Reflective Essay - Reflective Writing

A person communicate different variety of ways, both verbally and non-verbally. Primates and other animals have been communicating without the use of language since long before humans invented verbal communication. Some scientists believe that even today, most communication between humans is non-verbal. Both types of communication differ significantly between genders and across cultures.

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.

Coming into this class, I wasn't sure what to expect. Of course,I expected to be writing a lot but was unsure of the type of writing and the style. I was looking forward to writing challenging pieces that stretching me creatively as a writer. I wanted to explore how to express myself in my writing because it had been a long time since I'd written a creative essay. One of my main hopes for this class was challenging myself to become a better editor of my own papers. I often find it a tedious and laborious process to find and edit the grammatical errors in my papers. However, this is an important skill that I need to develop for my future as a successful writer.

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.

I have always prided myself on my thoughts and ideas; it is my ability to convey those thoughts through writing, with which I struggle. In highschool I managed to get by fairly well in my English class. We were primarily graded on reading comprehension, and so my poor writing skills had little opportunity to negatively impact my grade. I did not find this to be so in Writing 100, however. It quickly came to my attention that I would need to improve my writing if I wished to do well. I realized that in order to improve my writing, I would need to fix one of my worst qualities as a writer: my tendency to begin writing without properly understanding the prompt. This past semester in Writing 100 I have made an effort to fix this, and it has led me to become more intentional of the purpose of my essays, which, in my opinion, has helped highlight an intellectual depth that my work was incapable of displaying before.

     One of the techniques I am going to use through out college is talking to

My experience in the writing process has been extremely humbling. My mother is a teacher, so as soon as I could speak, I was taught how to write. All throughout elementary, middle, and the first few years of high school, I excelled in English. This skill of mine was put to the test, and for the first time, challenged and criticized in AP English Language. I quickly learned that I couldn’t always follow the three-chunk, five-paragraph essay format and that restatement of the author’s ideas was not enough. English soon became difficult when I realized I actually needed to think critically. My confidence in my writing dropped dramatically. However in my time so far in AP Literature, I’ve come to realize that I am a talented writer, and that

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.

When I was a child, writing was one of my favorite hobbies, so I used to spend many hours to write in my daily journals. However, when I came to America, I felt more difficult to write and express my thoughts in English because I did not know much vocabularies and lacking grammatical knowledge. Then, I decided to go back to school to improve my writing skills because I recognize the significant of writing in my everyday lives. As a college student, my writing are about different types of class assignments such as reflections, journals, essays, and research papers. As a teacher aide in the preschool classroom, and most of my writings are reports, observation, notes, and curriculum planning. At the beginning of the Academic Writing Seminar (AWS 100) when I wrote my first essay assignment, and I found out that writing essays in English was not easy. At the end of the semester, I realize I have learned valuable lessons while working seriously to write assignments from the AWS 100, so this class will a step with deep preparation to help me successful in writing research papers skills at Pacific Oaks College. In this essay, I will also introduce the “best” of my writing, and share my experiences on the process of creating this portfolio.

I remember being extremely nervous to begin graduate school, but I was especially anxious about taking PC700, Communication and Intro to Scholarly Writing. It had been a long time since I had written any sort of formal paper, so I was uncertain how I would accomplish my goals. I knew that since I had not written recently, I would need to be well organized and I would need to read all the recommended readings in addition to the required readings. I settled into the fact that this was going to be a difficult semester and began to work while hoping for the best.

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.

Writing is something I always thought I had loved to do, and while that is still true, college has taught me that there are many different types of writing and I do not necessarily enjoy all of them. In high school, it was simple; You’d be told to write about a book you were reading in class or you’d be told to write about your summer trip to the Bahamas. Writing about your own experience or giving your opinion on a book is something that doesn’t take much thought, because you, for the most part, know what you want to say. Writing 101 along with other college classes, such as History, have shown me that there are so many different types of papers, such as research, argument, narrative, etc., and they each have necessary planning that goes into

Preparing for my final year of high school, relief and enthusiasm poured over for the idea of the pain and suffering of assignments ending in one hundred and eighty days. However, I never would have imagined growing academically, especially in my writing, over the course of just one semester. Reflecting back on the first few assignments in Expository Writing, they were tragic. A mess is the easiest explanation of their composition. Entering this course, a goal of simply wishing to finish each paper was sadly set, but it became evident that if I put my heart into the writing and took my time that some wonderful pieces could be produced. Over the course of the semester, I learned how to make my writing more formal, how to integrate and embed quotes, as well as learning how to writing multiple drafts with self and peer editing.

My first semester as an exchange student, I decided to take a composition 1 class to improve my English skills. Before I came to America, I thought I was advanced in English and I was so confident to speak it. I wasn’t afraid to take this class because of my confidence to get good grades, although I never had written any essays in English ever in my life. On the first day of class, my confidence was crumbled and I could feel that my English skills were weak when I first received my graded essay. I felt a great gap fixed between natives English speakers and abroad students. But at the same time, I thought positively about this class because it could give me a chance to cultivate my ability in English. I believe that the purpose of this composition class is to eliminate elementary essay skills and focus on the topic,the development , the organization, and the proper use of MLA style. Through the four times that I have written English essays, I have developed those skills. I was also able to find my strengths and weaknesses in my essays through a reflective self analysis. I’ve noticed that my strengths are to focus on the topic, being organized, and having well development. My weaknesses are diction/syntax, using proper MLA format, and making citations on an essay. I found out my strengths which are focusing, organization and development through my “Bottle Water and Tap Water” essay’s conclusion part and “Hinduism with Water” essay’s