Who would have ever thought that you could enjoy a college English class? That was the case for me this past fall semester. Even though there were many hours spent planning, writing, and editing, the mixture of fun writing prompts and a great teacher resulted in a fun time all in all. This challenging class has taught me the importance of organization, how to be a better writer, and most importantly, how to have fun writing.
If you were to ask me to write an essay before August, I would have picked up a pencil right away and just started writing, not understanding how significant an effect that having an outline can have on my writing. My first graded assignment was to write an essay on altering public space, which seems like a simple task at first. However, I turned this simple task into an essay style scrabble tournament, throwing words in wherever I could fit them. There was no organization whatsoever in my essay. I had what I thought were good points and descriptions, but nothing really made sense and there was not much flow to the paper. Subsequently, I made a sixty-nine on my ...
Transitioning from high school to college can be overwhelming. Before English 1301, I thought that I did not have to worry about being prepared for college. I quickly realized that my little background in writing essays was not going to be enough for college. Writing is not just something that I will use in English classes. In college, I will have to use effective writing skills in all my classes to complete research papers, essay tests and communicate to professors. Throughout my education, writing strategies persisted to be something that did not come easy to me. I dreaded writing because I could never find ways to get my thoughts down on paper. Ironically, a class that petrified me due to the amount of writing that was required ended up helping me in so many ways. English 1301 and my professor prepared me so much for college and real life.
In fact, I began this semester with plans to accomplish skills that would eventually bring me to an understanding of what a great writer is. During the summer I attended an English mini course which proved to be just a quick version of some high school rules on writing, that did not require much thinking or writing tasks, but it did provide an understanding of what was going to be expected in colle...
Learning to read and write are both considered to be fundamental human skills, that we begin to learn from the day we start school. As time advances, as do our minds, and we are expected to evolve in our reading and writing skills. Finishing high school is a large milestone for the lives of young adults; however, there is so much to learn in order to reach the next big milestone. To be a writer in college can challenge our preconceived thoughts on how we write. Although some skills remain unchanged, high school graduates are faced with overcoming new ways of doing a skill that seems so simple that it is practically innate. The definition of writing skills for college students is much different than high school. However, considering we have come so far it is time to go over the information we already know and challenge ourselves with ideas that we are yet to learn more about.
English 101 is one of the most common college courses in the world. When I enrolled in the class, I was bothered that I would have spend forty hours in a freshman writing class; along with at least another forty hours throughout the semester writing for the class. What surprised me, was that when I began writing my essays I was not annoyed or bothered; I actually enjoyed the assignments. Most importantly, throughout the course of the semester, I have become a better writer and have ultimately met the course goals of English 101.
As a student, I have learned many different skills that I will take with me throughout my journey from this course. We have traversed many different types of writing styles, which any college student, or any person for that
Dual Enrollment English was the first real college-level class I ever had. I actually have taken other college-level classes before it, but Dual Enrollment English was the only course that gave me an accurate representation of how college will really be like and what it will expect of me. My journey through Dual Enrollment English began with a sense of fear and self-defeat and ended with a sense of satisfaction and confidence with many highs and lows along the way. This portfolio catalogs the evolution of my writing during my two semesters in Dual Enrollment English including seven different types of papers as well as each of their respective drafts and tutor feedback.
As the first semester of my sophomore year wraps up, I begin to realize that I have learned a lot in all of my classes. The class that I learned the most from has definitely been my English 111 course. This class have given me so many opportunities to improve my writing skills. With all of the success I’ve had in this class, I believe I will do just fine with writing later in my life.
Writing is an important part of everyone’s life, whether we use it in school, in the workplace, as a hobby or in personal communication. It is important to have this skill because it helps us as writers to express feelings and thoughts to other people in a reasonably permanent form. Formal writing forms like essays, research papers, and articles stimulates critically thinking. This helps the writer to learn how to interpret the world around him/her in a meaningful way. In college, professors motivate students to write in a formal, coherent manner, without losing their own voice in the process. Improving your writing skills is important, in every English class that’s the main teaching point; to help students improve their writing skills. Throughout my college experience I have acknowledge that
This semester was my very first semester as a college student. Being the first, it was probably the semester I would learn the most in. I learned the expectations for writing that I will have to live up to for the next four years of my college career. Though my high school teachers were usually demanding because I was in the Honors English section throughout high school, writing in college has still ?raised the bar? for me. Also, in high school, we would have weeks to pick a topic, create a thesis, outline the paper, write the paper, and then revise the paper. In college, the time restraints are not quite as lenient. I?ve had to learn to manage my time and be more productive with what free moments I have. Strangely enough, I?ve found the college English experience to be much more rewarding and enjoyable than in high school.
In summary, I had an enjoyable time in my first college English class. I pushed myself as diligently as I could and learned much more than I thought I would. In addition to, my strengths grew stronger and my weaknesses improved as well. I acknowledge I still have some techniques and skills to work on; however, I am willing to put the time in and cannot wait to take English in the future. Writing is an everlasting skill that will be an enormous asset to me; in addition to my future classes, and my career as
This class has been significantly more difficult than any other English class I have taken all throughout high school. This semester, I have been introduced to different styles of writing that I have never been exposed to before. This class has been stressful, but also fun. With using all of the resources I have been given throughout the semester, I have been able to do my best to further my writing abilities and hopefully only continue to grow them as I finish my later years in college. Throughout this essay, I will discuss my failures, my successes, my overall performance in the class, and my skill development skills.
Over the course of the semester, I feel that I have grown as a writer in many ways. When I came into the class, there were skills I had that I already excelled at. During my time in class, I have come to improve on those skills even more. Before I took this class, I didn’t even realise what I was good at. This is the first class where I felt I received feedback on my writing that helped me to actually review my work to see what areas I lacked in and where I succeeded.
When I write a paper, I usually tend to write and edit at the same time. I could never continue writing without correcting my mistakes and making sure everything seems perfect. However, throughout this course, it made me realize that I should write everything on my mind, when writing a paper, just like I would in my notes. Later on, I should revise and edit my paper, making sure to cut back ideas and sentences that are off topic. Additionally, I’m the type of person that likes to write with no boundaries. Writing my research argument essay, made me realize that I could stick to a structure and yet bend the rules a little bit. When we started with this assignment, I was truly excited to research and write about a topic that I am passionate about. When we were asked to form an outline, I was bummed. I felt like I wasn’t able to form ideas or narrow down my topic, let alone write...
Urbanists have long had the view that physical dynamics and look of a place play a vital role in the formation of public culture. Urban leaders and visionary minds have seen a city’s streets, parks, squares and other spaces in the urban environment as symbols of collective wealth, possibility, expressions of achievement and inspiration. “When public spaces are successful they will increase opportunities to participate in communal activity. This fellowship in the open nurtures the growth of public life, which is stunted by the social isolation of ghettos and suburbs. In the parks, plazas, markets, waterfronts, and natural areas of our cities, people from different cultural groups can come together in a supportive context of mutual enjoyment. As these experiences are repeated, public spaces become vessels to carry positive communal meanings” (Carr, Francis, Rivlin and Stone, 1993, p. 344). Film has the ability to inspire us, it allows us to inhabit new identities and to enjoy the world and different types of cultures in different perspectives. The universal ability of films excites and inspires all different types of audiences, it also makes the audience think, laugh, cry and show compassion and proves to be a very successful art form. This very popular and significant medium is becoming more accessible through the realms of cinema, and is becoming a necessity to a greater deal of towns and city’s. This however comes at a cost, in the last two decades dramatic changes have taken place in cinema landscape, which has seen the rise in multiplex cinemas and seen a dramatic decline in low key town center and traditional cinemas. In this essay I will be investigating the changes the Electric cinema in Portobello road London has gone throu...
Creative Writing is still a fairly new focus in the academic world. Since it found its place as a part of the English major, its importance and validation has been continually debated. Because of the influence of popular culture, today’s students have been strongly discouraged from pursuing studies within English or Creative Writing; what they aren’t being taught is the many benefits it presents.