Reflective Essay Example C
During the course of both English composition courses I took this year, which
include English 101 and English 102, I have accomplished a variety of goals I once
thought were unattainable. I have not only grown as a writer and a student, but as a
person as well. I feel that through my experience of these English courses, I have gained
the knowledge and confidence it takes to step out into the real world.
To be quite honest, all my academic life, I always categorized writing under
English class only; however, I recently realized that the skills you acquire in English
courses, will be extremely beneficial to you. Whether it is writing a business letter, to a
history essay, knowing how to write, is always a must. As a young child, I loved to write
stories to my mom, while using my creative, deep imagination. Writing was always a
way for me to escape my every day life and jump into a much more elaborate, carefree,
world of creativity. Although, I always enjoyed writing, during high school, I would
often find myself frustrated considering I had the worst case of writer’s block. I
constantly felt that I did not know how to write “correctly,” which caused me to begin to
despise writing all together.
During the course of my English 101 class, we learned how to read closely, write
a “text in context” essay, and how to write a reflective paper as well. Honestly, I found
English 101 a breeze for me, possibly because my teacher was EXTREMELY laid back,
and we never were pushed out of our comfort zones. At that specific time, I thought I was
lucky because I was getting easy grades for a small amount of efforts. I was surprised for
this outcome, because during high school I always thought college English was going to
be much more difficult.
Reflective Essay Example C
Now with English 101 over, I was faced with English 102. Possibly due to my
feelings towards my English 101 class, I thought English 102 was going to be similar. I
was completely wrong. I can remember the first few days of class, the feeling of being hit
with the harsh and abrupt reality that I actually had to work hard this semester.
Uncomfortable at first, I gradually caught on to the quick but efficient pace my teacher
had required of us. Although there was a tremendous amount of work this summer, I look
back now with a smile. I feel that all that work truly paid off, because now, I feel
confidant that I could write a successful essay. I probably have learned the most about
writing in just this one semester, than my entire academic career. My teacher was
absolutely amazing and encouraged each of us to push ourselves to reach our goals. Not
only did we learn how to write a rhetorical analysis, and how to research and construct a
persuasive argumentative essay, but we focused on fine tuning our grammar, mechanics,
and MLA format as well.
During this course, we also participated in work shopping our fellow classmates
papers ( in front of the entire class). At first I thought this was time consuming, tedious
and unnecessary; however, I soon realized how much it improved my own writing.
Simply listening to the suggestions and remarks made by my classmates, I gradually
realized how helpful their insight truly was. We alternated between higher order
concerns, such as: structure, organization, and flow, to lower order concerns, such as:
grammar, MLA, punctuation, and sentence structure. I realized that as the workshops
continued, I began to point out the parts in the essay that could use revision much easier.
I also learned in this class how to project my suggestions in a positive manner,
addressing the problem or suggestion kindly. I remember in the beginning of the semester
Reflective Essay Example C
I would start out by stating the parts in the paper that I didn’t like first; I quickly realized
that I should begin my recommendation with a positive remark initially. This is the first
class I have had through all of my schooling, where the class worked so hand in hand
with each other. I thought this enabled us to reach our course goals along with our social
and personal goals as well. Being a very shy person, it was hard for me to open up my
ideas with the other students in my class, but I pushed myself to step out of my comfort
zone, which resulted in me learning so much more.
Most recently, our class had written a revision of a persuasive and rhetorical
paper. We were told to completely change the audience of the paper and to change it to
letter format as well. When given the assignment, I was skeptical of how I was going to
successfully change who I was addressing the paper to. I was trying to keep the paper
sounding academic; however now, I was addressing the paper to a person which changes
the genre completely. After I completely revised my papers and changed the audience
successfully, I realized that I could accomplish anything if I just put my mind to it. This
year I learned that to be a successful writer, you need confidence, the right guidance, and
time to perfect the text itself.
I feel relieved that this semester is over; although, I am so thankful that I had this
class taught by my teacher. There are so many pieces to becoming a successful writer that
I did not even think twice about before I took this class. After each essay I had written,
looking at the corrections made by my teacher, I realized that there was so much work I
needed to do in order to perfect my writing. I never truly understood or applied MLA
format as much as I did this semester. I actually was forced to read through my Rules for
Writers book and apply the rules of MLA. Besides MLA format, word choice was also
Reflective Essay Example C
something I grasped onto more during this semester. I learned to consider more
descriptive adjectives for my writing because it appeals to the reader more successfully.
If I ran out of good adjectives to use, I started to use the thesaurus and look up new,
exciting words that I thought would jump out and hook onto the reader.
Before I took this class, I wrote in one specific tone, which I thought was my
individual tone and would apply to all writings I applied myself to; however, I was
wrong. I know now, that during a reflective piece, such as this, I am able to use my tone
to express my thoughts, ideas and feelings. During the persuasive essay, I learned how to
write more academically, while projecting my argument but keeping my own voice
flowing through out the paper. I learned that especially writing a persuasive paper, I
needed to keep in mind which audience I was trying to persuade. For example, I needed
to understand that my paper would need to sound different, if I was addressing the
readers of the New York Times, or perhaps a magazine for parents of young children. I
could no longer write freely, saying whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted; however,
now I needed to write accordingly to how my specific, intended audience would respond.
Now I was no longer writing strictly out of my own thoughts, but I was considering a
variety of aspects in order to create a strong paper.
In my future, I hope to carry all of the skills I have acquired during my English
courses. I think that they will be very helpful to me, regardless of what I am trying to
accomplish. I feel that I am much better now, in persuading someone through my
writings; which would definitely come in handy during my career. The responsibility I
have gained during this experience is incredible and has taught me to be a much more
organized person. During this semester I was faced with deadlines, rules and assignments
Reflective Essay Example C
that I could not work around. I found that all of these responsibilities have made me
realize that I could definitely take the next step forward in my academic career. Each new
experience I involve myself in has made me continue to grow and constantly learn
something new. I have truly enjoyed my English classes and know what I have learned
will be extremely beneficial.