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Dylan Galan

Professor Tubbs

ENGL-1301-054

12 August 2020

Looking into the Mirror

This semester has been a unique one due to it being my first ever college semester and it

is taking place remotely. It hasn’t been easy and there were times it all felt overwhelming,

however, there was no shortage of learning in this class. The Writing Process has been

something I’ve been familiar with and practiced my whole academic career, since elementary to

now. A skill that I learned to improve on was my organizing and drafting. Before this class, I had

previously thought that outlines and rough drafts of essays were useless. This class taught me the

proper way to approach it and pre-draft work became much easier. This has helped my writing

process overall and made it more fluid.

Peer work has also been enjoyable with amazing classmates such as Andy, David, and

Daniela. It has helped me catch mistakes that I have missed, and it’s also given me validation on

assignments that I felt I didn’t do good on. Overall, I greatly appreciated peer work!

My development of ideas has come along a tiny bit. It has been my greatest challenge

only because I get writers block from time to time. Peer work helped me out in that category and

outlining did too. I think idea development will always be an issue for me, however, no way has

it ever held me back so much where I feel as if I can’t write at all. This class has helped me find

ways to push through and really open my mind to possibilities.

Some challenges I have faced during this course was keeping up with my portfolio and

some of the reading response assignments. It often felt like a lot of work and sometimes made

me feel overwhelmed. I am a busy person, though, so it wasn’t the courses fault at all. I found
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success in my growth as a writer and student as well. Writing essays didn’t seem as tedious as

they once were, and Professor Tubbs is just a great person! It made class enjoyable and I didn’t

have as much anxiety as I normally do in classes. Working on the portfolio also helped my tech

skills so now I feel less intimidated by online classes or work.

Finally, I learned how to shift my tone to certain audiences' mid essay. Working on the

“Take a Stand” really helped sharpen my tools and made me realize that not everyone will know

what I’m talking about right from the start. There will be times when I must address the people

who aren’t as knowledgeable on the topic at hand. This class overall has helped my skills as

writer, and I couldn’t ask for anything more! I appreciated Professor Tubbs and everything she

has done for the class especially in this crazy time. It was a unique and good experience that

brought more smiles and happiness in a world that needs it now more than ever and I couldn’t be

more grateful!