Blog #9

English 102 has been an adventure. I feel my writing has grown tremendously. At the beginnining of the semester, I didn't want anyone to read my writing and was very unsure of myself when it came to writing. I took a telecourse for English 101 and did very well in it but didn't have the opportunity to correct my papers so I did not really feel like I learned a lot. While taking this class, I was surprised that I actually write well. The best compliment was when Kristen asked what field I was going into and I told her nursing. She said this was too bad and that was such a great feeling coming from her.

My first paper, the Evaluative Essay, was pretty bad. I can look back on it now and see many errors like my choice of words. Its funny, because I think I corrected and sent it back three times and it still could be better. This is the funny thing about English. Most papers can always be corrected no matter how many times the writer goes back and rewrites. There is always room for improvement.

My second paper, the Critical Analysis was unlike any paper I have ever written. It is very hard to sit back and analyze why certain characters are the way they are. I had never even thought to do this before. Once I accomplished this, it made my outlook on writing different than previously. I realized how much thought and preparation goes into writing.

Lastly, the research paper is a seemingly overwhelming project. After the outline and the annotated bibliography were done, the task did not feel so daunting. There are still many parts I am working on to improve it but I feel it is an informative and interesting paper.

Our readings from Everything's an Argument have been interesting. I have learned how to think critically and to question everything even if it seems right. Any source, credible or not, needs to be questioned. The readings were a great learning experience in how to think critically.

My studying skills have improved tremendously. I feel very capable of using computers to get the information needed for research. Worldcat has been a wonderful feature to work with when trying to find sources for reference. I am confident with my abilities now, where I wasn't before.

I plan on using my critical analysis, my research paper, and maybe a paper I wrote in English 101 that I thought was good. I think all of these will make a terrific portfolio.