Introductory Reflection Essay

Expressing feelings or simply making a point is something some people stuggle with. They do not realize that this can be done by writing.Anyone can write and they can choose to keep it to themself until they are sure it is how they want it. Writing is something that can improve as one gets more experience. My writing process has been changing since the start of this semester. I have been so used to writing in a specific format that I forgot different topics sometimes require a different perspective. When I wrote my first essay I wrote an outline with the basic introduction with the thesis, body paragraphs and then a conclusion paragraph. As the semester progressed I found that writing didn’t have to be exactly like the outline that I made beforehand. That was just a rough guide to get me started. I got more used to not writing my introduction first. I would write some of the body paragraph and then go back to the introduction. Sometimes I would even write the conclusion before I wrote the topic sentence and introduction. I found that this helped me develop my feelings and thoughts about what I was writing, so my thesis was accurate and fully supported my essay’s makeup. In the future I would like to improve my writing by writing with stronger transitional sentences and paragraphs. That is something that I struggle with and that would make my work even better.
Revising my work would be another way I could improve my writing skills. Revision is not something that I have had too much experience with. This semester especially I learned a lot about revision and how helpful it can be with writing a better paper. I liked how I was able to write a rough draft, turn it in and get responses about the good and bad aspects of my writing. I found it very helpful and it made me feel much more confident with my final product. I revise my work by finding the things that are unclear and reworking them to make them more understandable. I check to make sure that my thesis statement is supported by the essay. The biggest part of revision for me is looking at what my peers and others who read my paper have to say. Many times the areas that I question when writing, get pointed out as confusing or unnecessary by my peers. That helps guide my decision of whether or not to leave something in or change what I already have. I take this approach because I know that my audience will have similar thoughts as my peers and proof-readers. I want my essay to be as clear and interesting as possible.
When I receive peer response or comments from an instructor, I try to look at the paper as if I hadn’t written it. I try to see from their point of view. Once I do this, I see things in a different light sometimes. I then make the changes needed to make my work better. If I don’t agree with their responses after taking this approach, I try to come up with a way that I can interest them or make them understand the purpose of this specific part. I want my audience to feel connected with what I am presenting to them in my essay. I don’t want them to question what I am talking about. If they can’t do that, then I don’t feel that I have successfully done my job as the author of the essay.
At the beginning of the semester, my strongest mode of communication was writing. I think that throughout the semester that I have grown in what I thought was my strongest category. I did this by learning how to successfully use peer response and revise my work. I also believe that I am now better at visually communicating. I learned that I can use minimum amounts of words to promote an action, feeling, or idea. For example, the advertisement project when doing the culture jamming advertisement project. By displaying a simple picture with few amounts of dialogue, I was able to share my idea with someone about what I thought an advertisement was saying about its product. I also got to share what I thought the advertisement should be saying about the product. I found that this kind of communication is actually very powerful.
I enjoyed writing the Critical Personal Place Narrative Essay the most. I liked being able to be descriptive about a place that I have so many feelings about. I love to share my positive experiences with people. I find it challenging yet fulfilling to only have the use of words on paper in doing this. I enjoy using description in my essay. It is fun to try and paint a picture in someone else’s mind while describing a place and the activities that go on there. I think I also enjoyed this one the most because I also enjoyed reading other people’s essays about a personal place. I am most interested by essays with that descriptive nature.I think this is because not only do I enjoy writing in this manner, I like to be the reader and imagine the scene that the writer is setting. I like to use my imagination and descriptive essays seem to hold my attention the most.