Allyson Edge

Dr. Cuddy

English 102-28

April 26, 2019

Narrative Reflection Essay

In my experience in the English 102 course, I found myself both honing skills that I had

already been working on in previous courses, as well as being introduced to new writing

techniques and concepts that I can use in the future to help me grow as a writer. Each writing

assignment presented new challenges and approaches that helped me further develop and expand

my writing style. In the past, I used the same method to begin each writing assignment. I would

either begin immediately by researching to find evidence and writing an outline, or by

brainstorming a list of ideas and then proceeding to the previously mentioned steps. However, in

English 102, I learned new strategies that are useful to help guide and organize the brainstorming

and outlining process. For example, while working on the research essay, or project number

three, we had a thesis workshop where we were required to focus on different topics within our

argument in order to organize the body paragraphs in our essay. Doing so made it significantly

easier to revise and strengthen the drafts that we had of our theses. This method also helped me

work towards my goal of making my writing more detail oriented rather than big picture.

As a writer, I tend to focus more on the greater significance of the argument and the main

ideas. However, through breaking down the argument and carefully examining each aspect of it,

I am more inclined to cover all of the details and analyze every part rather than looking at it on a

larger scale. Doing so allows me to strengthen my argument by making it more specific and all
of the points that the counter argument might consider will be covered. This can not only be

helpful in shorter analytical essays but also when I am taking my more advanced major courses

and have to write long research papers. Being able to efficiently organize lengthy research papers

and a large amount of information is another skill that I hope to improve upon during my

undergraduate years.

Each project allowed me to utilize different skills that I learned from in class discussions

and I was able to take away different new lessons from completing each writing assignment. In

class, one notable lesson that I was able to apply to my writing was when we discussed the

different methods used to convey an argument and persuade a reader. Through completing

project four, I was able to identify which method would be most effective for my topic and apply

it to the format of my infographics. Making the infographics gave me an outlet that allowed me

to visually represent my argument and see how my argument would be perceived by readers.

Looking at my visual aid in comparison to my research essay, it was clear whether or not my

argument would not only be easy to understand, but also if it would help the reader agree with

my argument.

Overall, this course taught me a lot about building a strong argument, planning out an

essay in order to make the writing process easier and considering the perspective of the audience

in order to ensure your message is conveyed. I thoroughly enjoyed all of the topics we covered in

class and the exercises we did to improve our writing skills. Next year, as a second year English

major, I hope to expand my knowledge about different theories of criticism, continue to develop

my abilities in interpreting works of literature and conduct further research about different topics

in literature.
About me

Hi! My name is Allyson Edge. I am a first year English major from

Washington, D.C. attending Hampton University. I have always loved
reading, writing and working with children and after undergraduate, I plan to
attend graduate school to obtain a doctorate in education. Additionally, in my
free time I enjoy traveling, playing sports, cooking, being outdoors and
spending time with friends and family. One day, I hope to be able to travel all
over the world so that I can have a first hand experience learning about other
cultures.

My name is Allyson Edge. I am a first year English major from Washington, D.C. I am

originally from New Jersey, but my family and I moved to Washington D.C before I went to

middle school. My hobbies and interests include playing and watching sports, cooking and

spending time with my friends and family. I am the middle child; I have an older brother who is
a junior in college and a younger sister who is a freshman in high school. In addition to the

pastimes listed previously, I also love to learn about different places around the world and I hope

to be able to travel to those places one day.