Reflection Paper

It is essential to understand that classes taken in grade school do not give students a full understanding of each subject. With the topic of writing, there will always be a new lesson to learn, an aspect to improve, or a differing way to explain. Author Craig Vetter states in Bonehead Writing, “This is your enemy: a perfectly empty sheet of paper. Nothing will ever happen here except what you make happen.” Each story, essay, or response comes from a writer’s experiences. With each attempt at a new piece comes an underlying story of emotions the writer is facing. Each person’s writing is unique and the ideas people have are related to their past experiences and what they believe to be familiar with when deciding which writing style to use. As a high school student, I have learned many things about writing that helped me become the improved writer I am today, but the most essential advice I have received is practice makes perfect. Although there is no actual perfect way of writing, I have discovered that each essay I write, my writing improves. It is easier to spot mistakes, find areas to improve, and ponder elevated word choice to use.

While examining my first essay i quickly identified its shortcomings relative to my essential criteria. It was clear to me that my thesis statement lacked directness and did not properly engage the reader. It was too narrow in scope, while, correspondingly failing to provide the reader with direction for the rest of the paper. The thesis was probably the main downfall of the entire essay because it was difficult to tie in what i was writing back to a weak thesis statement. Additionally the paper had close to zero transitional phrases and when they did appear they seemed awkward and forced. This resulted in an essay that felt choppy and probably was uncomfortable for the reader to process. The reason for having transitional words

Part 1: My writing process itself is pretty simple. I do not follow the normal writing process. I start off by stringing random thoughts together. I then write a draft of my thoughts, and my draft usually ends up to be the size of my essay. Next, I do not revise too much, I just make sure that I stay on topic, and that everything makes sense. Finally, I edit and proofread my essay making sure that I did not miss anything in previous steps. I did not face many issues while writing, but there were a few. My first issue was using transitional words. I feel as if I am always searching for transition words. Another difficult part to writing my essay was vocabulary. Sometimes, I feel myself not using enough intricate words. Also, I have a problem with grammar. I do not always catch grammar mistakes while I am writing. I often have to read my passage three or more times just to get my grammar mostly correct. Although I try my hardest to get better, these are some of my downfalls. Now, I can reflect on the easiest part of my essay. The easiest part for me is finding something to write about. I try to pick topics that I know a lot about, and I try to pick topics that

For example, “This is one reason why I think Nature vs Nurture can go hand in hand.” Instead I could have said, “ This is one reason why I think Nature vs Nurture connect with each other.” My difficulties with this essay could easily be fixed. After seeing my results, I needed to work on how to properly state my sentences and making sure they are understood. I believe I was being detailed but too detailed and started to use words that did not go along with the sentence,which reflected in word choice mistakes. The good part about my essay was stating my reasons, contacting and comparing Nature and Nurture. This was good because it broke down the essay in a way where it stated the issue into paragraphs and the logical idea behind

My writing experience has always been a bad one no matter how beautiful the essay that I wrote sounds to me, because of some concepts in English writing that I either forget or fail to learn.

As you now know, writing is not just something you do in an instant out pour of energy when the essay deadline starts to take shape as an impending occurrence. Such a last-minute procedure usually produces an awful methodical and unclear essay, because it destroys the scheme of writing as a process, and center of attention only on the product.

My writing has greatly changed since the first day of this class, in a positive way. Before I took this course, I would write essays full of punctuation errors and improper sentence structure. One of my greatest weaknesses was writing conclusions, and through this English class and its assignments, I have improved my grammar and overall writing. Moreover, I have learned how important it is to write drafts and proofread them before settling on the final paper. I am not the same writer I was when I began this class, since my strengths have expanded to include a higher vocabulary and a more focused writing style. However, I can still do more to improve my skills – focusing on wrapping up my essays better – and become an even better writer.

Edward George Bulwer Lytton, an English novelist, once said, “The pen is mightier than the sword,” which means words are more powerful and effective than weapons in achieving one’s purpose. In essay writing, however, words alone are not enough. The intrinsic worth of the ideas you present in your essay would be denigrated unless these concepts are clearly stated and are easily followed. Essays have a standardized structure containing the introduction, the body, and the conclusion which assists the readers to effortlessly find the information most relevant to them. Moreover, effectively written essays are cohesive and have a logical flow.

Words: When typing my essay I made sure not to be repetitive nor use simple words. I strived to have formal diction and rarely used plain words.

This is stupid! Why do we even have to write essays, what’s the point? How do I even start this? That is what my writing and thought process consist of. I complain and procrastinate until the last minute, that’s why this is being done the night before the due date. I’m just like many other students according to Gary Goshgarian introduction to Anne Lamott’s article, “Getting Started”, whose “biggest writing challenge is simply getting started” (Goshgarian, 94). Along with many of my other challenges with writing, I formed the habit of trying to impress my readers with big words instead of just getting to the point? Richer Lederer stated in his article, “The Case of Short Words” that the strength, grace, and charm of small words tend to be overlooked by bigger words (Lederer, 104). What does writing do for me, what is the reason for my writing? Mary Pipher’s article, “Writing to Change the World” answered these questions for me. Writing can impact you readers in ways we may not know. All of these articles provide me with the answers to my question. Writing is a powerful tool used to get a message and argument across; you just have to start writing and it is anything but stupid.

Considering all of my lessons this semester, my main strength would be modeling the lesson for the students and praising the students with positive reinforcement. I feel as the students remained engaged and they were always willing to participate, which allowed them to meet all of the objectives in my lesson. I was impressed with how well much the students remembered and understood from my lessons. I presented the instruction and goals for the lesson prior to beginning the activity. During the lesson, I frequently asked the students questions in order for the students to remain thinking as well as focused.

Everyone remembers that one teacher. The teacher who was their favorite. The one teacher who they, as a student, looked forward to each and every class lecture. Through all the dry and tedious class presentations, these teachers woke the class up with their animated passion for what they were teaching and the unmistakable desire for their students to learn. The purpose of this reflective journal is to discuss this week’s assignment readings while connecting how this information will improve my skills related to clinical teaching.

What is life, who sets the rules, who tells us what is right from wrong? One important question I always ask myself, which is my place on this planet earth. A lot of time, as a female that comes from a country that values men more than they value a woman, I feel as though, I am constrained to act a certain way for the fear of being singled out as a bad seed. Even though we all feel that as humans we have the free will to do whatever we want, a lot of times culture and religion might get in our way of freedom and free will. Growing up in a Nigerian home, as a female you don’t have much say in your life or the choices that you make in life. Growing up I always felt like I had no say in my house which was true. A lot of it had to do with the fact that I was a female and most of it had to do with my culture and my role as a female

Winter of my junior year, I experienced a change in my life that has affected every single thing that I do: I became a minimalist. The term “minimalist” sounds stark and forboding, but it really means that I live my life intentionally by only taking in things and doing activities that are necessary and add value. Over Christmas break of 2016, I completely purged my room of excess material items and hauled eight garbage bags full of donations to Goodwill. With a clear space and clear mind, I was able for the first time to really consider what I filled my time with and what my values were. This transformation helped me grow into the happy and successful student I am today, and I believe that a minimalist mindset will allow me to leave a positive impact on any campus.

Belonging to a minority is such a unique and fascinating gift that should be cherished and embraced incessantly. I was born and raised in the state of Guanajuato in Mexico; I moved to the United States seven years ago because my dad wanted my sisters and me to have a better quality of life and greater probabilities of attending college after high school.