Richard Contreras

Professor Curtis
College 1
5/4/15
Midterm Successes and Failures Reflection
It has been eight weeks since the Fall Semester has started. In Math 131, I have had
assignments containing both word problems and expressions. I have found it easier to solve
expressions rather than word problems because expressions are straight forward. When I
encounter word problems, I have a fixed mindset. I just never thought I could possibly figure out
how to solve them. Because of this mindset, I received a 74% on my grade. Soon after, I
received an email from my professor saying, My Tutor is having a workshop on how to solve
rational expression word problems. I thought this would be a good opportunity to attempt to
make a comeback on my assignments and tests. The tutor was very patient with everyone and
showed us how to solve a wide range of problems step by step. I realized that I was interpreting
the wrong information. I then tried the next few on my own and my tutor told me that my work
was correct. I then received assignments from my professor and was confident. In English, I
was not a strong writer. In Freshman Year of High School, our teacher was very lenient and nice
when grading. He never gave anyone lower than a 70%. In Sophomore Year, our new teacher
gave me an F on my essay. I was wondering why my essay grades dropped from a C to an F.
When I observed my essay, I realized that I did not completely support my argument and that my
grammar was terrible. I decided to ask family to peer review my other essays. When they gave
me tips, I started noticing patterns on how I should write. Then, I went to my instructor and
asked him about how to support my arguments more effectively. He suggested to not only to use

our current novel, but also to use external sources such as: internet, journals, other novels, etc.
As the year went on, my grades got higher and higher. Throughout this semester, I have been
getting positive feedback from my English professor.