Reflective Essay Composition

This unit does not introduce much new material. Instead, we expect you to integrate technical and theoretical knowledge acquired from study across your degree. We refer to two frameworks that may support you in carrying out this integration:

Writing is a practice that most of us were taught when we were young. We were taught the basics of grammar, how to form a sentence, conjunction words, how to write paragraphs and more. Although we have learned this skill while growing up and have used the skill every year after entering kindergarten, this does not mean our writing process will ensure the best work. The authors that I chose each encourage their audience to excel in the art of writing in their own way to help with the writing process.

Upon entering English 111, I knew I would be writing papers. However, I did not anticipate how much room I had for improvement. Throughout this term I have been enlightened with so much knowledge that I may have forgotten or have been exposed to for the first time. Certainly, my experience with essay writing has been solidified due to newfound knowledge of proper work citing, MLA standards and the steps of planning an essay. Perhaps, my time away from a learning environment slowed me down a bit, other times I feel as though I have an advantage due to life experience. An online environment has certainly been challenging but throughout the course I have provided solid work and consistent grades commendable of an A grading.

Writing influences the way humans communicate. Good writing skills are essential in the working world and it’s important for our own self. The love for writing creative stories that engage the reader personally feels like an impossible task. After thirteen years of English I’ve realized that English does not come easy to me. It’s important to note that my writing skills have improved over the years. Going into my first year of college, I was nervous. I knew that my writing needed improvement. During my first semester of college, I was able to take the WAC 101 class. This class not only improved my writing, but it also encouraged me to start reading again. I look at reading as a task instead of a hobby, but I know that it can progress toward something that I like to do on my free time. WAC 101 is a class that helps develop a student’s writing skills. To measure the progress, outcomes in different areas of writing are reflected upon.

As a writer, I feel like I am in a constant maze. In the beginning I feel like there is more than one path to take. It can either lead me to success and/or great achievements or it can lead me to a dead end. Writing can be easy at times, but other times when I come to a stopping point I always tend to overthink things. I feel like my choices need to be made right away. I tend to think of it as temptations being called from every different direction. One path will lead me to the finish line and the other path will lead me directly back to where I started, the beginning. When I am given a writing assignment, I feel like the pressure is on. Although I believe writing is a maze and often troubling at times, my competitive nature is always ready to take on a challenge. Throughout my entire life I have been faced with personal challenges, personal obstacles to get over, self-doubt to overcome, as well as experiences that have all shaped me into the writer I am today.

Walking into the class during syllabus week I was sure that we would have so many lengthy writing assignments that I would write the night before they were due. My expectations were very wrong. We did not have to write ten page papers every week, rather we used a process that benefited me in many ways by helped me engage in my writing. In 4 short units of writing, I learned more than I ever did in my prior 12 years of schooling and I accomplished my goal of becoming a more mature writer. My writing became full of many layers and concepts that had never crossed my mind in the past. I finally turned my boring vanilla cake into a marvelous piece of art (or the start of one at least).

“There’s always room for improvement” (Shannon Fritcher). In your opinion, you may be the best you can be but non-the less, there is always a place that could use improvement. In the past months, I feel like I have accomplished a great deal. As the semester comes to an end I find myself reflecting on not only how I managed to survive the first semester as a freshman in college, but also what I have learned. One of the most valuable things I have learned thus far is becoming a better writer, mainly because I didn’t think I could become a better writer. I once believed you either had what it took or you didn’t, but I was wrong. As with any skill, it takes practice to make perfect and even then, you still need to adjust some skills to make them even better! I have grown as a writer, and I am now in the process of meeting at least half of the course outcomes. My writing and learning process, now being able to compose sentences that are accurate, concise and varied in structure, and lastly the amount of learning I have left to do are all factors of my growth as a writer.

For as long as I can remember I have always struggled with writing especially essays. I am not sure if it is my lack of imagination or my lack of knowledge with writing basics but writing has definitely been a struggle for me. When I entered this class I became very nervous right away to learn that I was going to have to write in this class. Could I be successful in this class? Would I have any idea what I was doing? Although, I was nervous and had many fears, as soon as we jumped into week two things seemed to flow and my fears seemed to subside. This class was setup in a way that helped the student be successful. The key to my success was to not fear the essay but to break it apart and do it in pieces (the way the course was set up). The research paper was very beneficial in teaching me the sections of a research essay that can be carried over into other writing areas.

People gain new information everyday they spend on Earth, whether they are aware or not. Students especially, are exposed to new information and ideas daily. What and how students learn varies due to the different subjects requiring a different approach as you tackle those subjects. For example math and chemistry require one to do more written and hands on practice while history and sociology calls for more retainment of materials in the course study. One subject demands something different which makes it stand out is Writing. For Writing you have to use a blend of materials. For examples: personal experiences, general knowledge on topics, practice, and effective research just to name the general few. During this first semester of college Writing 101 has been the class that require the most work from me. Not saying it was hard, which it was not at all. Throughout college you are required to compose many papers for various subjects and with Writing 101 it prepares you for the possible written assignments expected throughout one’s college career. One paper that I enjoyed the most would have to be the exploration and argumentative because it allowed me to discus a topic that I really enjoyed.

Whilst on clinical placement, a male resident with dementia and I were sitting in his room within the nursing home for which he resided for the past two years. The resident was becoming anxious about his family, stating that they lived far away and he missed them. He showed me a card from one of his daughters she had sent for his birthday. As I was reading what she had written I became overwhelmed with empathetic emotion and wanted to cry due to her emotive words.

Before I came to college, I felt my writing had to follow a certain pattern and be fixated around one way of thinking. What I was fortunate to learn was quite the opposite. Writing does not have to follow any certain pattern, but can rather be structured through many different possibilities. I was also told in high school that my papers either had to agree or disagree with the given topic, even if I believed otherwise. This formulated a very one-track way of thinking when it came to my papers. Now I know that I can let my mind explore new and exciting ideas. I can agree, disagree, compliment, criticize, and question the author however my heart desires, as long as I have the evidence to back myself up. Many authors in the book, Writing About Writing, explain their processes as well as the processes of others when it comes to writing. As a writer, I can draw on my own processes and relate them to the authors, as well as use their ideas and apply them to myself. Through reading, I have learned new methods of invention, planning and revising, and incubation when it comes to writing. All ways I can use to create more meaningful and creative work.

In high school my essays were about summarizing a chapter from a book or writing a short story. There was no set length it had to be and there were not any specifics to focus on such as to focus on a strong introduction or to focus on being organized when writing. The essays that I wrote in high school were just for a quick grade or to help out our grade. I did not really have that much experience in writing essays. In the past semester I have grown more as a writer than I have in the past years. My essays have been becoming more detailed and less vague. They are maturing to the standard set for my level of English. Thus far, in English 101, my writing has improved by composing different types of essays, using a variety of

Imagine writing a ten-page essay on something you feel very strongly about, then being told you have to reduce the size of your essay to only two pages. While this may seem like an easy task, I have learned from experience that while writing is difficult, taking away from my writing is much more complicated. I have spent hours writing, my brain is tired, but I read my completed project, and am proud of what I have accomplished. Then, out of nowhere, I realize that I am only allowed two pages out of the ten I have just completed. At first, I panic, thinking, “What am I going to do? I have worked so hard on this and now I must delete most of it!” I reluctantly trudge forward, reading my essay and trying to figure out what to remove and what

Josh sets a professional academic tone for the rest of the class to follow. Despite starting the quarter off sick, Josh stayed on top of work and produced his strongest essay. He constructed this essay with very little guidance and help. He demonstrated a strong understanding of the standard five paragraph: topic sentence, lead into evidence, evidence, analysis, and conclusion. Josh is the most improved and one of the strongest writers in the entire school. Next year, I hope to see Josh gain confidence in his writing ability and continue to apply what he learned.

When I first thought of what I wanted to do with my life after college, the first thing I thought of was helping people. The next step in deciding what I wanted to do with my life was to exam how I could accomplish this goal. I started pondering and I was thinking about how much I love to take care of my body. Health care and personal hygiene has always been an important factor in my life. So I decided to major in Health Science. With this major, I will be able to further my education in ways to be healthy and possibly learn how to help others. I decided that being a health physician or nutritionist was something that I was really interested in. This is where communication studies came in. I figured