English 102 Reflection

The first few years of college student’s lives are not necessarily the most enjoyable time, having to take the basic core classes. Unless someone is planning on getting their degree in something that involves the basic core classes like; Math, Psychology, any Humanities, or English. English has not been my strong suit and I know that I still have work that needs to be done to make me a better writer, but I believe that I was able to meet and achieve the goals and requirements of this Composition two class.

English 111 was the first class English class that I have taken since my senior year of high school in 2004. When I first signed up for the class I figured it was going to be a bit difficult with reading assignments, I was not expecting to be writing 3 to 5 papers every other week which I found to be hard at first.

The beginning of my junior year seems like it was such a long time ago. This may be because of how much I have grown since the start of the year. When I began AP English, my writing skills needed improvement. For instance, I often used incorrect grammar and struggled with staying on topic. In just one semester, my writing has improved immensely. The more than I write, the more I learn about how to craft a good paper. I have worked on improving my grammar, using rhetoric, addressing my subject, and many more elements of writing. In addition to improving my writing, I have gained many skills to become a better student. I have learned about effective study techniques and time-management skills that allow me to be the most successful. Since I always try my best, I know that over time I will continue to grow in my studies. This year I have gained countless skills that will help me succeed in English in the future.

Before I enrolled in English 101 my ability to write specific types of papers (argumentative, rhetoric, narrative, etc) were mediocre at best. However, from reading The Norton Field Guide to Writing and They Say, I Say I gained a deeper understanding on how to better argue a point or write a narrative with a clear theme. Moreover, from my time of being in English 101 I have improved tremendously in the given areas: Rhetoric, Technology, Research, and Collaboration.

As a writer, I am quite sure of myself. I feel that English 101 was a large step in improving and building my skills. Writing is a particular strength of mine, although I struggle when it comes to open-ended prompts. While I can effectively construct an argument, I would consider myself still inexperienced with the writing process. Throughout high school, there were few writing assignments and what I did write was formulaic and lacking substance; giving original ideas or organizing beyond the five paragraph essay is still fresh to me. My teachers would tell us students what to write during a “class discussion” of the literature and afterwards send us to work. Writing outside the basic five-paragraph essay was taboo; each attempt had been met

After reading through the class syllabus a few times, I get the impression that AP English will be a significant departure from my previous english classes, especially in workload and our power to determine our essay and discussion. Prior to this class, I have taken honors English 9, 10, and 11, with Derry, Armstrong, and Brewer, respectively. Though the specific focus of each class varied, all three, English 9 and 10 particularly, followed a similar pattern of reading, guided analysis and discussion, essay writing, and assessment. Almost all of this was very structured, such that I felt that our essays were pretty formulaic. Additionally, much of the class discussion seemed superficial in places, often discussion time was cut very short,

The toilsome component this semester was transitioning from being a high school level writer to a college-level writer. However, English 10 has by far been my best experience in writing. By taking this course I have retrieved many helpful elements, that will help me become a successful writer throughout college. In high school, essays often gave me stress and anxiety, however, when taking English 10, I was able to learn to enjoy the process of writing purposefully and mindfully. Even though, I have taken advanced placement English courses in high school and have taken a practice run of college level English over the summer with Professor Brenda Venezia, I was still able to retrieve a lot more from this course. To showcase my progress in

Throughout this semester in English 101, I have made a significant improvement on multiple things, including how to be an exceptional writer and thinker. English has always been one of my most favored subjects to study because to me it instructs students how to be intelligent, how to become a more creative and critical thinker, and be able to develop ethical values and imagination. You can express yourself more efficiently in English than you can in any other subject. This class has truly made me a more confident writer and helped me express myself in different ways through the different types of papers I wrote. By writing different types of papers I have improved multiple areas of my writing. I have grown as a student in diverse areas such

Proficient writing is an essential skill in all aspects of academic and professional achievement. English 101, Introduction to Composition and Rhetoric, provided the framework to good writing, teaching me composition and rhetoric fundamentals, polishing up my grammar and style, and expressing a clear message. English 102, Composition, Rhetoric, and Research, continued to build on the skills I learned in English 101, focusing on the subject matter research process and employing various rhetorical and literary devices to better express a clear message to the reader. The course also improved my critical thinking capacity, allowing me to culturally evaluate my target audience, present logically flowing arguments using appropriate language and structure, and critically reviewing my writing projects for content and expression. Every writer inherently knows there’s always room to improve and I hold fast to this mindset in all academic, professional, and personal writing projects. English 102 has both challenged and inspired me to grow into a much better writer than before I began the class, providing the necessary skills to be not just a good writer, but a great writer.

Writing 102 has been a great journey with so many hurdles and loopholes, but overall it has been an exciting experience. This class has exposed me to areas in my writing that needed improvement – especially my punctuations and grammar. One major struggle I had was learning to use more formal words instead of using slang. I learned the importance of structure and the importance of writing in order to organize my ideas and convey my message appropriately to the reader. This class made me realize my greatest fault as a writer, which was not being able to comprehend directions, being unable to write without using first person words, and learning the importance of using peer reviewer’s comments are also barriers I have broken.

My goals this semester for the course it to work harder than I did last semester to get a better grade to pass the course. Also, I would like to improve my writing skills and become a better writer my instructor can help me achieve my goals by doing the best he can to explain the assignments and class readings to make it easier to understand.

English IV with Mrs. Parker has been a true seniority experience. Although it was not that much different from any other English class, I have learned many things that are going to help me now and also throughout my life. This class was not easy by any means, but it also was not over strenuous. This class helped me tremendously with my literary skills which will always be beneficial. English IV has been good to me, and also my peers.

Throughout the semester in english 101 I have gained and developed valuable skills in which have improved my overall writing. From the survey in which I find out my strengths and weaknesses to the the final response essay, I believe I have refined my strengths and improved upon my weaknesses. Also not only have I polished my knowledge on concepts I already covered in high school, but I have learned many new concepts of writing as well. All of these learning aspects of this course are credited to making me an improved writer.

My experience in English Composition 1 this semester has been a tough one. From day one, I knew that this class was not going to be a “walk in the park”, so I tried to prepare myself for what was to come. Throughout this semester, I have recognized my strengths as well as my weaknesses , and I still continue to struggle with a lot of them to this day. Through it all, this class has been a journey that has taught me a lot.

I have only been attending Cleveland State University for two semesters, and as this course comes to an end I feel like I grown and learned many techniques more than ever. I came to Cleveland State University with only my high school knowledge on how to format an argumentative essay, and throughout this course I now know how to write and format many other papers. Taking English 100 has taught me how to break down and analyze an article, it taught me how to find confidence in my work, and it helped me grow to an even better writer.