Here I will write my Reflective letter. This letter will let my professor know how I feel about this class, and how I feel about the papers I have written. This letter also explains some things that we have done in this class during this semester.
Dear Sabatino,
Throughout the first half of this semester I feel I have made a huge improvement on my writing already. It's only been about nine weeks, but creating a website and having all these different types of assignments really opens up a variety of opportunities for myself as a writer to figure out a good technique of writing. The first day I came into this class I knew I was going to like it. You as a teacher brought a lot of energy to the room and made it feel a little more welcoming. No student is interested in a teacher who only allows the students to listen and hear the professor lecture the whole time. Knowing that you want our feedback and encourage us to be open to the class makes it more fun. Listening to other students put their opinion in on a subject is intriguing. We get to look at one subject from multiple people's point of views.
My favorite part about this class is our website. I like that we post all of our assignments to our blog and I also like how it's open for classmates to look at. Getting to look at our classmates websites gives us an opportunity to compare everyones and allows us to have a better view on what it should be like if we are ever lost on an assignment. It's also nice how you as the teacher have a website. We have no excuse to fall behind besides laziness.
One of the readings we went over, 'The Glass Castle' really represented showing very well. Right from the beginning it was action pact. The writer made it very clear for us to picture what was happening. She showed that her mother was poor and she was wealthy and they were now at two very different points in their lives. This writing was a good reference personally for myself to understand what it's like to show in a writing and not just tell.
Our first big assignment which is the Creative Non-Fiction Essay seemed to be a struggle for me. At first, I wrote about an incident that happened over a year ago. It's a significant part of my past that I will always enjoy writing about for as long as I live. Once I realized we had to write about an incident that happened within the last month I really began to struggle. I was running out of time for the dead line and I still had to think of something minor and create it into a 1,000 word essay. Once I finally thought of something to write about, I didn't even make it about myself. I felt my showing and telling were both clear and strong, but I wrote without meaning. My second draft has a little more meaning to it, and I feel there's still room for me to make it a lot better. I still had a struggle with sharing the story, it seemed like I didn't know how to end it the right way. It just kept going on and on. The farther I went on to write the story it became mostly telling. That's something I know I need to fix. The beginning of my story starts out strong and with plenty of action, I just need to focus on keeping it that way. Not become a lazy writer.
I am excited to continue learning new techniques and hear more about what you have to say in this class.
As we continue this class into the second part of the semester I'm beginning to learn that I strongly dislike writing. I love it when I have the time to write it, but at this point in the semester I don't see the point of this class and what it's going to do for me in the future. It's a fun class and you're a great teacher. I understand I'm going to have another English class with most likely a more difficult professor but considering I don't see the point in this class I will probably just go through the motions to get done what I need to, to get the grade that I need.
I learned that I dislike writing by putting so much effort into something and only getting a decent grade out of it. I get frustrated very easily and tend to give up. When I feel I have written something well my mind is set on that paper and it's hard for my mind to open up to other ideas.
The minute I heard about the I-Search Paper I knew I was going to struggle. I understand that the research is out there and not hard to find, but I have trouble not being able to put my opinion in the whole paper. The last time I tried writing a research paper it was all based on facts that I knew and my opinion. I quickly learned that research papers are not strong if I base it on just the facts that I know. This part of the semester really helped me to learn that. This half of the semester also gave me a more clear understanding on plagiarism, citations, and how to expand my writing. I still have some work to do on my I-Search Paper, I would like to expand it and make the argument stronger. Find more facts and use more sources that give more than just two people's arguments. The more sources, the better!
Recently we watched a film called Food Matters. Watching this film caught my attention because the doctors and writers brought up strong arguments that really made me think. Does Vitamin C really kill cancer cells? Is there a cure for cancer that scientists don't want to let out because of the money they make now? Should our diet be over 50% raw foods? All of these questions should really make you think, and watching the movie and hearing the statements some of the doctors were saying all made sense. They stated their opinion and they gave us facts which was proof that backed up their arguments.
Watching Food Matters definitely helped me to understand how to start my I-Search paper. Showing up to class and applying myself has also made this paper easier. Not missing class is probably the biggest and easiest factor to passing this course. Getting one on one time with you as a teacher is good because we get your feedback on our own papers and not everyones as a whole. You make it clear on what you want us to change but you don't tell us exactly how to change anything because as a teacher you want us as students to learn and progress. It can be hard and difficult at times when you know what's wrong and I'm still confused but it's only a benefit for me, to figure out what else is left that I have to do.
Overall this class was a challenge but I accepted it and enjoyed it, I struggled with some of the writing but with the struggle I got to learn many new things along the way.
Sincerely,
Alexa
Dear Sabatino,
Throughout the first half of this semester I feel I have made a huge improvement on my writing already. It's only been about nine weeks, but creating a website and having all these different types of assignments really opens up a variety of opportunities for myself as a writer to figure out a good technique of writing. The first day I came into this class I knew I was going to like it. You as a teacher brought a lot of energy to the room and made it feel a little more welcoming. No student is interested in a teacher who only allows the students to listen and hear the professor lecture the whole time. Knowing that you want our feedback and encourage us to be open to the class makes it more fun. Listening to other students put their opinion in on a subject is intriguing. We get to look at one subject from multiple people's point of views.
My favorite part about this class is our website. I like that we post all of our assignments to our blog and I also like how it's open for classmates to look at. Getting to look at our classmates websites gives us an opportunity to compare everyones and allows us to have a better view on what it should be like if we are ever lost on an assignment. It's also nice how you as the teacher have a website. We have no excuse to fall behind besides laziness.
One of the readings we went over, 'The Glass Castle' really represented showing very well. Right from the beginning it was action pact. The writer made it very clear for us to picture what was happening. She showed that her mother was poor and she was wealthy and they were now at two very different points in their lives. This writing was a good reference personally for myself to understand what it's like to show in a writing and not just tell.
Our first big assignment which is the Creative Non-Fiction Essay seemed to be a struggle for me. At first, I wrote about an incident that happened over a year ago. It's a significant part of my past that I will always enjoy writing about for as long as I live. Once I realized we had to write about an incident that happened within the last month I really began to struggle. I was running out of time for the dead line and I still had to think of something minor and create it into a 1,000 word essay. Once I finally thought of something to write about, I didn't even make it about myself. I felt my showing and telling were both clear and strong, but I wrote without meaning. My second draft has a little more meaning to it, and I feel there's still room for me to make it a lot better. I still had a struggle with sharing the story, it seemed like I didn't know how to end it the right way. It just kept going on and on. The farther I went on to write the story it became mostly telling. That's something I know I need to fix. The beginning of my story starts out strong and with plenty of action, I just need to focus on keeping it that way. Not become a lazy writer.
I am excited to continue learning new techniques and hear more about what you have to say in this class.
As we continue this class into the second part of the semester I'm beginning to learn that I strongly dislike writing. I love it when I have the time to write it, but at this point in the semester I don't see the point of this class and what it's going to do for me in the future. It's a fun class and you're a great teacher. I understand I'm going to have another English class with most likely a more difficult professor but considering I don't see the point in this class I will probably just go through the motions to get done what I need to, to get the grade that I need.
I learned that I dislike writing by putting so much effort into something and only getting a decent grade out of it. I get frustrated very easily and tend to give up. When I feel I have written something well my mind is set on that paper and it's hard for my mind to open up to other ideas.
The minute I heard about the I-Search Paper I knew I was going to struggle. I understand that the research is out there and not hard to find, but I have trouble not being able to put my opinion in the whole paper. The last time I tried writing a research paper it was all based on facts that I knew and my opinion. I quickly learned that research papers are not strong if I base it on just the facts that I know. This part of the semester really helped me to learn that. This half of the semester also gave me a more clear understanding on plagiarism, citations, and how to expand my writing. I still have some work to do on my I-Search Paper, I would like to expand it and make the argument stronger. Find more facts and use more sources that give more than just two people's arguments. The more sources, the better!
Recently we watched a film called Food Matters. Watching this film caught my attention because the doctors and writers brought up strong arguments that really made me think. Does Vitamin C really kill cancer cells? Is there a cure for cancer that scientists don't want to let out because of the money they make now? Should our diet be over 50% raw foods? All of these questions should really make you think, and watching the movie and hearing the statements some of the doctors were saying all made sense. They stated their opinion and they gave us facts which was proof that backed up their arguments.
Watching Food Matters definitely helped me to understand how to start my I-Search paper. Showing up to class and applying myself has also made this paper easier. Not missing class is probably the biggest and easiest factor to passing this course. Getting one on one time with you as a teacher is good because we get your feedback on our own papers and not everyones as a whole. You make it clear on what you want us to change but you don't tell us exactly how to change anything because as a teacher you want us as students to learn and progress. It can be hard and difficult at times when you know what's wrong and I'm still confused but it's only a benefit for me, to figure out what else is left that I have to do.
Overall this class was a challenge but I accepted it and enjoyed it, I struggled with some of the writing but with the struggle I got to learn many new things along the way.
Sincerely,
Alexa