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Larissa Martinez

Ashlea Massie

ENGL 1302-IMF3

04 January 2021

Reflective Essay

In the fall mini semester of 2020, I took English Composition 1302 with Professor Ashlea

Massie for a second time. This class was short and rigorous to get through but here I am

finishing my last essay. During this class, we wrote three short academic responses and three

major essays: a rhetorical analysis, a causal argument, and a proposal essay. English has never

been my favorite, nor has it ever been easy for me to write essays. However, during this course, I

learned the most about my writing skills and what I am capable of from the causal argument

essay. This particular essay was about picking a current issue that I felt needed attention and

writing a causal argument exploring an effect with multiple causes or a cause with multiple

effects using appropriate evidence. I wrote the argument about eating disorders and what causes

them. Through this essay I learned how to improve on quoting in-text citations properly, citing

my sources in the correct format, and eliminating grammatical errors.

In my feedback provided by Professor Massie, I had multiple in-text citation errors. I was

not including quotation marks where they needed to be, or I was simply forgetting to include

them. A beneficial website that Professor Massie provides the class with was Purdue Owl.

Purdue Owl helped me improve on learning when to put quotation marks, how to properly cite

in-text citations, and much more. Taking the feedback given to me and learning from the website
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provided to me I changed those in-text citation mistakes. I now know how to properly quote in-

text citations instead of getting unnecessary points deducted for minor errors.

In addition to not properly quoting my in-text citations, I struggled with citing my

sources in the correct MLA format. In my works cited rough draft page, I had numerous sources,

not in the correct order and format. After uploading my works cited page for my peers to

proofread, they provided me with feedback on how to properly cite my sources. When I would

have incorrectly formatted sources in my essay it showed a lack of basic writing skills. However,

getting feedback, suggestions, and helpful websites provided to me by my classmates and

professor helped me eliminate these minor errors in my essay. The main website that helped me

the most was the Citation Machine. All I had to do was insert the website link and it would create

the correct format my source was supposed to be in.

Lastly, I would struggle with minor grammatical errors that would affect my overall

essay grade if not fixed before turning in my final draft. In my rough draft, I had unnecessary

words and lacked proper punctuation. However, I took advantage of the instant online tutoring

ACC provides me with and a website called Grammarly. Both of these websites have provided

me with the feedback I needed to fix my common grammatical errors as well as provide

suggestions in sounding more professional in my writing.

Although these three areas are minor issues I lacked, they would affect my overall grades

on my essays dramatically. However, thanks to my professor providing me with the proper

teachings and websites, feedback from my classmates, and both TutorMe and Grammarly I have

improved in all these areas as a writer. All of these skills I have acquired throughout the past

three weeks can help me in future classes, and in the professional setting of the work, I plan on

doing in the near future. I am thankful to have had Professor Massie as my English 1302
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instructor for a second time as she has helped me gain a lot of confidence in my writing.

Furthermore, she has without a doubt made my experience with English a memorable one that

has taught me a lot in just a short amount of time.