It is strange to think about the fact that we are a mere week away from finishing our first semester of college. There have been times when I didn’t think I was going to make it through as well as times when I didn’t want it to end. The first-year writing seminar has been one of the highlights in the first step of my four-year journey. While it may have had its ups and downs, the ups were far more plentiful than the downs, and the height of those ups far out measured the depths of the downs. There have been a plethora of personal high points over the course of the seminar. One of the more general positive moments is the growth I experienced in my writing. At the start of the year, both my confidence in and the skill of my writing were far lower than they currently are. Through trial and error and through learning many useful techniques and tips by other authors, my writing has greatly improved. I recently read my literacy narrative collage and my recent writings are leaps and bounds better in terms of flow, vernacular, interest-level, and overall quality. Another positive moment for me was the first time I read Anne Lamott’s piece discussing “shitty first drafts”. This was a revolutionary idea for me as a writer, and was somewhat of a turning point in my year. As I discussed in the midterm assessment, my editing style has remained a constant minimalist approach over my writing career. This piece opened me up to a whole new, much more effective strategy. A third positive
Throughout the course of freshmen year I have developed different skills and opinions on writing. I feel I have created a more mature style of writing and a better understanding of literature. I have changed my view of writing over this semester and acquired a strong liking for it. The importance of writing has become more visible throughout the past few months. Writing is crucial in many aspects of a person’s life. I have grown to be a more powerful and well built writer throughout this course.
As a writer, I have improved tremendously. Over the course of the 2015 fall semester, English 015 has helped me grow as a writer in all ways possible. From hearing Dr. Duffy’s wise words regarding writing throughout class, to participating in peer review sessions, writing has become a skill that I have flourished in. As a child, I would constantly write stories and poems to express my feelings and emotions. Sadly enough, I can admit that as a lonely child, writing was my only companion and confidant. As an eight year old child, I found myself writing stories about the individuals in or around my life. After creating a satire about my mother’s workplace and the employee’s who worked there, I knew I had a gift regarding writing. I watched my
All throughout my years of schooling, I’ve had just about, one paper that was about one page long, due every year. My papers never had to be more than one page in length. Therefore, I did not have to do much writing or do many essays. Surely not enough to remember any of the assignments. Writing has never been something I enjoyed doing, so I never bothered to many any memories of my writing experiences. I did not think it was necessary to remember any of them since I only had to do them to get a grade. The only writing experience I remember was the first assignment I had in this English 100 class about a writing experience. All week long, I sat there thinking about what to write about, but nothing came to mind as a topic. Then, one thing came to mind, but it was so very vague, I could not write the length that was needed for the assignment. I could only think of a few sentences to write for it. After sitting for a few moments longer, I thought, how about I write about how difficult it was for me to write this essay before it was due.
Approaching this class, I thought I knew more about writing. It turns out, there were lessons I had yet to learn. I learned a lot more than I had expected. This class taught me the importance of time management, in-depth research, and more. It’s hard to realize what kind of an impact one single class has on an entire field of learning. But making connections with people who are doing the things I want to do in the future, has shown me how important this and every class is.
A person can read and write a great deal in one day whether they realize it or not. Whether it be texting a friend or reading a textbook for a certain class, you are reading and writing constantly and a daily basis. What surprised me the most about the reading and writing that I did on Sunday was how much I am reading and writing on my phone. Whether I am texting to coordinate plans with a friend for the night or reading a random article I saw while reading a Facebook news feed, I am constantly reading and writing on my phone. I never considered it reading and writing when I used my phone, I just saw it as looking at my phone. Just staring at this four-inch screen for some sort of entertainment. What also surprised me was how much we read without noticing it. You can walk down State Street and you will be constantly reading by looking at stores, posters, or even words on a bus that is passing by. Our eyes and brains are looking at and reading words all the time.
During the four years I spent in high school, it was real hard for me to write an essay or just a simple paragraph. And it was all, because I couldn’t express what I thought or I just couldn’t write something down. Yet, when the teachers would tell me to write something down, I was always the last one to finish. Why? because I couldn’t think of anything to write. Or sometimes it was the timing that the teachers would give us to write that distracted me a lot from doing what I had to do. And since English is my second language is hard for me to write and think in English. And right now I still have that problem and it's real hard for me to write something down when a teacher ask me too. Also, another problem that I have is that sometimes
Literature to me has been uplifting, motivational, and therapeutic; I was hooked from my very first book. No matter what occurred in my life I always had a book or writing as an outlet. My love off reading was the catalyst for my interest in writing. Reading such beautiful novels created a need within me to learn such a craft. My first attempts on my voyage ultimately ended in cringe worthy disasters; however I do believe I have come a long way in my stride to learn all I can on literature. My writing has become much more structured and articulate, I have also seen my literary understanding expand; I do still have a few weaknesses I need to work through, such as my struggle with concentration through timed writing, as well as my less than noteworthy
Final Reflection From reviewing and compiling my best work for my final portfolio, I have been able to reflect upon my growth and progress over the course of the semester and set goals for future writing development. I read through my free writes, writing journals, revision plans, reflection letters, drafts, and feedback, which gave me a realization of what came easier or was more challenging. I was able to see what I have already practiced in previous courses compared to new strategies and genres. I was able to see how language and structure changes and adapts as a result.
For as long as I can remember, reading has always been a hobby of mine. Both of my parents encouraged me at a young age to pick up books, and they furthered this by reading to me often. They influenced my interest in fiction and nonfiction, and when my sister was born, I would do the same for her. Even though I still like to read, I have found more hobbies and my interests have changed. Nevertheless, I still have the same enjoyment reading my favorite literature that I had when I was little. Also, I have developed a fondness for writing in the last few years as well.
Throughout the semester were several writing experiences that I found easy and very challenging. There were numerous variations of writing that I was unfamiliar with, such as SASEs, annotative bibliographies, and interview reports. Also present, was a professor who I found to be strict when it comes to grading and teaching, yet very adamant when it came to caring and helping her students succeed. I have been able to identify my strengths and weaknesses and contort them to my advantage in ways that I never could in previous writing classes. As a result of these instances that will be further discussed in the following, I can, without a doubt, say that I have drastically improved as a writer this semester.
As the semester comes to a close, it is always interesting to look back and reflect on the events and opportunities my English class has given me throughout my first semester as a whole. At the beginning of this semester it was evident that I was feeling uncomfortable due to the adjustment that I was going through as a student moving to college. It was very difficult expressing myself through my writing since I was nervous about good impressions and my good grade. While this class was one of the most difficult courses that I have taken this far, it has become quite evident to me that I have grown a substantial amount as a writer and as a person; Especially, when it came to explaining my ideas, writing academic essays, and making arguments.
Over the course of the year, I received many writing assignments. Some assignments were relatively easy, while others challenged me. I learned a few lessons along the way, and I also enjoyed completing some of the pieces. Looking back on the year, and seeing my assignments graded on the Sage Day Holistic Writing Rubric, it is clear that this year was significant for me in terms of my writing.
As the year draws to a close, I reflect on what I have accomplished in my first semester of college. Not only have I grown as a writer but also as a person. This year was full of changes but I am glad that I remained steadfast in my beliefs and skills. While I learned things about myself in this course I also gained important writing and research skills.
English is a core concept in the Untied States and other countries that has allowed inviduals to advance their knowledge. Not only does English provide an advancement in knowlege, but has created a way for individuals to share their thoughts and feelings through writing. Which is why English is one of the four subjects that is required to be taught in almost every school district in America including mine. I began taking English from a young age which allowed me to take advanced placement English IV my senior year at Tupelo High School. Advanced Placement English IV allowed me to further my education in writing, which in return allowed me to overcome obstacles, low points and discover strengths I never knew I had.
When coming into this class, I wasn’t too fond of writing because I wasn’t good at it. Now, after hours of re-learning the basics on how to write and going over new writing techniques, I feel that this Intro to College Writing class did its job. Unlike other college classes i’ve taken so far, this introductory class didn’t seem to have pointless busy-work. Instead, we did many exercises which helped me become a more effective, confident writer.