Gonzalez 1

Michael Gonzalez
Professor Lago
ENG1500-12
5/4/14
Reflective Essay
So here we are! The very end of the semester, so much has past and so much I have
learned. In Professor Lagos class, I have learned to be more diligent with my writing in terms of
formatting, strengthening my weaknesses and perfecting my strengths. On the other hand, I did
face a few challenges along the way. In the beginning of this course, I have faced something that
I havent experienced before which is literature analysis. I mean I have done it before, but in this
class, I have learned to use critical lenses to further understand and breakdown poems, short
stories, etc. As much as I have learned, I think I had the same amount of challenges, especially
through my writing.
In my first essay had to do with Literature in the Digital age. Writing this was a bit of a
challenge because I was, first, not accustomed to the length because I have never done an essay
more than three pages. Secondly, I havent dealt with MLA formatting in my 1100 class so it
was all new to me you could only imagine how badly I did in formatting. In addition, the topic
was challenging because I had to analyze the poems I had chosen and analyzing is not my strong
suit. As the course went on I have strengthened that skill.
Gonzalez 2

Another challenging Essay I have had to write was the documented essay. A few
challenges I had was that I didnt know how to start. The task that was asked was challenging
because it involving all of the skills that were used throughout the semester such as analyzing
and expanding upon the topic that I choose with detail. I literally had to brain storm and think of
all of the aspects of the story I chose (which was The Bridegroom) and create a thesis which I
could base it off of one broad topic I had to breakdown into.
Once again I have faced these challenges with the best I had to offer and I tried. I feel
like I have improved for the better and hope to grow even further with my writing as my college
experience goes on.