Throughout the semester I don’t think my writing has changed dramatically, but I do think that I am a more confident writer. When writing the source based essay it was a very different paper for me. I looked at multiple examples because I was insecure about my piece and didn’t know if what I wrote fit the requirements. After turning in my first draft to my peer review partner it made me feel good to read their paper. It made me feel good because it was nice to read a paper that was written by a student just like me and not an exemplar paper. When I finally turned in my final draft and got my grade back I was so happy to see that I got all the possible points for that assignment. This experience made me have more confidence in myself because I got all the possible points for an assignment I wasn’t originally confident for. For the climate narrative assignment I felt confident. I liked what I was writing about and it was a real and genuine story. This assignment was also a narrative so I wasn’t concerned with being formal or doing any research. It was a story that came from me. Lastly the research paper assignment was very nerve racking for me. Because of covid, this semester has been a unique one. I didn’t have a normal graduation and I took my first college semester from my bedroom. This experience has made me feel like i’m not a “real” college student yet. So when I heard that I had to turn in a research paper I felt like I wasn’t capable of producing a research paper good enough for college. After writing my first draft I thought it was awful (which it was), but later I learned that having a bad first draft is okay. After doing the draft I kind of left my paper alone. I knew I had time to do it so I wasn’t very concerned about it. As the final deadline approached the nervous feeling came back. I didn’t feel like I could write a good research paper. What even was a good research paper? I was tired and made a plan. I would read my self reflection, my peer feedback, and my professors feedback then go from there. I decided that I needed to update my thesis, add some information, and edit one paragraph at a time. It didn’t take long until I was done which felt so good. I had looked at my paper piece by piece and edited everything I wanted to. At this point I wasn’t scared of what my grade would be because I was proud of the work I had produced. Reflecting on all of the work from this semester has shown me to always be confident. All I have control over is knowing I did my best with the information I had. Knowing that, in the future I think I will do better with not being anxious over things I can’t control. 

During this class I have learned the steps I must take in order to have a successful writing process. First I think it is very important to have an outline. This part helps me structure my paper and write down the ideas I want to add. Next is to create a first draft. The first draft allows me to write out the ideas I want to include in a nice way. Lastly is the revisions process which is my personal favorite. Here I get to read through my essay multiple times and just make things better every time. I especially like when I revise my papers section by section because it allows me to focus in and really dedicate my brain to all of my essays. Even though I don’t feel like my writing has changed dramatically this semester, I think that as I continue to write using my new process I will produce better quality work. From this class I learned how to plan my time. By breaking up assignments into first drafts and final drafts I was able to see how these steps make the assignment easier and less stressful. I plan to use this technique in other classes as well. I would like to break down all of my assignments and create a timeline for when things should be done. This will help me to have my assignment done on time and stress free. Additionally this technique does not only have to be used solely for writing assignments it can be used for other assignments and projects as well. 

As a writer I feel like my strengths are in the planning department. I really like the way I am able to easily create a well thought out plan to get my paper organized and written in a timely fashion. I believe that I still could work on my analysis and my grammar. Often in my papers I will end up restating my evidence opposed to drawing conclusions. Additionally, I would like to work on my grammar. Grammar is something I have always struggled with. In school they never taught us grammar; they would just mark the mistake and hope for you to stop making them. I believe that even though my grammar is not the best, people are able to understand what is written in my papers which is the most important thing to me. However I still would like to work on getting better at this. Overall, this class has been extremely impactful. The fact that we are asked to reflect on the work we did and what it taught us teaches an important idea. To do better you must first acknowledge what you did well, and what you didn’t do so well on. Then use this to say how I can do better. To finally sum up this reflection I think there are two major things I am taking away.

1. Always have a plan. Having a plan allows you to focus on a project in specific parts. You are able to give your attention to one part at a time which in the end will produce a better result.
2. Always reflect. Looking back at your work and assessing what worked, what didn’t work, and what are my next steps are important tools to help any student thrive.

Thank you for all that you have taught me this semester. I look forward to using it to become a successful student at city college throughout my next three and a half years. 

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