Georgakopoulou 1

Ioli Georgakopoulou

Professor Elizabeth Cuddy

English 119

3 December 2019

What did I learn?

This year I started my first semester in college which was extremely challenging for me. I

am from Greece, and the educational system is different in the United States compared to

Europe. English 101 was the most important class for me this semester because I was struggling

with the language, and this class helped me to improve my English. I can definitely notice the

difference in how better and easier I can write and talk since the first day of classes. However, I

still have many things to improve on, such as grammar and to enrich my vocabulary.

The most important thing I have gained from this class is how to write an essay. Before I

came here I only wrote about ten essays, and each of them was much shorter than the essays I

wrote for this class. In Greece we learn English starting at the elementary school. At the age of

thirteen, most of the students take certain exams and get diplomas as a certificate of their

proficiency. Those diplomas could be used later, after we graduate college and when looking for

jobs, which means that knowing English is very useful even outside of the United States.

However, the level of English is not the same, it is much lower, so I had many things to learn

when I came here.

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While I was writing my essays for this class, I learned that introduction goes first. ​The

goal of the introduction is to grab your reader's attention​ ​and lead them into your thesis

statement, which is typically the last sentence of your intro paragraph so the reader knows what

to expect at the rest of the paper. Next very important point is to pay attention to developing an

argument and recognize what strategies, such as comparative description and narration, were

used to present evidence and support the thesis. Using ethos, pathos and logos could make an

essay better as well. “Ethos” is a deliberate attempt to evoke a sense of connection between

speaker and audience. “Pathos” is an emotional appeal meant to produce an emotional reaction

on the part of the audience, and “Logos” a systematic approach in which a logical appeal is made

to the audience through a seemingly solid interpretation, explanation, or presentation of specific

facts. The most difficult part of writing for me was the grammar. English is not my first

language, and I am used to thinking about what I want to write in Greek. The main problem is

that I usually translate my thoughts in English the way I would say it in Greek, so the sentences

do not make sense.

This semester I wrote three essays, a “Definition essay”, a “Rhetorical Analysis Essay”

and a“Compare and Contrast” essay. The purpose of “Definition Essay” was to select a word

from the “Oxford English Dictionary” and find the etymology of the word, but also how its

usage may have changed over the time for the English speaking population, and why this word is

the one that I feel strongly about. The purpose of “Rhetorical Analysis Essay” was to find a

documentary and then find out how do the creators of the chosen documentary utilize rhetoric to

persuade the audience. The last one, “Compare and Contrast” project in this course asks to write

an argumentative analysis on two written sources between scholarly journal and regular article of
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our choice. ​T​hrough all of these essays, the most difficult one for me was the “Definition essay”.

Ιn the Greek educational system students do not use computers,​ and do not write this kind of

essays. I wrote several essays for different courses only my last year of high school. As a result,

when I came here I did not know how to use the computer for writing that much, so even that

part was tough for me. Secondly, writing essays in another language was very time consuming

for me because I lacked the experience of doing it. However, with the correct guidance of my

instructor and other sources of help such as tutoring Ι started getting better. What made this class

easier for me was my instructor who was really helpful throughout the whole courseve, and made

me feel very comfortable to ask any questions I have. Coming from another country and being

far away from home, especially considering the fact that my first language is not English, it was

very hard to adapt to a new way of life. I remember the first day of class was very stressful for

me, and I had many concerns about how will I pass English class. Naturally, I am a very shy

person, and the first two weeks of classes I struggled to ask any questions even though I had

many. However, after having a conversation with my instructor who I felt easy and comfortable

to approach, things started to change. My instructor gave me an opportunity to correct my first

essay because she understood that it was challenging for me, and that way she boosted my

confidence for the rest of the semester.

To conclude, this semester was very difficult for me which helped me to develop as a

person in many ways. I feel more confident about writing and expressing my thoughts in another

language, which I am very proud of. My personal goal for the next semester at English 102 is to

get even better by improving my grammar and my vocabulary. Overall, I believe it was a great

semester, and I was lucky that I had the opportunity to work with Professor Cuddy.