Final Reflective Memo
At the beginning of this course, I was not sure of what to expect. However, I am convinced that my participation in the course was among the most exciting and educational sessions for me so far. The papers I have written throughout the semester have revealed a lot about the course and its significance. Among the revelations, I have learned that reading, critical thinking, and writing go hand in hand, and this has helped me a great deal to improve my writing, reading, and critical thinking skills. Regarding my writing skills, my approach to writing has significantly changed. Unlike before, I have learned the skill of brainstorming and getting a solid idea before I start writing. Additionally, I have learned that reading examples of the genres that I am writing about is very important. This has helped me learn that writing is not always about the normal essay format (introduction, body, and conclusion): there are times that writing requires different formats. Through my writings in the course, I have generally become competent in critically thinking, reading, and incorporating my thoughts and emotions in my writings.
The course has exposed me to both writing exercises and major assignments, all which have helped me a great deal to improve. Revision of drafts is among the most important writing skills that I have gained through the course. Unlike other courses I have engaged in, this course allowed me a chance to experience the importance of peer reviews and my own comments when looking over my first drafts. Through the exercises, I have learnt that revising and reworking on the first drafts to incorporate and acknowledge the problems outlined through peer comments and instructor’s feedback is very significant: it allows for polishing of one’s writing, and also helps in adding more information where needed. Besides, revising exposed me to more reading and critical thinking, and this in turn helped me improve my skills significantly.
The writings I engaged in through the course entailed different genres, and this made me learn new writing strategies. Additionally, shifting between writing genres exposed me to research, especially on the papers that were research-based. For instance, my encounter with test analysis exposed me to research as I initially depended on books to get resources for my research. However, the course forced me to adapt new and more convenient sources of information such as databases which, without a doubt, are easier to find reliable information on given topics.
Additionally, I learned other important writing skills such as proofreading, breaking a paper into smaller pieces, and avoiding plagiarism. All these skills, as I discovered, are key aspects in writing. For instance, I was able to make my papers more manageable by breaking my papers into smaller pieces, thanks to Eng. 101. This also helped me set the required length for each part of my paper, and this helped me significantly when structuring my papers, and also in meeting the instructions of my papers. Proofreading, on the other hand, is a skill that was not only helpful for me in the course, but also for my future writing that am prone to encounter in my career. This skill helped me learn how to eliminate both minor and major grammatical errors, and this made me submit polished papers. With this, I was able to gain better and better grades for my assignments. About plagiarism, I learned that academic dishonesty can be detrimental to one’s performance, and also learned the solution to this kind of temptation; providing relevant and applicable citations and references.
My writing exercises were the best experience for me. From brainstorming, choosing a topic, first drafting, argumentative essay, among other exercises, I was able to identify both my strengths and weaknesses in my writing skills. For instance, I realized my competence in researching and addressing my thoughts and emotions in my writings. I also discovered my weakness in structuring my papers, but with revisions and feedbacks from my instructor, I managed to improve significantly.
Conclusively, my main aim when joining this course was to improve my writing, reading and research skills which I would not only use in the course, but also outside class and in my future career. In this effect, the course has done me justice by adding into my expectation: on top of my goals, I have improved my critical thinking skills, and this is applicable even in my day to day life outside classroom. Eng. 101 has, therefore, been an enjoyable and educative course, and it has marked a remarkable transformation in terms of my reading, writing, researching and critical thinking skills, as compared to the pace I had set in high school. It is also a very engaging course that proofs to students that hard work, being active, and involving peer comments are key to learning. Generally, the skills I have learned in the course will help me throughout my career in college, and outside college, including in job applications and future careers. In future, I look forward to learning more writing formats, and writing as many successful essays and reports as possible, and also to help those who might be experiencing some writing challenges like I did prior to joining this course.