‘I am going to fail’ was the very first thought that crept into my mind on that very first day of class. Before I stepped into the classroom on the first day, I felt pretty good about my writing. I had done previously well in English, and didn’t think this class would be much of a challenge. This all changed on the first day of school, when my professor talked about the level of reading and writing expected for this class. I remember thinking ‘I don’t read, why couldn’t I have been born someone who likes to read?!’ Since this moment on the very first day of class, I have grown immensely through hard work. In this essay, I will explain what I have learned over the course of this class about myself, and about writing. The first thing I learned A few things I tried include treating myself after an assignment was done, remembering the stress-free moment when you finish an essay, and the ten minute technique. Out of the three attempts to squash my tendency to procrastinate, only one seemed to work. The first thing I tried that worked, was to set a timer for 10 minutes, and just work for those 10 minutes. Next, I would give myself a 10 minute break. This was an idea suggested by my professor in the beginning of the year. This worked at first; I would get into my writing mojo, and not stop for an hour or so. Suddenly, the ten minute technique stopped working. I would sit down, and get distracted, or do anything but my assignment. This was when I realized that this habit would take a lot longer to break that I originally thought. The one good thing about my procrastination, is that it lead me to another discovery about When many people write, including myself, they get attached to their writing. Although writing can be a personal thing, I’ve learned that it is important to step away from your paper, and take the feedback on an objective level. The first time I got feedback, I had an overwhelming urge to defend myself. I remember reading that my introduction wasn’t complete, and that my evidence wasn’t properly introduced. I wanted to walk up to those who critiqued my paper, and spit right in their faces. ‘How dare they say bad things about my paper?’ I thought to myself. From here, I went back into my essay, and looked at what they had told me were errors. It was then that I realized that they were right. My introduction needed more background information, and my evidence should have had more of an introduction. They weren’t trying to be mean; they were just helping me receive a better grade, by looking at my essay through an objective view. Now, I go out of my way to ask people for feedback, and tell them to be honest. I want my paper to be the very best it can be, so it isn 't helpful when people hold back. I now understand that those giving feedback aren’t insulting me, or the paper; they are just suggesting ways to improve, or enhance my ideas. Giving and receiving feedback is a hard, yet important skill to learn, and hope to continue improving in this
The best way to procrastinate is to interact with other people. That way you can lay part of the blame on someone else: "Well, Mom was talking to me about something important. I couldn't just walk away." I prefer to talk on the phone to friends who go to schools far away. We usually don't talk too often, so when we do, we have to make it count. For those that who don't want to spend a mountain of money on phone bills, any kind of messaging system on the Internet is a great way to communicate.
Setting a timer can also help because you get to work on it for a minute, then come back at it after 60 seconds. Breaking down tasks into smaller amounts will help you with having to overwhelm yourself with so much. Sometimes you can even help yourself by simply giving treats after a task or being able to know that you can use social media after getting done with the work/task. Also, telling yourself that no one is perfect can actually help with failure because you will think less of trying to be perfect. Then you will actually try to do your task because you won’t be afraid of failure. Since procrastinators tend to say that the tasks are boring you can have a twist, and try to play a game to see how many of the task you can get done in such amount of time. It’s a good method for those who say the task are boring and they lack motive. Stop thinking about other things and focus on what needs to be done. Keeping track of the assignments that are due, and knowing which ones you have to finish first, and working along the way to get all of them done. Timing yourself in an assignment will actually make you want to do it because you got a certain amount time to get things done. Motivating yourself for 5 minutes
One of the major reasons why I procrastinate, is that I never have the motivation to get up and start doing work. This may be because of lack of sleep or not eating healthy food but in general it is because I just don’t have enough energy. Thinking about all the work I have to do, makes me think that I am not ready yet to put myself through several hours of torture. Having a bad day will also lower down my motivation level and cause me to procrastinate so that I can just relax. Doing work, especially if it’s a course I don’t enjoy can make me feel stressed. I tend to put myself down whenever I think about the amount of work I have to do that seems unmanageable. Not having someone to motivate me such as my parents or girlfriend also plays an
Another way to help me stop procrastinating is, to make a list and out the most important dates first on my list or on my calendar and then the dates that are kind of faraway out them a little bit farther but, not too much. Another way is to, pick a time and day when I need to start doing my work and when I start doing my work I need to find a nice quiet place to do my work and not get distracted. All of my electronics need to be turned off and to have a water besides me and a bag of chips as a
Writing was something I never particularly looked forward to before taking this class. I had a difficult time putting my thoughts together and really getting my point across. During my time in this class, my level of writing has increased exponentially compared to where it was when I was in high school. This class was very well constructed, and made the learning process one of the easiest I have experienced. Furthermore, I found the discussions made me think critically about the subject and that class participation in these discussions was great. I will reflect in this essay on many of the things learned while taking my first college course, writing 101.
Peer review was an extremely helpful tool throughout the semester, which I wish I had taken better advantage of. Overall, I never performed “poorly” on any of my writing assignments. This is my “half full” way of looking at the semester. The fact is, I got an A on every single paper that I wrote this semester except for one. One of my papers received a B. This was also the only paper which I did not attend peer review. Sure, for most people a “B” is fine and acceptable. For me, this was just a major reflection of my lack of attendance. On my first paper “The Writing Experiences of a Mediocre College Student”, I received an A. After this, I got overconfident. I did not think I had to attend class because it was such a breeze. This overconfidence took the best of me when I decided not to attend peer review of my next paper. Because of this decision, I received a B on “The Inner Thoughts of an Upset College Writer”. After receiving my graded paper, I decided not to miss peer review again. This decision paid off overall. Both, “Moe Money, Moe Problems” and “A Persuasive Genius” received A’s. I learned that peer review was so important because it allowed me to see my writings through the eyes of others. When I try to correct my own writing, I miss my own mistakes. It’s almost as if I have blinders on the whole time. I have always had difficulty believing that I make mistakes, like many teens. Peer Review made me realize my
Being told to write any kind of essay is not an easy task. I have never felt confident about what I am writing about. Since I was young, I have always struggled to put all of my thoughts into an essay. However, some of writing skills have improved from being a weakness to becoming a strength of mine. Throughout this course, I have struggled with developing an idea I am trying to deliver, and I have also struggled with sentence structure and punctuation; however, I have made some progress in being able to write precise, articulate sentences and organize my thoughts through the paper, I still have to work on improving my writing skills.
Procrastination is linked to a very deep level to several different psychological issues: perfectionism, a fear of being judged and a desire to be in control. Luckily, procrastinators are rarely horrible procrastinators in all areas of their lives. They may be great at making travel arrangements or at paying their bills, but miserable at getting a paper written. People basically procrastinate in the areas of their life where they may have self doubt- or with things they simply don’t want to do. Do you feel that your procrastination is due to lack of self-doubt? Of course things really don’t go away and then they have to live with an underlying anxiety about getting the job completed at the last minute. The good news is that once you understand why you procrastinate, you can start to cure the problem. Many times the roots of procrastination are related to performance issues and
As a first-year college freshman, I came into the university with many expectations. My expectations lingered from the various subjects I encountered this semester. For example, the difference in high school and college course work; I thought the work would be totally difficult. I wondered if the material would be new, but also familiar. I also wondered if I would excel in the college level courses. As this fall semester moves on, I have realized that each experience I have had in my high school career has pushed me to achieve more in my college course work. Therefore, with my previous experience, I know it prepared me for my college learning experience. As English 101 comes to an end, I have noticed a major change in my writing. At the start
Procrastination is a threat to success and self sabotage. In the article, 8 Ways Procrastination Can Destroy Your Life, the author, Kirstin O’Donovan, explains 8 common ways procrastination sabotages lifes. When you procrastinate you lose time, blow opportunities, you are unable to meet goals, ruin your career, lower your self-esteem, make poor decisions, damage your reputation and risk your health (O'Donovan). These effects have been proved to be true. On Ask MetaFilter, a general-interest community weblog, an
As my English 101 class comes to an end, I have realized how much I have transformed as a writer. In this essay, I am going to explain what I realized my strengths and weaknesses are as a writer and how they have manifested themselves throughout the quarter. I was skeptical at first coming into this class knowing that English takes formidable work and dedication, but I am very proud of the progress I have made. We completed a great deal of work throughout the quarter; from grammar exercises, summary reviews, and two challenging essays. Throughout the quarter I found myself improving in each category. As a writer, my skills and confidence have developed into more clarity and thought, something I have always wanted to be, as a result of a well constructed class that led to a superb educational experience.
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.
With this fall semester coming to an end, I have been reflecting about my writing skills. Before I took this class, I used to believe that I know how to make a good paper but I was wrong. Writing is one of my weakest skills I have, but this class helped me on how to make a better and well-constructed essay. This letter will show how I have improved from the writing assignments that was assigned.
I know that as I go through college I am going to reach many obstacles that arise. Already in my third week, I have had to read things that I’ve hated reading and I’ve had to put my opinions aside and do what is expected of me. I hope to expand my reading and writing skills as I continue to get an education and I hope to do what my teachers expect of me.
On September 20th, I walked in to the classroom for my first college level English class at 7:30 AM. As I sat down at my seat, I didn’t know what to expect. The biggest question in my mind, though, was this: Will I learn anything from this class? Or will this just be another class where I complete assignments, but don’t enhance my skills? My question was soon answered, since throughout this class I have learned innumerable skills which have forever improved my composition. Specifically, there are three main goals which I have achieved in this class: I have learned to think and read critically, compose and revise in context, and reflect and evaluate.