Wishart 1

Stephanie Wishart
Professor Collins
ENGL 1301
3 May 2017

Reflective Essay

This spring semester I took Composition 1301 with Professor Collins. Though the

semester was stressful at times, I managed to do well in the class. I had to balance Texas

Government, Sociology, Composition, and Fundamentals of Criminal Law while having a social

life and other responsibilities. I formed new friendships, and became closer to an old friend I had

not talked to since my sophomore year of high school. I also took an online class for the first

time and it was not as bad as I thought it would be. This semester I learned ratiocination and

organization/structure through the review essay that was assigned and the outlines that were

given.

Ratiocination was one of the strategies that improved my review essay. This task included

highlighting every other sentence to check the length, boxing the first word in each sentence to

make sure it did not start the same, and circling every to be verb found to enhance the diction

of the essay. This strategy also contributed to erasing any mistakes that were missed the first time

through. For each essay I did this semester, I used this strategy, and in doing so, my progress

increased on my ability to write. I was able to half the to be verbs I found by changing my

sentences, re-writing them, or finding synonyms in replacement. Ratiocination has taught me

how to better my word choice when writing an essay so that the reader can gain a better

understanding of my stance in the topic I choose.

 Wishart 2

Organization and structure helped me this semester in English because I was well

prepared. Before I began to write the review essay, I already knew what to expect because I had

read chapter fifteen of the textbook. Chapter fifteen covered the characteristics to a review that

consisted of six sections; relevant information, criteria for the evaluation, well supported

evaluation, the audiences attention/needs, authoritative tone, and the awareness of ethics while

reviewing. The characteristics for a review assisted me when I started to search for a topic

because I knew what I had to be looking for. In addition to this, the outlines that Mrs. Collins

provided also strengthened my writing skills. This contained the thesis statement formula, what

was required in the introduction paragraph, and the MEE plan for the body paragraphs which

was the main idea, example(s) and the evaluation. This taught me how to be more organized and

formulated.

Therefore, the strategies I learned this semester has affected the way I now do my

assignments in regard to my academics. These strategies will help me in the future because I will

be able to use them again for another assignment in college. I will be more aware and prepared

for when I decide to take Composition two because I have learned ratiocination and

organization/structure. Not only will these tasks improve my college assignments, but I will be

able to help others and teach them how to use these strategies so they can improve their work.