What I Learned In My Advanced Composition Class

The days are getting warmer, the grass is greener, and everything is growing. As the spring semester has progressed, our class has focused on developing our writing skills. Like the buds on the trees, my skills are emerging. Instead of sunlight and water, my freshly developed skills will need practice and review. Based on this perspective, the word that best describes my experience in my Advanced Composition class is “developing.” My composition skills have been thoughtfully developed as we have progressed through differing challenges in our assigned papers.
The “sentence of the week” exercise provided a different topic each week to practice our grammar. As compared to weekly weeding and tending to a garden, it helped us to better develop

and reinforce our skills. Similar to a garden, our skills needed attention in order to grow. In an interview with fellow classmate Jacqueline Macaluso, Jacqueline explained (in reference to the sentence of the week) “I didn’t like it, but it did help me expand my sentence structure.” No one likes weeding or tending to a garden either, but it must be done in order to achieve the goal of a fine garden.
Like a memorable garden, the work had to start somewhere. Obstacles had to be overcome. In the design and development of a garden, the garden is created from a rough, disorganized space. The gardener has to believe in the outcome. In this class, the introduction and overview on the first day was humbling. It was made clear to us that we were going to have to work hard to achieve the expectations of the class. It was further understood that we were going to have to stretch ourselves to develop these skills.
In addition, the timing of the papers did not make keeping up with the class any easier. We had to really work to make the deadlines. Like a well maintained garden, the gardener has to toil to keep up with the maintenance of the garden. In an interview with fellow classmate Sam Hild, the class was described as “laborious.” A garden can be described as laborious as well. We did not have long to work on our skills before our next challenge was presented.
Looking back over the semester, we have tackled differing assignments including descriptive, exemplification, causal analysis, and compare/contrast papers. Each assignment has had its own specific requirements and needed its own approach. Like unique plants in a garden, each paper differed in its style and demands. They each had to be nurtured in their own way. Developing my abilities is especially important as I start college in the fall. While the gardener tends to and grows his flourishing garden, it is my goal to continue to further develop my progressing abilities as a writer.