1) What was the most successful strategy used in writing your personal essay? What is the skill/area
of knowledge you feel you most need to improve on?
The most successful strategy used in writing for my personal essay was adding more description to my
writing. Description is an important part of essay writing because it allows the reader to fully immerse
themselves in the words on the page. Using description was always a weakness in my writing but I feel
like it was a big part of my personal essay and I think I did well on that essay in terms of describing the
scene for the reader and describing my emotions throughout the moment. I feel like I could have done
much better in this essay if I added more dialogue and this is the biggest thing I think I need to improve in
my overall writing. Instead of driving the storyline through exposition, you can drive the story through
meaningful dialogue between characters, which always helps the writing. Dialogue helps further the plot
of the story and I feel like I could have added dialogue alongside the great description and detail I had in
the story. There were a lot of memorable quotes my friends and family told me on that day that I could
have included but did not, and if I did include, I feel like it would have enhanced the essay. When writing,
I will try to add quotes when possible especially when describing moments that happened in my life
because it can help the reader get a better understanding of what message I am trying to convey. I will
know as I go along the rest of the course that I am using dialogue more when the teacher no longer has to
continue to say to add more dialogue to my writing and when my grades in understanding and diction
improve as well.
2) What do you feel is your strongest skill at the moment in oral communication? What is the
skill/area you feel you most need to improve on?
My strongest skill at the moment in oral communication is my use of hand gestures and posture. These
two things were a major part of my personal essay presentation. In order to appear calm and confident on
the outside and feel calm and confident on the inside, posture is crucial. It gives you a sense of high
status, making the audience believe you are someone worth listening to, and it makes it easier for you to
breathe and speak clearly. Hand gestures play a variety of roles in communication, education, and
understanding. Gestures have an advantage over words in that they are particularly effective when they
closely resemble the thought they convey, and this really helped me enhance my presentation as a whole.
The biggest skill I need to improve is not using notes as much in presentations and trying to memorize
what I have written down. I used my notes frequently throughout my presentation and this lowered my
mark down by a few percent, which showed me it is something I must improve. I can improve this by
trying not to memorize my script word for word but just reciting the main ideas in my essay. I will present
with greater persuasion and effectiveness if I do not use my notes as often as it appears as a presenter that
I didn't prepare or do not know the subject matter well if I am constantly looking at my notes. My
credibility with the audience could suffer as a result and I do not want this to be the case. I will know I
have improved in this area when my marks in application improve and when the teacher does not have to
point out the constant use of notes during presentations.