Taking ENC 1101 this fall has taught me a few valuable components in regards to composition and college life. These past few months I have learned how to participate in an argument, source my research using MLA format and how crucially important it is to submit assignments ahead of time.
Prior to taking ENC 1101 I could not participate in an argument because I wasn’t able to support my points with valid evidence. However now I can continue engaging in a debate and sometimes even win! One of the assignments I thought contributed the most in developing this skill was the discussion assignments we submitted online, we had to use examples and support our opinion on the topic we were given. Along with the discussion based assessments I also developed my writing skills and even expanded my vocabulary. Throughout the course when submitting new assignments I tried incorporating new words and slowly but surely have had better word choice in essays, discussions and even at work.
Other than learning how to argue (my boyfriend loves my new ability) I learned how to source my research using MLA format. This new skill is tremendously important in college because most professors, if not all, require their papers to be submitted using MLA format. Throughout my upcoming years at Valencia and then The University of Central Florida I will find writing papers significantly easier because sourcing will be practically second nature. In class we were taught how to use the in-text reference throughout our papers, build our own citation and how to set up our work cited page. Although in high school we used the MLA format for papers, prior to taking this class I hadn’t noticed how many small details go into the actual citation, the authors name is last name then first name, the commas must be in the proper place, page numbers etc. In some classes you “learn” how to do things however it is only stored in short term memory because you don’t consider it an important attribute or useful for future classes. Personally, I made sure I knew how to do MLA, every aspect of it, I reviewed the rules, did my assignments, and then reviewed my assignments in order to store this new skill in long term memory. By doing this I have successfully transferred the information to long term memory and made it into a skill.
Another valuable attribute I obtained after taking this course is the importance of turning assignments in ahead of time! Assignments are due at 11:59 and no late submissions will be graded.
As I look back into my high school years, I thought I wrote papers well. But then coming into a college environment, my papers were mediocre. By overlooking at my past papers, I found that they were unorganized, sloppy and had bad use of diction. From now on, I will use the tools I learned in English 1100-40 as a foundation for the future papers I intend on writing in college. Following the criteria of organizing ideas so that they flow, impacting the reader with diction and also by being creative, will help become an ideal writer. Following the criteria of staying motivated in short and long term goals, taking responsibility for actions and finally the ability to study well will help me develop into a supreme student.
I am concerned about the type of writing that will be done in English 1101, rhetoric writing is one of my weaker areas of English mostly due to the fact that I have a scientific mindset, I do best when the facts are presented to me. As I sat down in class on Tuesday my mind was rushing to remember when was the last time I wrote a paper which involved the writer’s opinion and not just facts, sadly none came to mind. During my short time on this earth all of my previous teachers specifically stated not to use first person and cut our thoughts out of our writing. My previous experiences will ultimately fail me unless I change my mindset, glancing over the syllabus I did notice that some facts might creep in to aid, particularly when it comes to arguing, facts will reinsure my rhetoric will have an impact on the audience. I can expect for this course to challenge me, it will be roller coaster, having its ups and downs, predominantly in the areas of understanding and answering the prompt, but in the end I am confident it will increase my writing skills by at least ten fold.
This course and writing these essays has drastically improved my writing capabilities. Before this course I could not write an enthymeme or effectively write an argumentative paper. Establishing a clear and strong enthymeme to a question at issues helps me organize my ideas within the body paragraphs and keeps me from becoming repetitive. I understand now that addressing a counter argument strengthens my paper and helps tell the reader that you know your topic and have strong reasons. I look forward to using the writing skills I learned in this class towards future writing opportunities either with my studies or outside of school. I will continue to use enthymemes to effectively state my claim and reason and to strengthen my argument.
I now understand how to format a paper and the importance of an outline. English 111 has helped me see the difference in the quality of papers I wrote in high school compared to the quality paper expected in college. When writing my Argumentative Essay I put much more effort into my outline than I did for any other paper in this class. Writing an outline improved my paper in ways I did not take advantage of on earlier assignments. Before this class I never spent time on an outline and considered outlines a waste of time. I now see how helpful an outline can be and plan to use one for papers going forward. The skill area I most improved on from our midterm project has been citations. I have utilized the “Cite It” link from the James Library for MLA style on both of my final papers for this class. The guide provided through the James Library gave many examples which helped me visually see the difference in what was expected. By using this resource I not only improved on MLA format for our class, but also improved upon the APA format for my Sociology
Throughout this semester, I gained skills learned in class and through peer evaluations that improved my writing skills to make my papers more academic. In the beginning of the semester, I was still using old skills that I had in high school for my papers. I would just add sources randomly in papers. This evidence would not flow with the rest of the paper. After adding the evidence from a source, I would just summarize the quote or sentence. I would not analyze or explain how it supports the paragraph and the paper. One example of me committing this is in the Gabriel Summary assignment. ...
In this class I have really learned to use a different level of thinking in my papers. Teachers often have complemented my ability to prove a point with the spoken word, but always offer advice when referencing my ability to compel by the written word. My first lesson in Literature was to bring myself down a level. I used to have an opinion, and write it, never citing or backing it up. My teachers taught me to incorporate others opinions into my own, explaining that until there is a credit to my name, no one is concerned about my opinion without someone credible backing it up. I took that knowledge and used it, learning to be an aggressive researcher, never resting until I have exhausted all sources.
I feel as though this class has helped me become a more polished and professional writer. When I first entered English 110, I was extremely unsure and lacked confidence in my writing. I believe that this point can be partly attributed to the fact that I had always had my instructors holding my hand and helping me through the writing process in high school. My senior English teacher always reminded us that college would be much more challenging than her class was and then she would go on to tell us stories of professors who gave out zeros for tiny oversights within a paper. This combined with general apprehension about college life left me terrified. I had always been a strong writer in high school; I know how to form an argument and support
During my first semester of college, I felt like this course overshadowed all the others. I faced many challenges, gained better habits, and even increased the value of myself as a scholar. Not only did my professor provide her students with the course material she built a confidence inside of us that will allow us to be able to tackle any task, especially pertaining to any written compositions. The things that I have learned from this course could and will be applied to any and everything I do from here on out, whether that writing an essay or even taking a test. Again, the journey was long, but I will be forever grateful for the things that I, and all of my peers have gained from this
Success comes to those who follow the guidance of a trusted source. In this case for English 111 we are introduced to a syllabus that we can reference to make sure we are on the right track. The syllabus goes from talking about what the course is about, to how everything will be graded, as well as what is expected from the student. Students are expected to turn all assignments in electronically via blackboard before class starts on the due date. The syllabus does give you a grace period to turn assignments in late, but your grade will be deducted points. To reach your highest potential average in the class its best to turn all assignments in on time if not early. When we make the effort to turn things in early, we have time to proofread and turn in something worth reading. We are also less stressed and feel ready to tackle the next assignment without mental distress.
In English 1102, I was exposed to a variety of different genres, including, argumentative research paper, an annotated bibliography, an analytical paper, and a workplace specific piece. Entering this class the majority of papers I had written were all analytical, and in this class we went above and beyond the basic 5 paragraph essay. Though each paper had a different genre and style, I learned that each project was similar in composition.
English Composition II has unexpectedly improved my writing into an academic level. As I studied various English reading and writing courses, this class “English Composition II” did not immediately caught my eye. However as I researched about the concepts of this class, the decision to make was not so difficult since I was lacking in critical thinking and the interpretation of works. Also as a Business Major, it made sense that the subject of English would be of interest to me and as a career requirement. During the first weeks, I thought that I would be fully prepared for this course after taking an accelerated course in English during the spring semester. However, after attending class for about a month, I certainly did not expect to learn an entirely new process of writing
This course was the first course I took as an incoming freshman, as anyone could imagine I was scared and nervous at the same time. Also since it is a writing course; I was hesitant if I wanted to continue in the class because writing is very challenging for me as an immigrant. Returning from summer break, I found it extremely tough to continue where I left off with my writing skills from high school. The fear of writing that my old high school teacher instilled in me did not help my writing anxiety either. In contrast, I found that the professor and the course were not at all intimidating as I assumed, the professor took time from his busy schedule to help his students to further improve their writing and the writing topics were very stimulating and thought provoking. Composition 1 has helped me learn more about myself and my writing skills, which allowed me to further self-evaluate myself, find where I need improvement and become motivated to change.
Hoping for the best but expecting the worst, I walked in to English not knowing what to expect. English 111 was boring at times but in many ways helpful. College Composition I main objective is to teach students the fundamentals of academic writing and critical thinking. Aside from learning how to academically write, recognizing grammatical errors, tone, and different styles such as MLA, APA, and CMS, are some other things learned in the course. This essay will be evaluating the book as a whole, self-reflections, essays, my strengths and weaknesses and my professor.
The Battle of Hastings saw the clash of two military systems. The Saxon army, centred on the King’s personal bodyguard of “housecarles", comprised the universal levy, the “Fyrd", led by the local leaders of each shire with their households. The Third stood behind and were paid during the way when other housecarls were slained.
Since the first day of this course, I learned new things every week that I hadn't learned before such as how to use APA style of citations, How to write a thesis and how to differentiate between the strong and weak source. I've made many mistakes with my assignments, so I will do my best to avoid them and will work to improve my skills by reading more in English. The most things I loved are writing an essay and the reading assignments as it helped me develop my critical thinking and reading, and substantive response. I will try to apply all these moral lessons I learned during reading assignments to my life.