Hernandez 1

Jonathan Hernandez
Professor Lewis
English 113A
12/11/15
Reflection
Dear reader,
Throughout my time in high school I thought I was a pretty good writer. Whenever I would have
to write an essay for my English class or any other class I would write it and pass with decent
grade; at least a B. When I came to college my perception of writing was that writing essays is
going to be harder and longer. But to my surprise it was not really so.
When I first walked into English 113A I was confident that I was going to do well in this class. A
few weeks passed and we were given our first assignment which was to write Narrative essay on
a memory that had to do with language. When I sat down in my chair to start writing I was at a
stump. I could not find a memory to use in this essay. I sat there for at least thirty minutes
thinking about what to write, and then it finally came to me. Once I started writing I was on a roll
and nothing could have stopped me. When I turned in the essay and it was handed to me I
realized that I had a lot of commas where there was no need for one. So for the next weeks in SI
we started to talk about commas and where to use them. I was surprised that I had so many
commas where they were not supposed to be because in high school my teachers never
mentioned anything about my commas mistakes. I was happy that we were learning about this
because it would help me in the future and would improve my writing.

Hernandez 2
My writing process is a bit off from what other people might do. When given an essay I look at
the prompt and think about it for one or two days and then start writing my rough draft. I dont
brainstorm my ideas on paper or make a diagram or an outline. When writing my rough draft I
write without stopping and then comes the revision portion. When I revise my writing I go to
someone that will revise my paper and give me feedback on it; either the professor, a tutor in the
library, or even a peer. Then when they have given me feedback I make changes according to the
comments they have made and when I have written that I revise it once more and fine tune it one
last time. By then I have made all the improvements I can possibly make and then it is time to
turn it in.
I feel that between the first essay in 113A and the last I have improved a lot. The first essay I had
difficulty writing the minimum page requirement, but in the final essay I was able to write a page
more than the minimum. Meeting the minimum page requirement has always been a struggle for
me in high school but taking this class has helped me in this struggle. I also feel that my writing
has gained a certain flow to it. In high school I would sound like a robot when writing, but now I
feel like my writing has its own flow to it. My writing is far from perfect but it really has
improved and hopefully through my years in college it will continue to improve. For now I am
grateful of what I learned in English 113A. Thank you for your time reader.
Sincerely
Jonathan Hernandez