Coming Into English 101 As A Freshman Art Student

English Composition I has developed my style of writing and my skills analyzing and researching topics to write a piece about a topic. Throughout the course, I got better at analyzing articles and pieces to get the meaning of the topic. With that improved skill I was more able to use the information given from the text and install it into my essays, with proper citation if needed. Before taking the English Composition course, I was not one to organize my essays in an ordeal order to clearly state the point of the work. Now with taking the course, I have learned to organize my essays, examine research for a topic, and develop an essay with proper mechanics, and revising skills. In writing my personal, review, analytical, and cultural

From elementary school to high school, I was taught that my writing had to be structured and follow strict criteria. After I arrived in Mr. Mukherjee’s ENG 102 class, I was given the opportunity to express my creative freedom through words and graphical pictures. It can often be difficult and challenging to improve upon my own writing abilities unless motived with an idea in mind. When looking back on my time at ASU, I thought about the goals that I wanted to address for myself and the course goals that my instructor had set for the class. These goals include ones that I had accomplished to the best of my ability and ones that I need to address as well as improve.

Before now, I use to write essays without taking into consideration the elements and rudiments that make an essay holistic and complete. I have always picked up a pen and paper and write without considering who will read my write-up and the structural development of my essay. Essay for me has always been nothing but pouring out my ideas on paper and ink. Until now, vagueness and ambiguity have been the major characteristic in my academic writings because I never thought the need for fluidity and coherency of my sentences. As such, I discovered that in some of my past write-ups, ideas are presented in choppy, ambiguous and frivolous manner which is one of the major reasons for my

With the guidance of Mrs. Smythe, my peers, and my parents, as well as my own determination, I have gained much better control over the English language. However, I also learned something about myself as a person throughout my time in English 9/10. I used to let fear control me in English, which would translate to other parts of my life. Throughout my seventh and eighth grade years of Middle School, I would sit in silence for entire class periods, afraid to begin my essays, afraid to have to accept that it may not be as good as my other school work, afraid of what others would think. However, I learned this year that people like my mother and grandmother were not disappointed in my work but instead would suggest ways by which I could improve my writing. Additionally Mrs. Smythe constantly helped through the feedback she provided. Even when I received my first essay back, one that was clearly not to the best of my ability, she gave balanced feedback between ways to improve my writing while also providing supporting for future assignments. “It is not necessary to convert an entire scene, just the moments that are important. The inclusion of text in the last body paragraph is most appropriate, although there is still a bit too much of it. Good effort...” Even if I forget who said what in Romeo and Juliet, or the name of the main character in The Book of Lost Things,

English 101 and English 102 were both classes that greatly contributed to my writing abilities, and changed certain aspects of my approach to the writing process. The courses’ exposed my weaknesses as a student, and motivated me to persevere through academic obstacles and failures. English 101 and 102, also helped me improve the areas of writing that I was already proficient in, essentially giving me a desire to strive for academic excellence. Both of the classes contributed to my writing skills in their own unique ways, and helped establish more background in my essays. English 101 helped me in very specific components of my writing.

When I first started English 101, I saw myself as having a few good strengths and a lot of weaknesses as a writer. Some of my strengths included being able to write a good introduction minus the thesis part. I also saw myself as knowing how to write a good conclusion that summarized what I talked about in my essay and being able to understand a article or essay by knowing what the author was talking about. Some of the improvements I saw in my writing thorough out the semester is learning how to write an essay where I can communicate with the audience with my own personal voice. I also feel I improved on knowing how to properly include quotes and how to find good creditable sources to include in my essay and on how to include both sides of a argument in my paper. Another improvement I found in my papers is learning how to revise them and approach each essay. However, there are some items of writing that I believe I improved on but still needs some work. For example, even though I have learned all about the rhetorical appeals and how to determine them in a essay, I still feel as if I do not know how to properly included them in my essay. I also see myself as improving on knowing how to write a thesis but still need work on

Over the first and second quarters of Dual Enrollment English at Brooke Point High School, I have grown immensely as a writer. I learned a great deal about how to write a paper, as well as, about myself. In the beginning of this course, I felt as if my assignments were going to overwhelm me; I also felt apathetic about completing them. This led me to create my own personal agenda as to how I would complete my assignments. My plan was to overcome my weaknesses and enhance my strengths within the construction my essays, depth of paragraphs and overall assignments.

Upon entering Columbia College, writing was one of my weaker areas. It was very important that I gained the necessary knowledge and confidence to become a better writer. I didn’t know how to express myself and felt as though my writing was not my interest. As a result of taking English 101, I have gained a better understanding on how to properly research and build a satisfactory paper. Every paper that was assigned seemed like a struggle to complete. Before entering this class, I did not know the meaning of a thesis or why it was important, however, I obtained this skill quickly. I noticed that every paper has an argument and the thesis helps clarify the rebuttal. Now, I have a new outlook on writing. It’s a way to express my thoughts and allow others to see things through my eyes. There is no doubt that I still have a long way to go, but I know if I continue to write, I will get better. Just as I developed more skills in class, the various papers assigned helped to better structure the writer in me. In addition, the subject areas were not only interesting, but very informative and made it much easier to write about my experiences.

It is essential to understand that classes taken in grade school do not give students a full understanding of each subject. With the topic of writing, there will always be a new lesson to learn, an aspect to improve, or a differing way to explain. Author Craig Vetter states in Bonehead Writing, “This is your enemy: a perfectly empty sheet of paper. Nothing will ever happen here except what you make happen.” Each story, essay, or response comes from a writer’s experiences. With each attempt at a new piece comes an underlying story of emotions the writer is facing. Each person’s writing is unique and the ideas people have are related to their past experiences and what they believe to be familiar with when deciding which writing style to use. As a high school student, I have learned many things about writing that helped me become the improved writer I am today, but the most essential advice I have received is practice makes perfect. Although there is no actual perfect way of writing, I have discovered that each essay I write, my writing improves. It is easier to spot mistakes, find areas to improve, and ponder elevated word choice to use.

Part 1: My writing process itself is pretty simple. I do not follow the normal writing process. I start off by stringing random thoughts together. I then write a draft of my thoughts, and my draft usually ends up to be the size of my essay. Next, I do not revise too much, I just make sure that I stay on topic, and that everything makes sense. Finally, I edit and proofread my essay making sure that I did not miss anything in previous steps. I did not face many issues while writing, but there were a few. My first issue was using transitional words. I feel as if I am always searching for transition words. Another difficult part to writing my essay was vocabulary. Sometimes, I feel myself not using enough intricate words. Also, I have a problem with grammar. I do not always catch grammar mistakes while I am writing. I often have to read my passage three or more times just to get my grammar mostly correct. Although I try my hardest to get better, these are some of my downfalls. Now, I can reflect on the easiest part of my essay. The easiest part for me is finding something to write about. I try to pick topics that I know a lot about, and I try to pick topics that

     As writers, many students write to the expectations of their professors and not to their fullest potential. Throughout English 101 I had been writing only to please my professor or to fill the basic requirement to pass English. I always felt that my writing ability was never enough for my professors throughout the previous years. They always wanted clear and concise essays, which for some reason was unreachable by me. However, starting college and taking English 101 helped me with my weaknesses and changed my technique of writing essays. My experience in English 101 taught me to write to my fullest potential and to write what I felt; rather then writing what was required.

A learner’s ability to communicate effectively through writing to his/her target audiences is a major prerequisite for academic success. It is also a major pillar of success in one’s career across all areas of practice. Even though, writing clearly is critical to one’s academic and career success, I have not always loved writing. In fact, for a long time I despised writing. At one point, I had a feeling that my writings skills were bound to remain stagnated throughout my life. However, time has proven that I was wrong. My attitude and outlook towards virtually all genres of writing has changed positively. The various helpful methods I have been exposed to by my English teachers through different grades have helped me

Throughout my school education, my writing process have improved but, not to the point where I’m proud of my writing skills. Although I always have difficulties when it comes to writing, I also like what I write specially when the topic relates to your personal life. One main thing that I do like about my writing is that I’m straightforward and clear to what I’m trying to explain. Many of my english teachers especially during high school, they have always told me that my writing is understandable but, is really hard for me to organize my ideas. Organizing my ideas into an essay is a challenge for me because I have always struggle with that and I would like to improve it because is a really important step in the writing process. When it comes

Like transforming from a caterpillar to a butterfly, my writing style transformed from something mediocre to something quite exceptional. In high school, even when I took advanced placement English and Literature courses, I was never good at writing. My writing would lack structure, reasoning, syntax, and a well-defined thesis statement. My inadequate grades on writing assignments lowered my self-esteem, so I assumed I would never enjoy writing papers because I believed I could never improve. However, since attending a university my writing style has improved far beyond my expectation. My EN 101 course enhanced my understanding of the different ways I could approach my writing. Also, it enhanced my comprehension of outlines to complete assignments. Investing quality time into my writing made a substantial difference because I became a stronger writer. Through the late nights, constant revisions, and agonizing head traumas, I learned that my writing is truly spectacular whenever I incorporate well-defined thesis statements, provide sufficient supporting evidence, and maintain a clear focus in my assignments.

As a writer there are many elements of writing that I struggle with, especially when composing an essay. When writing an essay, there are usually many skills that need to be used in order to be successful with the writing assignment. Many times in writing I struggle with explaining and fully developing the supporting details and ideas in my essay. I would also like to improve on incorporating clear topic sentences and concluding sentences, connecting my paragraphs ideas back to my thesis. Lastly, improvement can be made in my writing by avoiding awkward or wordy sentences. Writers face numerous challenges in their writing but strive to overcome or improve these challenges with each piece they write.