Wiebel 1

Emily Wiebel

Dr. Jan Rieman

English 1101x

January 22, 2010

How is This Semester Going so Far?

Over the first half of this I have learned a lot about my writing. With all of the activities

we have done I have been able to express my feelings and true thoughts on the topics. I have

also realized that I am very opinionated when it comes to certain topics.

One writing practice that I have enjoyed are the day book assignments. When writing

about the different topics it has helped me to think more about what we are doing in class and it

is also a good way for me to express myself. I have never done free writes or even looked at a

picture and wrote what I thought about it. It is a fun and new way for me to improve my writing.

Another writing practice was when we did the critical inquiry. I was able to express my

feelings and opinions on Anyon’s writing without criticism. I enjoyed this writing practice very

much because I had a lot to say and never ran out of words. The subject about the children and

how they were being fed their education is something that I am very interested in and also

concerned. I work with children everyday so this topic was something extremely close to me.

In this class I have learned a lot about note taking styles. At first when we started the

underlining and reverse underlining lesson I was not interested, but once we began to do it I

realized that it is very useful. I am not someone who likes to write in the books or on a text, I

like to take separate notes but after learning about this technique I am looking forward to trying

it out on other texts.

The last writing practice was the critical interpretation on Anyon’s work. When writing
this I learned how to use quotes in a positive way. I was able to use the quotes that I found in the

book and express my feelings based off of them. It was fun having something to write around,

like we learned in class to treat the quote like a cookie. I now know how to use quotes correctly

which is extremely helpful.

I also felt like I received a lot of information and help when we did our peer workshops in

class. I am not a big group work person, but when I has someone to read over my paper and help

me to make changes I enjoyed it. I feel like the workshops are very useful because when you are

writing and then reading over your own paper it is hard not find all of the errors so having

another set of eyes look over it is extremely helpful.

Something else that has made class more enjoyable, for me at least, is having our class

document. It is nice having the standard rules set up and also everyone signing the document so

we know that everyone in the class knows them. I know it makes me feel more comfortable

knowing that everyone in the class is going to be respectful and listen to everyone’s opinions.

Also that we do not have to speak out if we do not want to, and we can wait until we are ready.

When doing all of the different writing practices I feel most comfortable when I can

express directly how I feel. It is easy for me to have a subject and write my opinions about it. I

like to have something to write about given to me.

When doing my writing assignments outside of class I like it to be quite so I can focus. I

usually do my work in my bedroom either at my computer desk or on the bed. I like to be

relaxed and comfortable, it helps me to stay focused through out the time that I need to do an

assignment.

A challenge to me is when I have a subject that I am extremely opinionated about and for

the paper or essay I am not supposed to just write about my own feelings. When I have a lot to
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say about something and I cannot express it, I then am not able to write about what I’m supposed

to.

In all my work so far has accomplished many of the course goals. First I now realize

what it means to be an academic writer. You have to have a meaning to what you write and also

put a lot of thought into your work. You can not just start writing without thinking ahead. I have

also learned to use text from the book to support my ideas.

Another course goal I believe I have learned and practiced more on is to use writing and

reading to make meaning. After all of the Anyon exercises and discussions I was able to read

and re-read her work and make a meaning of it. I was also able to express it on paper, with my

own thoughts and opinions on the work.

The goals that I set for myself in terms of this course were to learn how to write properly

and become more confident in my writing. I have improved and hope to continue doing it.

Writing is something that is needed throughout life and it is something necessary to know how to

do correctly.

I feel that in the past weeks I have grown as a writer and hopefully this will continue. I

was never confident when writing, but now I have learned many things that I never knew before

and I have grown to be more confident in myself.