Huang 1

Yujia Huang
Professor Hanvey
STACC English 100
04 December 2014
No Final without Fail
It is already the last week of this semester and I am glad it is time to review my
college life. As a freshman, I found that writing a college-level paper is quite different
than in high school and creating a good-quality essay is not as easy as I thought. My
writing path in college did not start smoothly because all of my four essays were lack of
proofread by myself, but I still learned a lot from the failures and finally reached to the
end of the semester with the feeling of relief.
The Literacy Narrative essay made me regretful and disappointed every time I think
about writing. It was the one that I spent the most time and effort among the four essays
in English 100. Starting from researching, I was informed to attend a library workshop
to learn how to evaluate academic sources; then, I wrote down a two-sentence thesis
after modifying my word choice and main idea for numerous times; next, I drafted my
paragraphs one by one and read them repeatedly to see if the concept was continuous;
lastly, I edited the format and attached the works cited page and finally submit my paper.
This was how I finish my first college essay with absolute confidence as I thought I did
perfect and never missed any important step of the whole writing process. I felt that my
contents were firmly connected and should be OK to support my thesis; also, I did well
on the MLA formatting with correct citations. However, the time I was closely involved, I
could not see the problems clearly. I mainly focused on the details but ignored the

Huang 2

accuracy of sentence structure, the use of punctuations, and relied too much on the
spelling check of the electronics. Eventually, I got a C on that essay and understood
that I can not complain to the bitter fruit that was caused by my own mistakes.
In order to revise my Essay 2, I read through it again and tried to fix the grammar
and spelling errors. And then, I changed some of the sentences that did not make sense,
such as the run-ons. Also, I expanded the interpretation after some of my quotes from
the outside sources because I felt like I have not explain the references before
connecting them into my arguments. The idea of the supporting paragraphs remain in
my essay because I think they are the good examples for my thesis. After revising this
essay, I am able to replace my word choice with more significant phrases, identify the
grammar and spelling mistakes that the Word sometimes skip, and develop a good
habit for me to improve my writing skill.
With the several failures I carried through the first semester, I finally run to the end of
the writing path. In STACC English 100, the free write section has been my favorite
activity because it really opens my mind and encourages me to express myself.
Although I will not be in the same class in English 1A, I do appreciate Mr. Hanveys
patience and kindness when giving us the clear instruction of every essay; also, his
devotion on planning for our trip to Washington D.C. and the Museum of Tolerance
makes me admirable because I could learn a lot from the outside world that most PCC
students never had chance to know about in their English class rooms. English 100
gives me many unprecedented experiences that would encourage me in my future
college life, I think I gain more than just the academic skills here.