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Jessica Cronin
Professor Karp
Eng 101-13 Composition 1
17 December 2011
Final Essay
“How I Have Developed as a Writer This Semester”
In high school I always had trouble writing essays, especially when I wasn’t
interested in the topic. When I entered this classroom in the beginning of the year I was
not very confident in my skills as a writer. The class seemed very small which made me
feel a little more confident that I would get the attention I needed to improve my writing.
The things we learned included MLA format, sentence structure, and different forms of
essays. As the semester progressed I gained important skills that would make me a more
confident writer.
The Common Errors packet has been helpful throughout the year. Even though
the sentences we correct may seem simple; they had mistakes that I made almost every
time I wrote. Some of the focus was on semi colons and the proper way to use them
which is a common mistake that I always made.. Other errors we covered had to do with
simple grammar mistakes such as the use of their, they’re, and there, or the word a lot not
being reduced to one word and the difference between every day and everyday. We also
learned how to properly phrase a sentence. For example in Common Errors 3, one of the
sentences was, Thrown in a heap on the closet floor, Jean found her son’s dirty laundry.
To change you would switch the two phrases. The sentence should now be Jean found
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her son’s dirty laundry, thrown in a heap on the closet floor. When I was writing my
essays I always looked back to the Common Errors sheet for help.
The first essay I had to write was the remembering an event essay. In the essay
features section of my binder we discussed what was expected out of the essay. I wrote
down how to begin the essay, disclose something about myself, tell how I felt at the time
and how I feel when I look back, use many verbs and time transitions, use dialog and
sensory details, and conclude with the thesis. My essay was entitled “My trip to
Virginia”. My first draft had a few issues, one of them being the lack of dialog. I fixed
this in my final draft by adding some conversation that I had with my father. I also had
trouble keeping my essay in past tense as apposed to present. In my last paragraph, I
wrote the sentence When I left, I felt a connection from the past and from the present day,
it was like the two were tied into one. I should have used a semi colon instead of a
comma.
The next essay I wrote was writing profile essay. The features of this essay are to:
inform and entertain, vivid descriptions of the person interviewed and the place the
interview took place, use dialog, explain key terms, use narrative action, use suspense,
and offer insights. This essay involved interviewing a classmate. I learned that during the
interview I should bring questions. The interview can be open or closed. I should write
down what I learned and anything that was surprising or interesting. I should also write
what excited the person, and what the dominant impression or mood was of the person. In
the rough draft of this essay I had some issues in the format of my dialog. I did not indent
the dialog and I forgot the commas before the end of the quote.
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Another assignment we were given was to write a personal essay. This turned out
to be my favorite assignment. I titled it “Only Clean if it Can be Seen.” There were some
issues with my format and tenses but, in my opinion, it was the best essay I had written
thus far. Some of the features of this essay were: a title that attracts attention, create
interest in the introduction, tell a story, 350 to 500 words, focus on your belief, be
positive, and be personal. My essay was not very serious; it was about my belief about
cleaning only when it can be seen.
The last essay I wrote was about arguing a position. We learned the essays
features in class. The thesis must be clear, arguable, and may be qualified. It must be in
the first or second paragraph, the middle of the essay, and in the conclusion. The essay
must have reasoned arguments that are personal. The arguments must be supported not
asserted. Objections from the opposition must be anticipated. The format of the essay
could be in the following order: title, introduce the issue, state thesis, give the first reason
with support, the second reason with support, and the third reason with support, restate
the thesis, objections, concessions, and refutations, then the conclusion. The essay could
also be formatted in this order: title, introduce the issue, state thesis, give the first reason
with support, objections, concessions, and refutations, the second reason with support,
objections, concessions, and refutations, and the third reason with support, objections,
concessions, and refutations, restate the thesis, then the conclusion. I chose the second
format for my essay. I felt that this format was more organized and clear. My essays title
was “Illegalizing Marijuana.” I stated each reason with support in its own paragraph to
easily organize my thoughts.
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My ability as a writer has grown significantly throughout the year. Each essay I
wrote gave me more experience. I look forward to take what I learned and use it in the
future. Although my writing is not perfect and I still have many things to work on, this
class has improved my knowledge of the format of MLA and different types of essays. I
now have a concrete foundation to build upon in English Composition II.