Final Reflection

I have found this semester to be a rather demanding one, but that does not mean I did not grow in this class. I believe the thing I have grown most in was conquering all the small, technical aspects of writing that have confused me for years. Overall, I have enjoyed the time I’ve been able to express my writing, and gain positive feedback to help improve it. I did expect that the class would have gone in the fashion that it did, but I am surprised that there were only two essays and that we could pick the topics on both!

My writing has changed in the way that I know the perfect balance of supporting details, personal opinion, and the proper way to cite other works in a paper. The paper that best shows my growth would have to be my research paper since it allowed me to express my opinion but balance it with facts on a topic I got to choose.

I really enjoyed writing my Process Analysis paper on playing Halo because I was able to give it a different tone than I’m used to writing in. Also, having to write such specific steps in a way that anyone could understand was a challenge I greatly enjoyed. However, I did like the Polygamist essay more because it gave me the chance to voice my strong opinion against infidelity, sexism, and abuse. I never thought researching could be so enjoyable, but I learned so many amazing facts and read interviews that made every minute worthwhile.

For in-class writing I grew tired of making and analyzing lists very quickly, I wasn’t sure what we were supposed to gain from sharing our favorite movies and analyzing why they are the best. I feel the opposite about the homework assignments with the Curious Researcher though; I definitely felt like the exercises in the book helped guide my writing to something better than what I could have wrote before.

I didn’t find it hard to choose the pieces I wanted to include in my Final Portfolio, I knew which pieces I took pride in and the ones I felt expressed my writing abilities the most. But, the advice I would give to the next set of EN 151 students is to do your best on everything assigned that way they can have a better selection when creating the Portfolio.

The great thing is that no matter how many papers I write I never lose my passion for it; the only thing I have grown tired of is analyzing and making lists. Although if at least one list wasn’t made I wouldn’t have excelled at writing the Process Analysis paper, so in the end its a win-win situation. I found that paper to be the most helpful with helping me find supporting sentences to explain my point and helping me think of what the reader would understand. I had a great fifteen weeks and I will see you around campus!