Final Exam

Faith Ford

ENG 112

Professor Guarino

April 20th, 2014

Final Exam

Going into your first college English class can be very intimidating. You think you are going to have to write 20 page papers with a terrible professor. My experience in this class was the total opposite. I have learned so much about myself not only as a student but as a writer as well. In this class we wrote three essays that each helped me improve my writing, but one was the most significant. My autobiographical essay has helped me learn to not focus on so much emotion but to be mindful of the assignment that needs to be done. This won’t only benefit me when writing papers in my future academic career but also in my field of social work.

When we were first given the autobiographical essay I already know what I was going to write about. My friend Issaac’s death had impacted me in so many ways it was the perfect topic. While writing it I was determined to help the reader understand Issaac’s story. I did not once think about getting my point across. I was more story telling then fulfilling the assignment requirements. I thought my paper was God’s gift to this earth until peer review’s. They tore my paper apart. I was so hurt. At first I didn’t understand why my paper wasn’t good until out meetings with our professor.

My professor made me see what I was doing wrong. I realized how much story telling I was doing in my paper. The analysis or what I thought was analysis had nothing to do with my thesis statement. In Blog 2R I say, “ This semester I plan on making them (thesis statements)  a strong point in my essay.” Although in the essay my thesis statement was great, it was everything after that was bad. I never had that problem before. The topic was very emotional but I had to still keep the assignment in mind.

A goal that I had this semester was to better my writing style. With this essay I noticed some of my bad habits when it comes to writing. I tend to us a lot of the same words and phrases. In my autobiographical essay I using words and phrases like, ‘I will never forget’ and ‘At that moment I realized’. Reading something that is repetitive can annoy the reader. Using similar but different words can change the flow of the essay and make it sound better. I ended up changing the phrases to ‘is something I can never forget’ and ‘I felt as though’. I learned to actually read through my writings to pick out and add in things that I need. Self critiquing your papers is good to do before someone else tears it apart.

Whenever I tell someone that I am going to be a social worker the first thing they say is, “Wow! You have to be strong for that.” I realize that this is a very emotional field to be involved with. I know I’ll have to endure many things that I can’t get emotionally attached too. I can’t let the cases affect me off the job, I have to stay professional. Just like my assignment I have to stay on task. I have to focus on what my boss tells me to do rather what feels right.

Although I recognize my writing has improved there are still some things that I need to keep working on. My thesis statements have been my main focus throughout this semester. In multiple blog posts I address that my thesis statements are terrible. Before I would over-think them. They would have a great start but my endings would fall flat. Keeping them simple but explaining what the paper is about helps me write a successful thesis statement. Another thing I have to work on while I write is realizing my simple mistake that I don’t go back to correct. These small mistakes cause my paper to get slaughtered when other people review it. In my Blog 1R post I state, “To better myself in reading and writing during the semester I can't be afraid to make mistakes. Although  I want to play it safe and stay in my comfort zone I won’t be able to better my writing”. When I finish my paper I think it’s the best thing in the world but I have to realize there is always room for error. Lastly, I know I have to keep working on is expanding my vocabulary. I am very repetitive in my essays so I need to use different words. I try to change the way I word things.

Despite the fact that my time in English 112 is ending I want to keep some goals in mind while writing essays in other classes. I would like to keep excelling in the goals I already accomplished but I know I can do better. In my future academic career I would like to be able to learn the rubrics before I start writing. I know i need to familiarize myself with the assignment before I just wing it. Knowing the expectations will help me not only get a better grade but become more knowledgeable about the topic. Another skill I would like to uphold throughout college is learning better vocabulary. I know if i get back in the habit of reading I will learn new words all the time. Every time I don’t understand something when I am reading I look it up. That’s how I tend to learn new things. Lastly, the skill I want to obtain during future semesters is knowing that I can always make my papers better. They might be good to me when I finish them but there’s always room for improvement, whether the feedback comes from a professor or a peer.

This semester in English 112 has been great. I hope to keep learning different

techniques to improve my writing. I never thought I could learn so much about myself as a 

writer until I took this class. I know these assignment will have an effect on my writing in the 

future.