Writing Reflection

making Practice-Based Learning work Reflection on PRACTICE A resource commissioned by the Making Practice Based Learning Work project, an educational development project funded through FDTL Phase 4 Project Number 174/02 and produced by staff from the University of Ulster. www.practicebasedlearning.org Author Patricia McClure School of Health Sciences, University of Ulster www.practicebasedlearning.org contents Reflection on Practice 02

In elementary school, I learned to write sentences. As time went on I learned to put those sentences in a paragraph which was three to five sentences. When I finally entered high school I learned to put those paragraph together which made the essay. When I was in English composition one writing had so much more than just having five paragraph. The writing was a way of expressing your creativity, idea, values, and emotion. It is not focusing on making five paragraph you could do what made you happy as a writer. There are countless abilities that writing has. The most powerful thing writing can do is change the opinion of thousands. But what is exactly English 1100? It is about improving your writing, reading and thinking skills or improve them. There are seven learning outcomes students that can get from this class, for example, communicate effectively, demonstrate rhetorical knowledge, engage in critical thinking, writing and reading, develop effective composing processes, collaborate during the writing process in a social setting, use appropriate convention for format, documentation, and editing, Adapt composing process to electronic environment. By end of this course, all student should able to demonstrate those learning goals as stated in the packet.

Before I entered this class my writing abilities were average, but I knew that with further learning and practice I could develop the skills to become a better writer. During the GSW 1110 class I have learned various new skills through four essays. Some of the new skills that I gained throughout this class are: how to locate both textual and visual sources, write effectively to audiences with opposing viewpoints, write to a variety of academic audiences, practice the process for drafting texts, demonstrate the control over grammar and mechanics, and critical thinking. The skill set that I have obtained in GSW 1110 clearly represents how I have grown as a writer and am prepared me for future classes and a future career.

The aim of the reflective essay is to highlight my own personal development skills that I have developed during first semester of my module. However, in this report I will make sure my learning ability phase and what this module has allowed me to work and understand in improving my personal skills and purpose. My major aim is to develop and assess an in depth range of my personal traits as a student in order to endorse my future development plan.

I have been practicing on how to improve my writing over the past few weeks, which has taught me a great deal about writing. My teacher would like me to evaluate and explain my strengths and weaknesses in my own writing. This evaluation is in between my two essays. One on my own and another with my teacher's help. I have strengths and weakness in my introduction, body paragraphs ,and my conclusion.

When I look back at my writing before having any college experience, I can see that I had a lot to work on. I can say that I was never really a big fan of writing anything much less essays. Even when I was younger, I just did not have a great big interest in writing. This was because I felt that I could not elaborate as well as others. I was not use to having to write anything really, but I now feel that I have a better grasp on the steps that I need to take to get my writing on the level that it needs to be.

To effectively revise and edit my research paper, I read it carefully, as I played the reader`s role instead of that of a writer. In addition, I used a number of strategies to effectively revise and edit my research paper. First, I read my paper aloud as I listened for errors. After carefully listening, I was able to identify and correct errors in my writing, including grammar, incorrect sentence structure, incomplete ideas, and incorrect punctuation. While reading, I could stop and rectify the mistake at the point where I could note it. In addition, I read each sentence at a time so that I could digest the structure and identify any error. Prior to the reading, I noted down the common errors I usually commit while writing such as the omission

I have trouble writing because my writing seems to be a little “tongue-in-cheek” as my AP English teacher said. (I have a couple unfinished examples that I will attach). I tend to not know exactly what I am trying to say in my essays. It is not that I am a poor writer per se; I just have an issue focusing my writing. I enjoy writing; however, I become engrossed in the way I want to present my ideas. Perhaps it is that I do not know the audience to whom I am writing. I usually use proper grammar and mechanics but that is definitely not enough to write an exceptional essay. In this course, I feel strongly that I will develop these skills. Another concern I have with writing is when it is timed. I have never performed well in a timed writing assignment;

I have many talents but I would have to say writing is not at the top of that list. I am not a terrible writer, actually I have been told I am pretty good. It is the fact that I am not confident in my writing abilities. When I am given a writing assignment it takes me awhile to fully know what I am writing about, I take forever to start a essay but once I get my ideas on paper it turns into a piece of cake. I guess it is because I have so many thoughts and opinions running rampant and I have a hard time taming them all. Because of this I can take longer on a a essay than needs be. When I took AP Literature last year I would always have trouble finishing my essays, they would start off well but towards the end, they would not make any since. Tell me to

Looking back in this class, I have realized just how much my writing has improved since the beginning

As a recent Egyptian immigrant to the United States, writing is the most difficult subject. In 7th grade, my writing process started to develop with the help of an amazing teacher. Ever since 7th grade I have been practicing wiring to be close to the high school writing slandered. I reached my goal last year when my act writing score is 6 point which places me in English 101. I doubted myself so, I took the Accuplacer test which also, placed me in English 101. I was scared when I saw the results that I’m going to fail this course. After taking this course, it made me more confident in writing and showed me my writing level which needs more practice. This class helped me improve my writing skills, by getting great feedback from my instructor

The Writing II course has been my most interesting and rewarding class. Even though I could not complete the class, the course is not over for me. Before taking the class, I acknowledge I have much room to grow in writing, but I did not know where to start. Writing has always been unclear to me in many areas, and this class helped me to unblemished my understanding. In this class, I have acknowledged my weakest areas in writing, but my most astonished ambiguity was determiner noun and vocabulary. I did not know I was using determiner incorrectly and vocabulary span is so important in academic writing. The English Simplied book is an easy and an excellent learning tool that was used in this course. It covers all areas in determiners.

What concepts, principles, or ideas that you have learned, do you think you will remember the most after you leave this class?

Before taking this class, I held a particularly cynical view of my writing abilities and even of my ability to improve these skills. In this way, I would revel in my own self-loathing, and would doubt every step of my writing process until I realized this pessimism in a lackluster and uninspired paper. Perhaps because I never had been required to focus seriously on my writing skills did I lazily pretend that this dismissive cynicism was the only effective means of critical analysis of my writing. As a result, all of my writing assignments were left poorly executed, often only being done in one sitting and entirely unedited. On the other hand, as I took this class specifically focused on improving my writing abilities, this lazy cynicism would not suffice to provide critical analysis of my papers. Instead, by taking this class, I not only learned to complete my papers over time (rather than procrastinate until the end), but I also learned to analyze my papers critically (by critiquing the argumentation and wording) rather than just dismissing them in despair.

Throughout my time enrolled in my English 121 class here at Pueblo Community College, I have been able to evaluate myself as a writer. I have seen more of my struggles and I have found some of my strengths. This class has been eye-opening to who I am as a writer and what I could able to accomplish in the future. I am not the perfect writer and I do have my faults, however, I know that this class have benefited my writing immensely and bettered my understanding of essay composition. Due to the mistakes I have made in my writing, I would classify myself as an average writer, based on the points of coherence, vocabulary, and editing and revision.