Ashley Hyde

Jessica Frogley

English 2010

11 December 2011

Final Reflection Essay

English 2010 at the Salt Lake Community College has helped me a great deal in

understanding the writing process according to each genre. When wrote my papers I discovered

that I used many methods. I have found that I do not have a specific process in which I write my

papers. I do have a rough idea about my writing process. Before I stated my writing process I

determined exactly what I wanted to write about, and how much I really understood the topic.

This consisted of critical thinking, considering my audience, outlining my topic or mapping out

ideas, and drafting many copies. Music was always a factor in my writing process. No matter

where I was it always helped me to stay focused on the task at hand.

Most of the changes in my writing process is where the paper is physically being written.

I tend to go from school, using the time in between my classes. Work, when I have a few

moments of down time and I have a new concept that can be added or changed. The hardest is at

home I seem to loose concentration easier at home, due to the fact I have other responsibilities

surrounding me.

I do not think I made things easy for myself in my writing. I tent to be a little harsh when

I comes to going over my draft and information. I always want my papers to be stronger then the

first time it was drafted. The opening or “thesis statement” always gave me the most trouble.

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More times then not I end up making it sound even worse, just by deleting a sentence. I think if I

would have found a more quit place around campus. It would have made it easier for me to

understand what I was reading out loud, and if it flows well.

There were a few major factors that helped me with my writing process through ought

this semester. I always had a dictionary or thesaurus handy to refer to. Whether it was on my

laptop to easily access or on my phone if it was available at the time. I also referred to my book

“Oxford Essential Writing Guide” from time to time. It is not the easiest thing to interpret but it

does help with simple question that I have about my writing process. The most supported

practice was my in class student peer reviews. I enjoyed the truthful comments for my

classmates about my writing. They always gave great ideas about what other ways I could

approach a topic, and it always helps to have a second set of eyes to look over a paper. There are

many small grammatical errors I miss when staring at the same paper for days on end.

Over all attending class and taking strong notes was the most helpful to me. With the

notes that I took I could always refer back to with any question or concerns that I may have had

during my writing process. The thing I found most useful in this course to me was covering a

cause and effect genre. The students were asked to write a proposal/position paper. We chose a

local topic that has been a concern or in the media light. A topic that had a personal interest to

me but I knew little to nothing about. I analyzed that topic with not only pros and cons but all

sides of the topic.

I feel that I have learned a lot, I know that is a very broad statement to make for a whole

semester. Learning everything from writing according to genre, using signal words in my

sentence structure, and how to set up a coherent paragraph. These were somethings that I should

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have picked up in middle school. I also can tell that I am paying a lot more attention to what I

write about. If I am going to put my time in to something, and I have a choice. I should be

passionate about the things I put down on paper. Not just bull shit my way through college with a

bunch of half written papers and a lousy final portfolio.

The final portfolio was not an unpleasant experience for me. I was excited to even get

the chance to rewrite all my papers to hopefully learn from my mistakes. My most common

mistakes were paragraph formation, syntax, and run on sentences. Occasionally I would have

missed spelled work or a double typed word that I never really picked up on. That is what peer

reviews and free torturing are for.

The final portfolio also gave me the opportunity to look at all of my pieces of writing and

see what genre I am stronger in. Where I need the most help, and what I really like writing

about. The students were asked to write six papers this semester, a research report, a proposal or

position paper, a memoir, an observation piece, a letter to the editor and persons profile about

their life. The one I enjoyed the most to share a memoir as an academic paper. I felt that my

story lined that I had used was both exciting and dramatic but has a good “lesson” to it without

actual stating it in the paper. I do not feel that my memoir was my strongest writing.

The strongest aspect of my writing was the observation piece. I sat outside the Salt Lake

Community College for two hours writing short notes about what I could feel, smell, see, and

hear around me. In doing this I did not talk to anyone, which made it very had at some point. I

enjoyed using first person in my writing, and descriptive language about what I saw around me,

people watching has always been something I enjoyed and this was my opportunity to put it to

good use.

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When writing my observation papers I made sure to have used many strong adjectives

and remembering to write in present tense. Verb tense was a huge factor with the observation

paper. I included my reaction to what was going on around me. Keeping in mind to stay

objective as much as possible. Also making an association with everything around me to point

out that I was just sitting out side the college. I have never had the opportunity to write about

what I observe on a daily basis using compare and contrast attributes. I hope to get another

opportunity in the two semester I have at Salt Lake Community College before I graduate.

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