During this College Composition course, I came across numerous obstacles and educational involvements. Every factor of this course contributed to my overall learning experience. For starters, we often read out of our textbooks, “The Little Seagull Handbook” and “They Say I Say”. These books helped showcase proper writing techniques. In addition, we would have class discussions that everyone would participate in. This opened my eyes to different viewpoints that could influence my writing. I recall one class we had a debate over a topic and everyone had to choose a side to argue. Then when we wrote argument essays, even though they were on a different topic, it helped me view my topic in different ways. Lastly, the most helpful to my writing was peer review. We were told to read our paper out loud to our partner. Although personally I am quiet and dislike reading out loud, I found this very helpful. Instantly, my partner and I could find grammar mistakes that one may not pick up on while reading silently. Then we could also talk about other possible revisions for my paper. For every paper, we would have conferences with the professor. This was effective as well to have a professional giving corrections and ideas. When we would get back our graded rubrics on the assignments we completed, the instructor would leave comments to …show more content…
I learned the importance of making several drafts for one paper. Every writer can always make improvements because a paper is never perfect on the first draft. At least three drafts should be made before submitting. Secondly, it is important for ideas to be organized. One idea should smoothly transition into the next for the reader to easily understand the author’s arguments. Thirdly, it is helpful to have others give corrections on the student’s paper. Asking the professor or peers for critiques allows to see possible errors and ways to make the paper
...out homework, which was a huge stress relief. The class also offered how to write the base foundation of any paper, which is significant to become a great writer as well as to write a flawless paper. Also, the group activities allowed us to get closer with our classmates. However, I feel like some of the activities we did were mediocre and ordinary. But it is hard to tell what experience each student received from their high school. Some knew more than others, and I was just more grateful with the education I obtained from high school. I was also not fond of buying the books for the class, when it was not a necessity for class. We did not put much use into the books, and they were relatively expensive. I do recommend the class, especially to incoming freshman. It is a great foundation for legitimate college writing classes. I enjoyed learning from you Mrs. Penwell.
Entering this course I was worried because I have struggled with writing in the past, and writing has never been my strongest area. I feared writing classes in middle and high school, and had the same expectations for this course. I had wondered if I was ready for college English, and was worried that my skills and abilities would not be one the level they needed to be for college courses. My attitude and understanding of my writing process have both changed since the beginning of this semester. One thing that really helped my attitude and confidence was the fact that I was able to complete the assignments and get a decent grade. I was worried that I might not be able to do college level writing, and when I started completing the assignments and learning new ways to write my confidence and attitude changed. Another thing that really helped me throughout this course was that there was plenty of reading and information available to guide me through my assignments. I realized that there was more freedom when it comes to writing than I had experienced in high school. Being able to write more freely, and the freedom to choose what subjects I would write over made the assignments more enjoyable and easier to
I am currently an English 160 student who is hoping to move on to the next course, which is English 161. I understand the requirements for English 161. It require students to explore a topic in some depth and conduct independent research related to that topic. Conducting research allows students to learn what it is like to participate in academic culture, posing questions about important issues and developing an argument in response to what others have said. It expected students to learn the most valuable skill in college, which is critical thinking. Students have to be able to read challenging readings. Although I still have problems with English, I think I’m qualified to move on.
For me, being a college writer means writing well-organized essays that readers enjoy reading. Being a well rounded writer was also important. Each unit in this class challenged me to write in a well-organized, concise way. During each unit, we conducted some sort of revision activity where I was exposed to other students’ writing. As I read their work, I picked up on their use of transition words and separation of paragraphs to make the essay flow. Naturally, I began implementing more transition words in my own work and learned the appropriate ways to split paragraphs. The structure of the class was key to the organization of my ideas which was crucial to the development of my essay. During the third unit of this class, we were asked to identify an issue on campus, conduct research on the issue, and finally propose a solution to correct the issue. At first, it was difficult to get my ideas down and figure out what it was I would research. What I learned in class allowed me to first identify the issue I would research, write a rough draft, and hear what others had written before the final paper was due. This helped me to identify the main points, brainstorm and figure out what additional research I would need to find to support my argument. Being able to organize my thoughts from the beginning made writing the paper a much easier process. This course has helped me to grow as a writer and make
English has never been my best subject. Reading books can be exciting, but the writing aspect of English can be dreadful. Somehow, however, I passed all my advanced English classes with at least a B, and my teachers always considered me to be “above average.” My impartiality toward English shifted to an indifference near the end of my high school career; my indifference then shifted to appreciation. This appreciation is attributed to American Studies and Honors Writing, the most difficult English classes at Belleville East Township High School. American Studies and Honors Writing have strengthened my writing skills beyond what I believed possible. I still do not believe that I am the best writer, and English may never be my best or favorite
Going into English 1301, I expected the class to be difficult but also a substantial learning experience. Not only have I found connections within each of the essays I have written, but additionally have become more engaged in critical thinking and collaborative work. Within the syllabus, we were given concepts that we ,as students, needed to meet by the end of the course. I have met the student learning outcomes throughout this course as shown through all three essays.
The first English course I took in college was a basic introduction to writing, during this course we learned how to write a good essay, we learned techniques to improve our writing and we learned how to organize our ideas and put them in a logical manner. We did a lot of discussions and during this class was the first time that I was involve in peer reviewing. My second course I took was with the same professor, Mr. Braun. I believe he was a great educator and he really showed interest in helping their students that’s why when I had the opportunity I choose him to be my professor
My RIP companion essay was a complete mess with no structure in the first draft. I believe it was because I had procrastinated to complete both the first drafts for the RIP project and essay. I finished my RIP project then moved on to my companion essay, and the transition was vastly different because in the RIP project I was writing for a different audience than in the companion essay, which was an academic audience. In addition, I forgot that we had been given a prompt with specific instructions and guidelines for the companion essay, which gave the structure for the essay. My professor, Delany-Ullman also points out that “For most essays, you should NOT include your textual evidence in your topic sentence. Your topic sentence should make
For example, I tend to make run-on sentences. I noticed my run-on sentences when I would get feedback from students on my rough draft essays. The peer-review process was a tremendous help in having other students look over my essays mistakes and what I should do to make my essays have a higher quality in writing. In general, the revision process was beneficial throughout the semester because it gave me an insight of what my paper should contain and also to make comparisons between papers. Furthermore, my writing from this course is much more properly written than my past written papers because I have learned to use transitions to organize my papers, evaluate my sources in papers, use grammar properly, and construct a accurate Thesis on a topic. Before, I did not know how to cite or quote my research, but examples and activities from this course were an
In freshman seminar, I learned so much that could help me out with any class in college, with maybe the exception of science. I acquired the knowledge of how to write a self-evaluation, a biography, and a resume. Critiquing myself in a self-evaluation is better than trying to watch myself in the mirror and fix my mistakes on the spot. Taking the time to write out notes and learn as I go helps me remember what areas I need to improve in. Even though I gained an excessive amount of knowledge from freshman seminar, I still struggle with writing papers due to uninspired high school classes and the inability to reach into expanded detail. An important subject that was greatly appreciated in freshman seminar was eating habits for dancers. Eating
When assessing my current writing ability, I recognize my ability to efficiently relay a message; however, I struggle with using strong phrases and advanced writing. When I begin drafting a paper, translating my thoughts and ideas into words comes naturally, and I do not get lost in the process. As mentioned previously, the general areas that need improvement include using strong vocabulary to convey a professional level of writing. Also, I believe that I need to work on transition phrases between ideas.
Overall, I believe that this course has enhanced my writing. Previously, I never added an element of first person in my formal essays. I believe it was because in high school there was a bad connotation with it, but now I’ve learned that adding my own opinion enhances my essay and makes it more interesting and elaborate. I think it’s really useful to incorporate my own opinion throughout my essay to make it more personable and relatable. I’ve also found that the They Say, I Say book has helped me a lot in terms of structuring and formatting my thesis statements and topic sentences. This has majorly improved my writing and has allowed me to be more clear and concise with my ideas. Before, I always struggled with writing my thesis and topic sentences
When I arrived at Yale during the fall of 2009 for my freshman year, I started my undergraduate career wanting to practice medicine. Also, I wanted to receive a well-rounded education in an array of subjects. To this day, the education I received at Yale inspires me to delve deeper into pressing issues within our society and utilize the information that comes from a diverse knowledge capital to create strategies and make informed decisions.
We should strive for perfection in all walks of life, but if we are to be successful on life`s journey we must hold these truths to be self-evident: that error(s) are a must in growth and perfection is impossible. Throughout this fall semester in Writing 101, I have grown as a more confident writer. I have learned to overcome the fear and hindrance of inadequately transcribing my true thoughts to paper- selfishly working to please the reader and not my idea(s). Sharing my perspective, without fixed add-ins, is what makes me unique as a writer. I feel this can lead to constructive debates and can act as a learning tool for uninformed readers, but if the writing tampers the room for debate and learning is lessened. As a writer, I pride myself on the ability to pay close attention to detail; however, it was not easy for me to become a more confident writer. Although I praise the work of my first essay, Common Readings, because it
Much like Benjamin Franklin believed, I feel that a person should take advantage of the time the person has in life with activities a person wants to do or needs to do. A person should not spend much time on activities the person does not want to do. Life is way too short to concern oneself with work or other activities one wants nothing to do with all the time. When possible, I try to forget about my responsibility and just let go of the ‘things’ that do not matter to me. I think a person should try to occupy oneself with something productive, worthwhile, or necessary at all times. Even though a person’s life is left up to a person to live, I cannot imagine thinking that I owe my time to society through working a job that I simply despise. I am a compassionate person, but I do not owe anyone anything regarding my time.