Reflective Essay Writing

Throughout the progression of this course I learned countless things concerning my writing. {Simkin, M. G., Crews, J. M., & Groves, M. J. (2012). While it’s there’s a many amounts of things ‘ve learned throughout the course, there are several things I‘ve learned which include the step by step process, including the correct usage of grammar and properly proofreading my work before I turn it in. I found out i had a major problem with my punctuation usage and insufficient when it came my periods and commas. I’ve invested some time writing through grammarly and other helpful sites to improve my writing skills. I appreciate the assistance and help I received from Mrs. C

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.

The book How to Not Write Bad: The Most Common Writing Problems and the Best Ways to Avoid Them, by Ben Yagoda, focuses on teaching readers how to eliminate errors in their writing. To engage the readers, the author uses examples from his own students’ writing. By showing other students’ mistakes, Yagoda creates a mood of reassurance for the readers and tells his audience that everyone can make grammatical errors. This allows him to easily touch on a range of areas with an attentive audience. The topics are diverse with interesting topic titles, which help spark the reader’s interest. For example, Yagoda titles the section “,” rather than spelling “comma” in Punctuation (40). Using the punctuation symbol instead of the name is unusual and therefore

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.

Throughout my life, I’ve wrote to an unfathomable extent. Though some of my writing is favorable, I still have countless improvements I should make to my writing. I need to improve my writing in three major ways. First, I must halt my vast comma use. Throughout my writing many errors exist in my comma placement. Mainly adding too many commas, is the main problem. To counter this problem, I must proofread my work before submitting, and to be assured to have an equal balance between periods and commas. If I can apply my strategies correctly to my writing, I can hope my use of commas can enhance my writing. Furthermore, it is a necessity that I use less personal pronouns (“I” and “me” are exempted). In many of my written works, I find that not

I really think reviewing basic things such as commas and grammar not only make myself a better writer but my classmates as well. In almost all my papers my biggest struggle is grammar and punctuation. I’ve slowly improved for example in my This I Believe Essay I could have potentially received a hundred percent if it wasn’t for grammar and punctuation errors throughout my paper, this unfortunately did not improve in my Literary Analysis I received a very low score in the correctness category, I slightly improved in my Career Essay but hope to receive an A in this category by next

If there is anything that this class has taught me, it is that writing is more complex than I ever imagined. I have concluded that writing is like a cake- the good ones are creative with many layers. Coming from a small public school, I was raised on the five paragraph essay style. If you were to get a pile of my senior classes final research papers, it would be hard to tell them apart. We all wrote the same, and our style hardly changed from second grade on. Metaphorically speaking, we all created the same plain vanilla cake.

With the amount of essays I have written this summer session, it is easy to say plenty of practice was put in to avoid comma splices, and use of contractions in my papers. In my first Reader Response Journal Entry essay I have comma splices marked, for example, “I did the same, I thought of driving around in my community and realizing we have more fast food […]” the comma between “same, I” is marked as an C.S (Journal Entry #1 1) ; Compared to my last one I have none marked. Comparing my first paper to my last feels good seeing the marks becoming less and less due to practicing more and expanding my knowledge. Problems I ran into while writing was again, punctuation and grammar. My

I thought this was going to was going to be easy. With my past experiences of always succeeding, I thought I was going to flourish without any struggle--I was wrong. Composition I was a whole new entity than what I have ever experienced with school. I was so used to always getting the grades I wanted, with hard work of course, but not here. Even with the hard work I put in, it was very difficult to keep up with my grade because of the assignments and essays; however, with that being said, the challenges I found in Composition I have made me realize all I have learned this semester, which was more than any English class I have taken.

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.

It has certainly been a while since I have written a research essay paper, and when I look at my work now, I could say that it needs improvement. I liked the subject I chose because I am very familiar with it due to my personal experience. It is a real issue that is not as discussed, and that is why I chose to write about it. However, during my writing process, I only used my experience I did not do much research on the topic itself. The three most crucial mistakes I made in this essay, the first mistake had incorrect sourcing format, the second mistake it wasn't persuasive argument because I didn't describe if I was for it or against it. And the third mistake I made was improper outline shown on the rubric. If I could redo this assignment,

Have you ever sat staring at a blank piece of paper or a blank document on your computer screen? I have and let me tell you it’s annoying, especially when you’re ready to get started. At that point I begin to realize that I probably should have prepared myself for this task better. Writing has and hasn’t always been my strong suit when it comes to academics. I say this has because when it comes to writing and I have taken an interest with the topic, everything just flows with ease. Then sometimes that leads to why I say it hasn’t always been my strong suit. There are times I come across an assignment and simply cannot come up with a single word to put on that blank piece of paper or computer screen. The furthest I’d get is my name and that clearly doesn’t say much. From the words of Allen Ginsberg, “To gain your own voice, you have to forget about having it heard.” After reading this and thinking about Ginsberg’s message, I first think about what I want my voice to say in my writing and then I think about the concept of writing as a whole.

Freshman Composition has been one of the most time-consuming and stressful classes I have ever taken; however, this has helped me develop my writing from mediocre to superior. As I compare my past work with my more recent work, I can see a dramatic difference. My first few assignments were written in the same manner as assignments from my freshman year of high school. Beginning the semester, I had the most trouble with grammar and punctuation, such as: commas, semicolons, and colons. I also had a tough time making my sentences flow together easily, my essays sounded choppy. Also, it was obvious when I was stretching my sentences to make an essay the required length; I no longer need to do that, now I must work on shortening my essays.

I am now an expert in the usage of the comma. Those months spent doing comma practices at the start of the class finally paid off. I appreciate Shakespeare in a way I would never have if it wasn’t for you. I remember struggling through A Midsummer Night’s Dream as the thought of giving up swam through my head. At the end of the book, you had us divide into groups and act out scenes. Surprisingly, I had a great deal of fun. Everyone went full out with costumes and props. I also understand symbolism and have learned how to persevere through particularly mundane books. We read Animal Farm in that class. The fact that a story about farm animals could stand for real life effects blew my mind. Additionally, for every paper of mine you ‘lost’ and that I would later find right where it was supposed to be, I learned to be more assertive.