Omar Soliman

Emily Auman

RC 1000

December 5 2019

Semester Reflection

Before I took this class, I had perceived myself as an exceptional writer. I failed to realize

I had so much to learn regarding my writing. The biggest lesson I learned was the power of

multiple drafts. I usually just wrote one paper and occasionally checked over them, which turned

out to be successful in High School. Having to turn in multiple drafts allowed me to realize how

much improvement can stem from doing multiple drafts. Although I could have done an alright

job just going with one draft, but I found myself changing a lot of my papers for every

assignment. For my last paper, I added a completely new introduction paragraph along with

changing aspects of practically all the following paragraphs. I definitley see myself continuing to

do at least one additional draft for all my future papers.

Another big lesson I took away from this class was peer reviewing. I used to be highly

critical of other people’s papers, and I pushed my style of writing onto other’s papers. Once I

learned to control my criticism, it made peer reviewing much easier. I had to learn to allow

people to maintain their own unique style of writing. Whether or not someone is an above-

average writer, it is not my place to correct every single error I find. This was huge for me to

learn, and not only just for papers. Aside from papers, everybody usually appreciates

constructive criticism for any piece of work. Nobody wants harsh criticisms on anything they

worked hard on, but rather potential windows for improvement.

 This course reminded me of my appreciation for writing, which was lost in highschool. I

really enjoyed having the freedom to write about whatever I wanted rather than sticking to a

strict rubric. When I am writing about a subject I find interest in, I see it as a fun pasttime rather

than an assignment. I never would have been able to write psychedelics back in highschool,

because a lot of teachers would have deemed it innapropriate. However, this “innapropriate”

topic turned into my single favorite assignment I have done so far. I had no problem researching

and writing about a topic that was not forced down my throat. I like to consider myself an

expansive thinker, but it is hard to be abstract with a topic I do not enjoy.

There is a lot of power in writing, and I am glad I was able to take a class to further

improve my abilities. Not only is it therapeutic to write about a topic of your choice, but it

provides a lot of learning opportunities. I find myself learning new words whenever I write,

because I look for stronger synonyms to replace words. I have already started doing my own

personal journals as a stress reliever and it has proved to be very helpful. I do not think I would

have started to write on my own if it were not for this class. Aside from improving my writing

skills and my constructive criticsm abilities, this course reminded me what I enjoy about writing.