Chantel Smith ENC 1101 Professor McGriff 11/08/2013 Reflection Taking this class has improved my grammar, reading

comprehension, and writing skills. What I learned in grammar will help me with sentence structure, punctuation, and identifying misplaced modifiers. My reading skills have improved because I am able to better comprehend what I am reading. One of the first things I learned is that the key to understanding material is to read the headings first. I also feel that I am able to better interpret what the writer is saying. I would have to say my writing abilities have improved the most. I have learned how to prewrite, brain storm, write a thesis statement, and MLA formatting. The narrative was a fun paper to write as it told a story. It taught me how to use time signals to make transitions throughout a story. Also how action words can convey emotion and express an action. The second essay we wrote was a comparison-contrast essay where we had to find evidence and organize it. However, I feel I gained the most knowledge from the argument essay. As part of this assignment we had to do a library tutorial which taught me how to use the library database for research. We were asked to do a mini annotated bibliography which helped me properly evaluate other work, check for bias, and determine whether a source is reliable. The work cited page was required for this paper and will be required for any future research papers I may be required to write. In college plagiarism is a serious offense which could get you dismissed from school and ruin your academic record. Throughout this essay we learned how to properly cite other authors work and paraphrase it in order to avoid plagiarizing. We even did an in class activity only to find that over half the class was actually plagiarizing without being aware of it. I not only learned from my instructor, but also from my fellow classmates. When I

leave this class I will be equipped with skills that will help me in future classes. Whether I will be required to write essays or do research papers.