We finally made it. There have been times I have been frustrated and angry, but we are here at the finish. We typed a ton, and read quite a bit. In the end I actually think that my writing skills have gotten better. I remember the timed essay, I was nervous when I first clicked that link to see the question, but as soon as I saw it, I knew exactly what I was going to write about. I had a plan, and executed it.
I never remember a time where I could just do something like that. I would usually look at a question and stare at it a few moments, then go about writing my answer, I had never just started writing immediately before. I have found that this class has enabled me to sort out the ideas I have in better ways so that when it comes to crunch time, I know exactly what I want to write. This skill I believe will be extremely improtant not just now, but in the future as well.
I have also learned to filter my thoughts better. I stick to the topic better then I have, paid attention to paragraph transitions and tried to the best of my ability to make my papers flow logically, and keep my transition from point to point as smooth as possible. I have tried to write as if I am taking you on a journey through facts, instead of just throwing them at you. I believe this will help make any papers I write in the future more interesting and hopefully will net me better grades.
Working with you all has been fun, I have been able to explore other people's writing in add parts of their styles to mine, I have also learned to expand upon other things I see people doing right to help make my writing better. Sharing the experience taught me a lot, and though many of you might roll your eyes at this statement, there were quite a few good papers I read along the way. I never found a paper boring, I always found the papers I read to be interesting. Thanks to all of those people that were in my groups that were there for the group projects. some of those were pretty tough and for the most part, everyone did their part.
So now I bid everyone in English 103 goodbye. I will probably walk past you on campus, and even though we talked so much on this site and the class forums, you may never know it is me that is walking past. I too, will be guilty of this offense. If you ever see me around, don't be afraid to say hi, I always have an open ear for anyone that can return the favor. The class was fun, and although I think this will be my final foray into English, I think that it has granted me skills I could not replace. Part of that was been because of how much writing there has been, so thanks Jennifer for making us write blocks of text again and again all week, every week, so that we can find in ourselves our voice through our fingers. Now, I am going to give my fingers a break before I get carpel tunnel. Later All!
Good luck in your future classes!
ReplyDeleteI have shared the frustration and anger with you over the last semester. I have wondered how I would ever come up with enough to have the assignment the correct length but somehow always was able to do it. A few of the assignments seemed overwhelming at first but when I broke my thoughts onto paper, it all came together.
ReplyDeleteI must say I also feel my writing skills have improved with the help of this class and my fellow students. Reading others papers allows us to experience other ways of thinking and analyzing what we see or hear critically. Questioning what we hear is a good thing and results in better more reasoned decision making.
It is also sometimes hard to stick to the topic and we must try to do that every time we use language. Often it has taken numerous tries of rewording to make an idea fit the topic I am writing about. This class has helped improve those skill and give me some organizational skills I have been lacking.
I will also say goodbye and thanks to all for the experience and help in increasing my language skills. They have become more powerful than ever.
It seems so strange to say good-bye to people I’ve never actually met. I have quite a bit of experience with online friendships, but usually online friends just tend to fade out of the scene. I do wonder if I have ever walked past any of you on campus, or at the grocery store, or Best Buy. So, it’s funny that you say, “If you ever see me around..” because how would I even know if I saw you around?
ReplyDeleteI really like your comment about sorting out ideas, and taking readers on a journey through the facts rather than just throwing them at your readers. I think that is very well said. I didn’t enjoy the group projects as much. I found them to be frustrating in the beginning because people were just not participating. It got better once things were shuffled around a bit. I would like to have seen more time allowed to do the group projects. I think the projects would have been done better if people had more time to give some thought to them, and it would have allowed more people to participate. Maybe Jennifer will listen to some of our feedback and change that for the next class.
Best to you, Bryant, as you continue in your studies.