reflecting a change reflection assignment

Gabriel Miller

Professor Rohman

Eng 101 241

11 December 2020

Final Reflection

I already knew how to write essays coming into this course, but by using the tools acquitted in this course my writing skills have increased in many ways. Personal growth through this trying year, along with skills learned through this course, have led to major improvements in my writing. Most importantly, I have experienced reading essays that engage their target audience better than I previously thought possible. By using techniques used in these essays I have improved my writing skills and increased the impact of my writings.

I have used the tool of “readability” to improve the size of my audience. Before I took this course, I was writing in a far too complex way; no one could understand what I had to say. The observed difference between my writing sample and my first essays is very significant. I quit using large amounts of pronouns and focused more on the actual topic that I was trying to get across to my audience. The number of unnecessary words that I was using in my writing to sound fancy was enormous. I felt like I needed to emphasize my intelligence when, in reality, my writing was better when it was more accessible. The more people I reached, I learned, the more of an impact I would have.

Along the lines of readability, I unlocked the proper techniques for developing essays. I had never heard of clustering before I took this class. The ways that clustering alone has helped me in this class are immeasurable. The technique helps you to organize what you are going to talk about before you write the essays. I used to write off the top of my head, making up what I was going to say as I went. By both clustering and outlining my essays I relied less on whatever I was thinking at the moment and started to plan my essays. Compared to my writing sample and early work in this class, my later writing seems to have a true sense of direction. I became able to unify what I was going to say and use the proper examples in the right context.

Until I took this course, I lacked the skills necessary to develop a correctly written dialogue. I would try as hard as I could to format written speech; I always ended up deleting it due to improper formatting or selecting the wrong section of dialogue. I always tried to force the narrative that I was wanting to share into the dialogue that I was choosing. Instead of using that old strategy, I learned how to select the proper section of dialogue using readability and the ability to connect that section to the topic.

Another error in my dialogue was formatting, I always improperly formatted my dialogue and it ended up getting deleted. When I did leave the dialogue in it was either not indented, missing commentary or the punctuation was erroneous. I discovered the proper places to put new paragraphs when writing dialogue; that alone has helped me immeasurable in my writing. I used to not indent when a new person started talking; that looked very silly because I was not using the proper format for my, sometimes very important, papers. This took some work to get down, but I will reap the benefits as long as I continue to write.

In addition to formatting dialogue wrong, my MLA formatting had gotten rusty. I had used MLA in high school but I forgot all the important details. I wrote in ariel font, forgetting that Times New Roman was standard. I indented 5 spaces instead of 10 and made many other major mistakes. I have, through this class, redeveloped the proper formatting for papers, this will help me in the future with essays for other classes and maybe even jobs. The amount of times that I will have avoided plagiarizing pieces of literature is inexpressible. This class has saved me from a lot of awkward conversations with professors down the line. I still have work to do in this area, but I will always be grateful for the progress I have made while in this class

Early on in the semester, I would often avoid using similes, personifications, and metaphorical phrases. It was like I was ghosting them one could say. I saw no need for them in my writing and I often bore the consequences of not using some of the most powerful literary tools. I, through this course, discovered that these concepts are not unnecessary words added to an essay but instead that they are a true expression of how the topic affects me, the writer, personally. I have started using metaphors in real life to tell stories as well. Just the other day, I remember comparing finals week to the end of a marathon. It’s like you can see the finish line but are running out of gas. This, and many other examples, of ways that I have used these tools show growth. This growth has not only come in my work as a writer, but also in the way that I communicate with the people above, below, and around me. Life, as I realize now, is all about communication. If I got nothing else out of this semester, then I would be content with improving my self-expression and communications skills; that is what this course has allowed me to do.

I have changed a lot through this course. It’s strange because, as a person, I used to be very scared of change. I didn’t like not having any knowledge of what the future would bring. I became an anxious wreck when things in my life took unexpected, or last-minute turns. Whether it be COVID-19, starting college, becoming an adult, or helping to elect new members of the government; this year has seen an incredible amount of change. I have learned to use these major life experiences to my advantage. It has become much more difficult to blame change itself when things aren’t going so well.

The most important aspect of this principle is in school-related assignments. Doing something new in Calculus class or History has become easier because of all the new, and unknown territory that I have encountered in this English class. I had only ever written short essays in high school; this class has helped me develop the skills to expand on topics further than I would be able to before. Unfortunately, I used to add useless words to my essays that made them longer. Discoveries in this class, like learning to write about what brings me joy, have helped me to no longer continue this poor habit. I no longer hate writing; certainly, this class has changed my worldview

The techniques involved in picking a topic that this class has taught me has changed what essays I write. Writing down multiple topics has allowed me to think about what I want to convey to my audience. No one wants to hear a boring essay about “riding a bike” or “working a desk job”. Activities done in this class have given me the skills required to invent an essay that people will be drawn into. If you look at my earliest essays, I was writing about topics with little substance. I would have a great story but it was not enough to drive the message that I wanted to share.

To sum up this semester, and honestly this year, it hasn’t been smooth for most people. Maybe it was just what we needed in some way or another. As an average college student, I have taken to this gigantic mess better than I would have expected. I have learned important writing techniques that I can use in all areas of my life. With writing, I have learned how to persevere through a period of little to no creativity and make something beautiful out of an atrocity. So I guess what I will always remember about this semester is the people around me who have supported me when I had no chance to make it on my own. If other people could do that for me, I feel as if I need to be a more supportive person. So even though I’ve learned a lot this year, that is a skill that I still want to become more adept in. With more time and work I feel as though I will continue to make progress in my writing; helping to relate my experiences with those of others.