Reflective Essay Writing

English has been one of the most rigorous courses I have been taking ever since elementary. Having the ability to write an essay has always been my weakness because I never found a correct way to develop the right body paragraphs. I might not be the greatest writer, but I d have the ability t have everything outlined and planned when it comes to writing. I would always try to challenge myself back in high school English because I would always try to strengthen my writing skills. I took all AP English classes throughout my four years in high school and managed to pass them. Not only that, but I took it a step further and also joined a writing club my junior year of high school. In this writing club not only did they teach the students how to write, but also gave us the techniques required to both annotate and summarize.

I’ve always considered myself a skilled writer until quite recently. But I came to a rude awakening when I realized that attending honors and accelerated English classes meant nothing on its own. Finding myself making embarrassing grammatical errors and noticing that my arsenal of sophisticated

When thinking about college, the first thing that may come to mind is college parties, more freedom, new experiences, and opportunities to make more friends. For some, the years spent in college will be some of the best years in life. However, aside from all the fun, college is still school and school work must be done. Essays will be written, books will be read, and sleep will be deprived. These years will definitely be a different ball game than high school, filled with many unexpected surprises. As someone whose parents did not attend college, I hope to facilitate your experience by sharing a few writing and reading strategies as well as general tips. I will explain in detail the writing process and the steps involved, the benefits of annotation, and the importance of time management.

To be completely honest my writing is average, maybe below average. I never really took writing seriously and that could be justified by simply reading my essays. Growing up my writing was decent nothing spectacular, until I reached high school I realized my writing sucked. I’m an average writer, I have had many negative and positive experiences with my writing, more negative than positive if you’d ask me.

Going into Writing 20, I could best describe my writing as alright if you don’t look at it too closely. Grammar mechanics have always been an issue. I have a hard time transferring my ideas from my mind to the paper in a way that is easily decipherable to a reader. Writing 20 has helped develop my ability to, if not fix my editing skills, at least get them to a place where my voice can shine through.

I think back to the very first day of composition one and I remember feeling so nervous that my stomach was in knots. Maybe I was scared because it was my first college class and I hadn’t even walked across the stage at my high school graduation. However, looking back I question why I was so fearful. I could have never dreamt of the knowledge I would be gaining in just a few short months. After completing this class I can confidently say I am prepared for comp two and the rest of my college career. Thought the course of comp one I have mastered the learning objectives that will help me in future college classes including: producing an effective writing process, using correct word choice, and integrating sources by using quotes, paraphrases, and summaries.

I have always liked this popular saying by Edmund Burke,” If you do not know your history, then you wind up repeating it.” This can be used in many, if not all areas of life. Moving forward in life is important, but being able to turn back and see what occurred in the past is also equally important. This semester, I enrolled in what I thought was going to be an easy English class. Not because English classes are supposed to be easy, but because I truly have a desire to write and love doing so. Despite the caution from the professor of what it would entail, I still had a relaxed approached to the class. After spending many nights and days writing papers, I see the investment required for such a course like this one. Although my grades may appear to be all over the spectrum of quality of work, I am thoroughly informed on what makes a great writer.

As a freshman at West Chester University, I have began to learn many skills in my WRT 120 class. Writing has been never been a strong suit for me, but as I began taking this class I have required multiple skills and developed a more creative mind in my writing. Dr. Cooke gave assignments that as students, we could express our own intellectual ideas in her prompts. Like I have stated, It was always hard to write an assignment that was on one concrete subject. Being able to contribute my own personal ideas and express in my own words, I was able to find my creative side into my work. I have always believed a “good writer” was someone that was able to speak in their own words to pursue their creative side.

As a young girl, I loved to write and read books, middle of junior high school was when I lost my touch with writing. Before Writing 1100 I hated writing, it was one of the things I used to hate the most. That was mainly because I had a tough time putting my thoughts into a paper. Although I felt that writing wasn't my best subject, I still use to get okay grades on essays I was assigned back in junior high and high school. Things changed for me when I had two writing classes in college, I realized I was not a good writer. I knew I was not good at writing when I had to take a remedial writing class my first semester of college. Writing in the Public Sphere 1100 changed how I feel about writing, Although, in this course, it was a lot of stress and excessive assignments I can say that having all of the writing assignments helped me with improving myself as a writer. My skills with MLA formatting, citing and analyzing readings have improved. I also learned how to summarize well. In this course I have written six journals, two essays, a research paper, and some free-writes. Now that I am creating this portfolio, Reflecting on my writing now, I would say that the there was a lot of work assigned, and these assignments were somewhat repetitive and that’s why my skills have gotten better because I didn't lose touch of the skill I was taught for this course.

My time spent in my writing 120 class has allowed me to to utilize my

I remember the first diary assignment that I had in grade three. The instructor asked me to write one hundred words to describe my day every single day. As tiring as it seemed for a third-grader, I have always appreciated my instructor since she introduced me to express myself in words. My experience in writing goes from writing stories to texting on social media and to write cards to people. I view writing as a powerful tool to introduce myself to people, to form relationships, and to communicate at an emotional level that daily conversation can’t reach. However, there is always another form of writing, that is, argumentative essays. Although being less experienced in academic writing, I realize that the tenacity in well written essays makes writing compelling in terms of creating initiatives for issues that people matter. Ultimately, regardless of writing styles, writing allows me to capture my thoughts and imaginations through story telling, gain knowledge of the society, and impact other individuals around me.

As you get older in life things that you used to love to do when you were little you don’t do anymore. Such as, play with Barbie dolls, or play house, or even play dress up. Well that is not the case in writing. Writing has traveled with me my whole life. Writing was always my favorite thing to do, not only in school but at home during my free time. In school writing was the time of day that I looked forward too, not recess, or physical education. Shocker, right? Writing can change people’s life without them even noticing. I know that because it happened to me. I didn’t realize until I was way older that writing not only has it impacted me, but also, I can impact others by what I have done in my writing.

Talking is an organized activity. Talking may lead to friendship, and friendship may lead to another type of relationship. Building relationships with other human beings is, in most cases, a fundamental necessity. However, these relationships, no matter how natural and organized they may seem, do not always end up the way I would like them to.

I still have issues with placing my hands in the right position and remember exact signs, I feel like I’ve overcome a lot in it and have improved over the semester. So, while I’m not necessary satisfied with where I’m at, I’m satisfied with my development as a beginner.

There are over seven billion people currently living on earth. The majority of which we will never see or speak to within our lifetime. Questioning why I write and who exactly I am writing for makes me wonder how many people will actually come in contact with my writing. Consequently, why bother? The reality is a person writes primarily because they are taught to do so and thus believe they are important enough to be heard, but there are also many other reasons which manifest themselves with time. Personally, I have found myself writing for historical and political purposes. Both of which wouldn’t have occurred if I wasn’t forced to write in school from a very young age. Writing has existed since the beginning of humankind for the same reasons we dance, sing, and speak. Writing is its own form of expression unlike any other which allows us to communicate and relate to others on a universal level.