Reflective Essay: The Writing Process

When signing up for class I knew that I had to take an English 101 class. But there was a little bump in the road to having the class. When I got back form winter break I looked at my schugle and saw that there was no English class. So, I went down to the admiration office to speak to my advisor and see if I could get into any English 101 class. Luckily there was one class available that worked with my schugle. Taking English 101 has help developed my reading and writing skills on hobbits of mind, aniotating an article and using ethos, pathos, and logos. When it comes to writing, and reading my weakness is trying to come up with a good thesis. But my strengths are writing an excellent body.

Writing is a practice that most of us were taught when we were young. We were taught the basics of grammar, how to form a sentence, conjunction words, how to write paragraphs and more. Although we have learned this skill while growing up and have used the skill every year after entering kindergarten, this does not mean our writing process will ensure the best work. The authors that I chose each encourage their audience to excel in the art of writing in their own way to help with the writing process.

I have always prided myself on my thoughts and ideas; it is my ability to convey those thoughts through writing, with which I struggle. In highschool I managed to get by fairly well in my English class. We were primarily graded on reading comprehension, and so my poor writing skills had little opportunity to negatively impact my grade. I did not find this to be so in Writing 100, however. It quickly came to my attention that I would need to improve my writing if I wished to do well. I realized that in order to improve my writing, I would need to fix one of my worst qualities as a writer: my tendency to begin writing without properly understanding the prompt. This past semester in Writing 100 I have made an effort to fix this, and it has led me to become more intentional of the purpose of my essays, which, in my opinion, has helped highlight an intellectual depth that my work was incapable of displaying before.

Upon entering English 111, I knew I would be writing papers. However, I did not anticipate how much room I had for improvement. Throughout this term I have been enlightened with so much knowledge that I may have forgotten or have been exposed to for the first time. Certainly, my experience with essay writing has been solidified due to newfound knowledge of proper work citing, MLA standards and the steps of planning an essay. Perhaps, my time away from a learning environment slowed me down a bit, other times I feel as though I have an advantage due to life experience. An online environment has certainly been challenging but throughout the course I have provided solid work and consistent grades commendable of an A grading.

During my writing after getting a main idea about what to write whether in the first, second or third paper, it was necessary to focus on my audience. My primary audience was my instructor who receive the paper directly. While my secondary audience were my colleagues who could receive my draft for peer review. Among the three papers I had a different purpose for each. In the first paper, I decided to describe the two visuals of Su-Lin bear and Ruth Harkness including some details which can capture the attention of my audiences. On the other hand, paper two

My experience in the writing process has been extremely humbling. My mother is a teacher, so as soon as I could speak, I was taught how to write. All throughout elementary, middle, and the first few years of high school, I excelled in English. This skill of mine was put to the test, and for the first time, challenged and criticized in AP English Language. I quickly learned that I couldn’t always follow the three-chunk, five-paragraph essay format and that restatement of the author’s ideas was not enough. English soon became difficult when I realized I actually needed to think critically. My confidence in my writing dropped dramatically. However in my time so far in AP Literature, I’ve come to realize that I am a talented writer, and that

I totally agree with what the author is saying in the text. It takes time to get a good product out even though we think some people are deep and wonderful they still have the same struggles that we have when it comes to writing. I like this text because it is realistic it is giving an account of first drafts from common day people and shows how it is even for professional writers have problems with. This point is important because as people we sometimes feel we are not as good or capable of doing something not realizing that the people we look up to have the same problems we do. Another point that I agree with the author on is that you have to start somewhere. Many times as writers we don’t know where to start when it comes to writing. That being said we will just sit and think for ten twenty minutes when we could've just been information on the paper and then editing it later. In addition I liked that the author used examples from his professional experience when it came to writing food reviews. By him using details like how he went to the restaurant and sat down with friends and took notes of what was said. This was good to me because it helps me connect with him and the things that he does to write his reviews.

I also like to make little notes on my paper about what I'd like to change to make everything come together. I do tend to write so fast so I go back and correct little mistakes at the end. This part of the process is the hardest for me because I start to get aggravated and overwhelmed trying to make the essay as clear to my audience as I can. I also want to make sure everything I have written flows together and that I stayed on topic which as I mentioned above is challenging for me.

My fondness for this subject area is something that has excelled beyond the classroom. I frequently take pleasure in

What are the requirements of the assignment (explain them in your own words)? What are your audience's expectations with respect to style, organization, and content?

My skills will be good enough to start writing in other classes. I can use these skills on college applications or applying for scholarships or when applying for a job. I probably won't ever get a job in the writing field but there are more things besides school and jobs that writing is applied too. Getting a better understanding of writing will also help me understand difficult books.

Before I came to college, I felt my writing had to follow a certain pattern and be fixated around one way of thinking. What I was fortunate to learn was quite the opposite. Writing does not have to follow any certain pattern, but can rather be structured through many different possibilities. I was also told in high school that my papers either had to agree or disagree with the given topic, even if I believed otherwise. This formulated a very one-track way of thinking when it came to my papers. Now I know that I can let my mind explore new and exciting ideas. I can agree, disagree, compliment, criticize, and question the author however my heart desires, as long as I have the evidence to back myself up. Many authors in the book, Writing About Writing, explain their processes as well as the processes of others when it comes to writing. As a writer, I can draw on my own processes and relate them to the authors, as well as use their ideas and apply them to myself. Through reading, I have learned new methods of invention, planning and revising, and incubation when it comes to writing. All ways I can use to create more meaningful and creative work.

fact that I am not very good at handling difficult situations or making decisions where high risks

Aside from allowing me to understand better the lecture, I enjoyed doing the assignments because it provided me with facts to back up material being taught in class. Additionally, it allowed me to apply the content of the class to outside sources. Thus, it enhanced my understanding because concepts were

Throughout this class, I have learned many things and I have also improved. This quarter, my writing has developed a lot, on my papers I have wrote I usually can't write a paper then and there, but on the literacy walk in essay I got a good score which I was proud of since that’s the first time I had done that. Usually, I don’t get very good scores, but I have learned a lot and how to write a good paper which led to me getting a good score. Another way in which I have improved in writing is how to use less fragments and also do less run-on sentences. Before this class I would do a lot of run-on sentences and many fragments. I have learned how to use better word choice and better sentence structuring.