Alexsis Hernandez

Professor Ditch
English 114 A
9 December 2014
Reflecting Back On English 114 A

Going into Cal State Northridge being a freshman I really had no idea what to
expect in any of my classes. I was curious as to what my professor would be like, how
much homework wed have everyday, if my class was going to challenge me to the point
where I couldnt handle it, and so much more. Having recently graduated high school I
didnt know how much of a leap it was going to be from high school to college. I thought
English 114 A was going to be a nonstop writing class and that I was going to have to
read very boring books that I really had no interest in. As school starting flying by I
realized I really did enjoy my first ever college English class, English 114 A. Also not
only did I have one of the best teachers Ive ever had before, the class was very helpful
and fun.
In English 114 A we had three major essays and many smaller writing
assignments. We read a few different books which all had at least one common theme
which was the same as our course theme, gender construction. One of my favorite things
about writing in this class was the interesting books we were assigned to read then write
about. The book Composing Gender by Racheal Groner and John OHara was one of my
favorite books, not only in this class but in all of the books that Ive ever read. This book
really made open my eyes because it tells you about societies and gender roles, which we

see everyday but dont really think about it that much. One of the things that I do not like
about writing is having to have a number of scholarly sources. Finding scholarly sources
that fully relate to your essay is really hard but using the Oviatt Library database helps a
little. Some sources you can find on Google that have a lot of good information about
your topic of essay is not always a scholary source.
Having took English 114 A I learned some new terms and meanings Ive never heard of
or learned before. Ethos, pathos, and logos are some terms Ive never heard of before.
They are terms that refer to a readers appeal of a particular point of view. Also something
else I learned in this course is that most people do not know is the difference between
female, feminine, and male, and masculine. Reading Composing gender really did clarify
exactly what those differences are though. Some challenges I experienced were
developing my ideas and converting them to writing. My views on gender ultimately
changed in a few ways. Women are judged more when it comes to the traits that they
portray.
My strengths as a writer definitely strengthened. Before starting this course I had
no idea how to develop a thesis statement and now I have a larger understanding of what
a thesis statement is suppose to explain in an essay. I have learned that every essay has
the same structure. All essays need and intro a body and conclusion. The first sentence of
a paragraph is the topic sentence and should describe what the paragraph is going to be
about. For the most part following this structure will guide you to a successful essay.
Although I am still not the best writer I have improved dramatically in various parts of
my writing.

For the most part attending the university of Northridge was a really scary thought
for me. The idea of such a large campus and such a large body of students struck fear in
me. The 114A English class that I was enrolled in made me nervous. I was never the best
English student and I thought I was going to struggle with it. I found out that for the most
part this class was very straight forward and had a theme behind it. The themes of the
class I believe helped me be a better writer because it was a theme I was comfortable and
interested in. For the most part attending the university of Northridge was a really scary
thought for me. The idea of such a large campus and such a large body of students struck
fear in me. The 114A English class that I was enrolled in made me nervous. I was never
the best English student and I thought I was going to struggle with it. I found out that for
the most part this class was very straight forward and had a theme behind it. I believed
that the theme of the class helped me be a better writer because it was a theme I was
comfortable and interested in. English 114A was an interesting course that challenged me
and helped me develop my writing skills.