and when I found out this class was going to be all essays, I was not very ecstatic. In reality, I loved this class and everything I was taught in it because now I am able to use it for the better. In senior composition, I believe that my writing improved greatly because of the vocabulary I learned, the topics that I picked, and the punctuation/grammar I used.

My decision on a major field of study at Western Michigan University was a process that took much thought and reflection. With my high school teachers’ strong leadership, they inspired me to possibly pursue anything as a career. The long process of finding out what I want to do with my life started in the summer when I was trying to figure out what career would best suit me for the future. Im that kind of person where I need entertainment in my life, so I narrowed it down to some jobs I can't do, such as being a business major and sitting in a office my whole life, and accounting, because I despise math. During my thinking process, I utilized what subjects I enjoyed in high school that I’d like to learn more about in college. I came to a

What I have learned about myself as a writer in this course is that I’m a pretty good writer, but it is the little things that I need to work on to make my essay’s better. The little things are coming up with my own ideas, punctuation, and grammar. These things are important because it is good to write and improve your ability as a writer and thinker. It will help with your other courses such as History, Biology, and English. It is always good to write every day because it makes you want to think bigger and better about

I have been writing essays since middle school, gaining experience from multiple teachers all of whom had unique ways of imparting their skills on me as well as my classmates. Barring the basic learning of Writing in middle school, most of my writing thus far has been gained in literature classes. Because they were not solely writing classes, the goal of understanding the literature that was being studied was often placed above improving my writing skills. Almost all of the writing completed in the literature classroom setting were centered on displaying an ability to grasp the concepts from the literature or to prove a concept related to the literature. I also wrote a number of descriptive essays in which I had to write fictional stories in great detail. Another source of writing experience for me would be the occasional essay in the various social studies classes that I partook in. These essays were almost always

One whole semester has come and gone and have completed my first college writing class. Writing has always been a struggle of mine in school. I never thought my writing was good enough compared to the awesome essays from my peers. I would solely write to just complete the assignment instead of truly diving deep into the content I was writing about. However, from the beginning of this course I have been pushed to enhance my writing beyond the point of completing the assignment. I began to write for myself instead of writing for school. Throughout the past semester I have not only learned how to enhance my sentences and evidence in a meaningful way, but also how to add my own voice into the subject at hand.

Throughout the past semester, as a writer, I have experienced an immense amount of development. The knowledge I have received through attending this English class has had an eminently positive affect on my writing capabilities, styles, and comforts. During the duration of the class I have been constantly urged to journey outside of my traditional comfort zone to elaborate and write about several topics that have affected and diversified my ability as a writer. In addition, I have learned many different styles of writing, new to me before the class and have attempted to write various new forms of essays. Through learning and attempting all of the new writing styles and techniques, my writing has positively grown amidst the duration of the semester. The constant practice in and outside the classroom continually matured and refined my writing proficiency and capabilities. The development and advancement of my writing ability is displayed in my works through the processes of prewriting preparation, writing development, and revision and editing.

When I write, I believe one of my strengths is that I am able to generate logical perspectives and strong conclusions. I am able to analyze the literature and relate to it in many different ways. In the compare and contrast essay I wrote, "Oliver conveys a tone of remembrance by juxtaposing 'the old burn-dump this waste place' and 'this secret garden'". I am able to apply literary terms and analyze how the author uses them to enhance their writing. In the same essay, I stated, "By using short, concise sentences, Oliver is more direct in her delivery and showing her lamentations for what has happened to the earth around her". I am able to analyze what the author is doing and the effect that it has on the reader.

Inclusion: Means the action or state of including or of included within a group or structure. In education this means everyone has the same opportunity, there should be no boundaries to stop a learner reaching their full potential in the learning enviroment. (wikipedia)