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Matthew Proefke
Mrs. Eaton
9 Honors Literature and Composition I
13 January 2016

Semester Metacognitive Reflection

1. What are your initial thoughts looking back at your summer reading writer sample and
why?
My initial thoughts looking at my first summer reading writing samples were that I did not
remember getting that high of a total score, and I could not believe how far I had come in just
one semester. I wondered if all of my pieces prior to the paragraphs were similar: unorganized
with weak arguments. This was the first thing to come to mind because I knew that my writing
now is a lot better than it was, and these paragraphs are at about the same level as all of my 8th
grade pieces.
2. In comparison to the start of the year, please describe your current progress as an
analytical writer. Do you feel you have grown and if so, how have you progressed?
My progress from the start of the year is enormous. I have grown so much in general. I have
much better organization than before, much better grammar and structure than previously, and I
have much better support and explanations for my ideas. I now better understand techniques
writers use for support and such as adding quotes to pieces.
3. In which areas of analytical writing have you been challenged? Why? What made these
areas difficult?
I have been challenged in the closings and parallel grammar parts of analytical writing. These
were difficult because for the closings I did not want to seem too repetitive or redundant in
restating what the paragraph or "loop" was about. I also had trouble with them because I did not
want to use the same transitions repeatedly. Many times I reorganized my closings so that they
would make sense with a new transition. With the grammar, it is just difficult for me to write
about something without lapsing into past tense. I feel like most of life is now past tense, so I
write about it in past tense. I usually catch my mistakes, but there are more of them than I would
like. I hope these minors corrections will come about before the end of 9th grade.

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4. What have you done to overcome these struggles? What resources, if any, did you use?
To try and fix my mistakes, I asked my classmates to read my paper and tell me what could be
stronger. I also asked Mrs. Eaton to read the paper, and asked for any advice or grammar help
that she could give me. I used my grammar notes and writing structure notes to try and make my
writing stronger.
5. What are some areas that you feel you still need to focus/work on next semester?
For next semester, I need to work on my closings, my grammar, and making powerful, valid
points. I need to work on not being redundant in my closings and to make sure they cover the
whole of what the "loop" or paragraph that they are in covers. For improving grammar in my
writing, I need to use proper grammar and to make sure I stay in present tense.
6. Which assignment are you particularly proud of and why?
I am proud of the Of Mice and Men Ban Letter. I am particularly proud of this because I did well
and it was a type of writing I had never seriously written before: a persuasive letter. I used the
"loop" structure and was able to support my claim that the book should be banned with sufficient
reasoning. This showed tremendous improvement from my previous writing pieces especially in
the evidence section of the "loops", as I had multiple examples of evidence per supporting detail.
I am also proud of Mrs. Eaton's comments, saying "Beautiful" and "Lovely". I hope my writing
pieces get better from here so I can be proud of a closer to perfect score.
7. How do you feel about the "loop" structure to help you get/stay organized? Explain.
I personally like the "loop" structure to help get and stay organized. It is a much better and
easier way for me and my readers to follow all of my thoughts and ideas. The transitions make
clear paths for new ideas to enter without too much difficulty. Using the "loop" structure, there
is less room for error as long as you remember what is needed in the "loops". Overall, the "loop"
structure is helpful to keep our writing organized.
8. Respectfully discuss Mrs. Eaton's strengths in teaching writing.
Mrs. Eaton teaches writing very well. She fully explains what we are writing about, and also
what she expects from each of us. It is helpful to know what your teacher is looking for in
writing, and she makes it very clear. She offers extra help and corrections for pieces before they
are submitted, and when she hands assignments back, there are thorough notes for ways to
improve the writing to make it stronger. Mrs. Eaton is a strong English teacher who expects
great things from her students, and she can because she teaches writing very well.
9. Respectfully discuss ways Mrs. Eaton could improve her teaching of writing.
Mrs. Eaton teaches writing very well. One (very particular) way she could improve her teaching
of writing is to refrain from using the font Calibri. Other than that, she is very clear on what she

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wants, how to write to get what she wants, and how to structure writing. I do not see anything
that she does wrong, other than move a little quickly. In my opinion, Mrs. Eaton is good at
teaching writing.
10. Discuss any lasting comments you may have about your journey as a writer, your
frustrations and triumphs, your writing progress in this class as a whole, your hope for
the next semester pertaining to writing, or any other feedback you may have about
writing in general.
I have come very far this semester with many successes, and not too many frustrations, thanks to
Mrs. Eaton. I hope to continue to grow next semester and learn more to improve my writing.
My greatest triumph this semester is probably the ban letter, for its display of huge improvement
since the beginning of the year. I would like to thank Mrs. Eaton for a phenomenal job teaching
and helping us grow. Great job, Mrs. E!