Semester Reflection
Since I began this class, I have found myself enjoying writing far more than I have in the past. In other English classes that I have taken throughout my life, I have been forced to write book reports, answer questions about things I barely knew anything about, and read things that were nearly impossible to understand, like Shakespeare. However, in English 1102, I was able to spend the entire semester writing about something that I am very familiar with. Writing about different social media platforms and their effects on the world around me has allowed me to grow as a writer, and shown me that I never hated writing; I only hated the things that I was made to write about. I have learned that if I write about something that interests me, and that I have plenty of pre-existing knowledge about, with a little extra research I can write better than I originally thought.
Thanks to my newly discovered ability to write "A-worthy" papers, I have managed to maintain an A throughout the class. The writer's workshop days that we participated in during class time were a tremendous aid to the quality of my papers. The different points of view and constructive criticisms from my classmates helped me realize exactly what could be improved about my paper, while the positive feedback gave me the confidence to spend the extra time actually making corrections and amendments to my essays. Being able to read my other classmates' papers also helped me with my own because it allowed me to see social media from a different perspective than my own. Whether their theses agreed with mine or not, it was still highly beneficial to learn about and discuss the ways that people other than myself look at the same general subjects. Without these workshops, I would have still been able to pass the class with a decent grade, but in order to earn the A that I desired, I believe that they were absolutely necessary.
This class has been a massive help to my ability as a writer. Despite the fact that this was the first time I have ever written a research paper, I was able to get a B on it, thanks to the help of my fellow students. I think that the way the class is structured is very effective, because Professor Padgett does a great job of holding students' attention, while still challenging them to participate and make comments to him and the other students. The class does not require so much work that it makes you dread English, but still has enough to keep you engaged in learning and writing. I never once got upset realizing that it was time to go to this class, because it was much more enjoyable than any other class I have taken so far. The videos we watched and the articles we read were all very interesting, and the discussions we had about them were even better. Professor Padgett always managed to get a few laughs out of myself and the other students during class time. I am a big fan of that because I am a firm believer in the idea that laughter is the best medicine. It becomes much more interesting and easier to focus on learning with just the right amount of humor thrown into the mix. I loved this class and I know that it helped me far more than I ever expected it to.
Thanks to my newly discovered ability to write "A-worthy" papers, I have managed to maintain an A throughout the class. The writer's workshop days that we participated in during class time were a tremendous aid to the quality of my papers. The different points of view and constructive criticisms from my classmates helped me realize exactly what could be improved about my paper, while the positive feedback gave me the confidence to spend the extra time actually making corrections and amendments to my essays. Being able to read my other classmates' papers also helped me with my own because it allowed me to see social media from a different perspective than my own. Whether their theses agreed with mine or not, it was still highly beneficial to learn about and discuss the ways that people other than myself look at the same general subjects. Without these workshops, I would have still been able to pass the class with a decent grade, but in order to earn the A that I desired, I believe that they were absolutely necessary.
This class has been a massive help to my ability as a writer. Despite the fact that this was the first time I have ever written a research paper, I was able to get a B on it, thanks to the help of my fellow students. I think that the way the class is structured is very effective, because Professor Padgett does a great job of holding students' attention, while still challenging them to participate and make comments to him and the other students. The class does not require so much work that it makes you dread English, but still has enough to keep you engaged in learning and writing. I never once got upset realizing that it was time to go to this class, because it was much more enjoyable than any other class I have taken so far. The videos we watched and the articles we read were all very interesting, and the discussions we had about them were even better. Professor Padgett always managed to get a few laughs out of myself and the other students during class time. I am a big fan of that because I am a firm believer in the idea that laughter is the best medicine. It becomes much more interesting and easier to focus on learning with just the right amount of humor thrown into the mix. I loved this class and I know that it helped me far more than I ever expected it to.