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12/10/12
Dr. Couture
English 101
Reflective essay
SLO and Steady Wins the Race
I came into college with no idea on how I would adapt. Throughout high school, my
teachers would tell me that college would be the hardest challenge of my life. I would gaze at
them confusingly because all my fellow peers would tell me something completely different.
College will be the happiest and easiest time of your life, they would say. I did not know who
to believe. I knew I was an excellent student. In high school I never got below an A, I was in all
Advanced Placement (AP) classes, and I was ranked in the top ten of my graduating class. I felt
that I was truly invincible. There was one particular class in high school though that had
challenged me more than the others. That class was AP Literature, and I felt the class would
prepare me for college more than any of the others. My teacher was very dramatic with a slight
sense of sarcasm in the way she talked; I adored her. We were so alike in many ways except my
interest was not in English, it was the sciences.
Throughout the year, I did particularly well in that class. For some reason everything
seemed to flow smoothly. The tests were challenging, but I read each novel with such
enthusiasm that I breezed through the exams. I never fully enjoyed reading as much until I joined
that class. The essays I wrote were apparently very well written. She truly believed I wrote
essays in a manner that was ahead of my time. I never had a problem with writing. My ideas

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would pop up in an instant the moment I laid my fingers on a keyboard. I had a way of capturing
peoples hearts with the way I wrote. I never understood why, but I just went with the flow. I
used symbolism in everything I wrote in order to get the reader engaged and always thinking.
My AP Literature class was when I really started seeing just how effective I could be as a writer.
I had a feeling I would easily succeed in college just by being my usual gifted self. Boy was I
ever wrong!
Throughout my whole fall semester I was constantly knocked down hard by reality. I was
scrapping for Bs, and I never would have dreamt that could happen to me. I have studied more
in one semester of college than I had my whole life! How could this be? I struggled with
comprehension with every course, except one. The first day I entered my Foundations of College
Writing class, I was eager to finally breeze through something. My teacher, Dr. Couture, was
anything but ordinary. Her appearance was unusual, and I at first mistaken her for a college
student. Her attitude reminded me of my AP Literature teacher. I knew I would enjoy that class.
However, I was not aware of how challenging it would actually be. The grades you receive on
your essays do not matter. How much you improve is the main purpose of this class, Dr.
Couture said. I looked at her like she was absolutely insane. Of course the grades matter! How
do I succeed if I do not get good grades? I ignored her and was ready for the grace of God to
shine upon me and my outstanding papers.
My first paper I got a B+. I was ready to have a heart attack. The paper was good, Dr.
Couture even said so! How on earth could I get that score? I never got below an A in my life!
Nevertheless, I shook it off and tried to stay confident by blowing my second paper out of the
water. Once again, another B+. I knew something would have to change or else Id end up
failing. My focus for class increased tenfold, and I actually started to learn some pretty

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interesting things. Who would have thought I could learn in college? Everything I learned from
English 101 pertained to the five Student Learning Outcomes (SLO). Throughout the semester,
these concepts helped me realize that I was an amateur writer in the past and made me develop a
whole new way of thinking in order to become the writer I am today.
Compose for Particular Audiences and Purposes
Audience, Audience, Audience How could I ever forget this word? During the
semester, the word audience was pounded into my brain by Dr. Couture. She said if I ever
learned one thing in that class it should be audience. This wont be so hard because the audience
is always the teacher grading the essay! I just have to manipulate my words to appeal to her and
get the A, I thought. I was hugely mistaken once again. I found out that the audience varies
from paper to paper. When considering the audience, one must first consider the topic of the
essay. Is it informative or persuasive? Okay, I understand, I said. When going through the
numerous prompts in The Curious Writer and the essays I was assigned, I learned that an essay
can go far beyond informative or persuasive pieces. For example, my first essay I had to write
was a type of narrative piece. I had to tell a story connecting three pictures and convey the
format in such a way that my audience could understand my story completely.
My writing would have to be informative when describing the specific memory. The
audience had to understand this memory like they had actually been through it themselves. I
would then have to emotionally engage the audience with my story. When writing my first paper
entitled The Art Klutz, I never had to inform or engage an audience so much in my life. I was
told by Dr. Couture that my first draft had a lot of potential to be engaging and emotionally
affecting to the reader. The key word is potential, I was not there yet. The criticism I got was

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the overflow of detail that I had missed out on before. I was not nearly as specific as I thought I
was. I especially left out a lot of detail on how I felt during each moment. For example, I was not
specific enough on how art class emotionally affected me. I was afraid of the class and my klutzy
incidents made me feel like a failure. I needed to specifically explain the reason why I was afraid
and how much the failures impacted me mentally. After reflecting on the memory and revising, I
came up with many thoughts I never considered.
I felt pressured to succeed in everything I did because of my parents, and my negative
attitude towards failure was holding me back from succeeding. From my paper The Art Klutz I
said, With life, if you look at a situation from only one point of view, you will be missing the
bigger picture. This statement is entirely true and can even pertain to audience. I cannot always
direct a topic to one specific person. There are countless numbers of people I was able to direct
my first essay to. Anyone that was not familiar with my past event was my audience. I am the
only person that knew the whole story, so I realized just how broad my audience was. I learned
that audience has a crucial role in any paper. The audience can range from an individual person
to the whole world. I find that amazing! Also, in order to have a successful paper you must speak
your own mind and with great detail. This is so your audience can fully understand you as a
person and possibly become emotionally influenced enough to recollect their own life
experiences to relate.
Compose Using Language and Convections Appropriate to Genre
Language is not just about writing plain old English because it is broken down into many
categories. It depends on the purpose of the essay and how you can impact the audience the
most. I found out something about myself as a writer over the semester. I have a sort of signature

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tone throughout all of my essays. You have an engaging and casual tone throughout that works
well, said Dr. Couture after reading my draft of The Art Klutz. After examining a few of my
essays, I was told by the Writing Center that I do not need to make exaggerated, long sentences
that just keep rambling on and on to the point of no return. I get my point across very frankly,
and I am a powerful writer by doing so. Looking back, I always seemed to write with that tone,
and that could be the reason why I was able to captivate my readers. I am proud of myself for
being this way. In todays society, everything is under some hidden context that is never clear.
My writing is always honest and is spoken by the heart. Even though in my writing I find quirky,
corny ways to make my reader laugh, I enjoy doing so. The audience can understand how
versatile my emotions are and hopefully can be engaged enough to read further.
Another thing I now recognize is the important use of my words. When writing The Art
Klutz, I was able to write how I would normally talk. My next essay was a review piece. I at
first wrote it entirely like I was talking to a friend; that was a major downfall. My writing
became unclear in many spots because I was communicating with the assumption that my
audience already knew what I was talking about. I had to, once again, become very specific and
detailed to further explain my points. For example, in my review of the gym Star Physical
Therapy and Fitness, I knew many big medical terms like Clinical Vestibular Specialist,
which is a person that treats dizziness and balance disorders. This is because I want to become a
Physical Therapist, and this area interests me. I needed to explain what the job of the specialist
was in detail and other information I knew in order for my audience to fully understand just how
amazing Stars staff is.
Finally, I learned from the Writing Center that I must remove all contractions when
writing a formal piece. I directly applied this towards my review. When a critic writes a review,

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they must do so in a manner that shows they are intelligent. I removed all contractions so I could
become a respected critic who is knowledgeable about that particular gym. The audience could
then take my words more seriously.
Read, Select, and Use Evidence Critically to Formulate and Support Arguments
This learning outcome was applied to my first two essays in completely different ways.
This is because arguments can range from anything. The purpose of an argument is to prove a
point. I had to prove a point with all of my essays this semester in English 101. To support this
main point that varies within each topic was my hardest challenge. I am able to say that I
accomplished my argument effectively with my first two essays.
My second essay, Star Physical Therapy and Fitness: The Full Package at Your Home
Away from Home was the typical argument. I needed to provide enough evidence by
researching the gym and using past knowledge in order to make the gym seem appealing towards
the audience. You need research to make your point appear valid, and I accomplished this
challenge by being very specific. The audience could then take me seriously because I backed up
information and could possibly be interested in attending Star. That was the whole point of the
review.
My first essay, The Art Klutz was even more challenging. Instead of researching facts
off the internet, I had to reminisce to when I was in seventh grade. My memories were my data
that I needed to support my argument/point. My personal essays point was that If you fail, that
should never hold you back from trying even harder the next time. I had to deeply explain how I
overcame my obstacle of being a klutz, and how hard work can have its rewards.

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In my first essay I was also able to formulate arguments with my memories. With
reflecting on the past I was able to question myself. I would question why I would feel the way I
did at a particular moment and formulate answers to the reasons. For example, I questioned why
my class was laughing at me when they really were not. I formulated that argument and
determined a response. My negative mind caused myself to think that everyone was laughing at
me because I had failed once again. I learned to use my own personal data to formulate
arguments and support them.
Interpret and Compose In a Variety of Media and Print/Non-Print Genres
Within my first essay I was able to apply a type of media that I did not realize could have
such an impact on a paper. Using photographs can be a very effective piece of media. My whole
paper centralized itself around the three photos I incorporated in the personal essay. I had to
effectively write in a way for the audience to envision the situation first hand and understand
why each picture was used in the way it was.
I first had a picture of my art teacher Mrs. Madison. I had to incorporate her character
into my essay. I described her appearance that made sense with the picture and her personality. I
had to make the audience understand why she was a picture in my essay. She had a very
important role in my success and thus deserved to be carefully selected as a photo.
Second, I had a picture of my silk painting that was used for the main story plot. My
biggest klutzy moment that had changed my life forever dealt with that one silk painting. When
the dark green ink spilled all over my painting, I wanted to give up and quit art. Mrs. Madison
saved my art, and the result helped me learn to never give up no matter how hopeless a situation
seems. I was told by a member of the Writing Center that I described my art work so well that

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she knew what the painting would look like before even seeing the photo. I was able to interpret
my media accurately.
For my conclusion, I had a picture of me in my graduation outfit. This was carefully
selected and used for a reason. That reason was to show how much I physically and mentally
grew up by the end of high school. My conclusion was all about reflection with personal growth
and that picture was able to successfully show the audience that. My smile and my thumbs up
sign in the picture showed my developed attitude over the years from being always negative to
being confident and ready to take life by the horns.
Describe and Apply Appropriate Writing Processes Both Individually and In Collaborative
Contexts
When it comes to the Foundations of Writing class, I believe this Student Learning
Outcome is the most crucial of all the outcomes. This is because a successful paper is rarely
created the first time around. Revising is extremely important to the writing process, and I was
fortunate enough to revise every essay I did this semester. Years past, I would get graded on my
first attempt and that was it. I had no chance to redeem myself if my paper was not effective
enough. I never thought revising was important in writing until I had English 101. Revising is
almost like a second chance for you to improve as a writer. One can improve grammatical errors,
structure, explain details more or even change the essay completely. There are no limits! From
my experience in English 101, I overtime developed as a writer. My thoughts thus changed over
time and when I was able to revise my first two essays, I made some dramatic changes. I became
more detailed, cleared up some awkward statements, and helped my essays flow so they would
be easy for my audience to follow.

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Honest self-reflection was the key of my personal growth. In order for me to become a
successful reviser, I needed to look at my essays as if I never looked at them before. I used to
think my writing was perfect in the past. I had to view my essays with the mindset that they
needed dramatic improvement. This was the main reason why all new ideas were able to flow
into my essay quicker. If I had not been able to critique my writing, I would have formed a type
of barrier over my creative mind process and limit the possibilities.
Revising must also be done collaboratively in order to reach success in ones writing and
trust me, I would be no where without the help I had received over this semester. The peer
revising opened my eyes. I received critiques from other students like me for the first time. I
never let another peer read my work before, just solely the teacher. I found out what they each
thought of my papers from their point of view, and that greatly impacted me. I was able to see
what part of my audience was thinking, and I could make revisions to appeal to them in some
ways. Since I was getting honest criticism and even complements, that made me want to revise
other students work to the best of my ability, so I could ensure them success as well. The class
grew together and pulled through the obstacles together with teamwork.
I was especially grateful for the Writing Center because each tutor went out of their
hectic college life to help me grow as a writer. They taught me many things as well, and I will
never be afraid again to look for help when needed. Dr. Couture went out of her frantic schedule
in order to look at my papers, and I greatly appreciate it. It is rare for a professor to go out of
their way and help you with every step of the writing process. I was able to learn what she is
looking for in my writing, and she did not want to take away my thinking process. Dr. Couture
was very accepting of other peoples ideas. The fact that she wants to see how one improves is
amazing. That is why for my final revising, I did not completely change my papers. Instead, I

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tried to make the essays reach their fullest potential. Throughout the semester, I had some
potential like my papers did. I feel like I have reached my current goals now. I wanted to make
sure my papers improved and became the best they could be. Most professors look for the one
right answer, and with writing that is not possible. Each person has their own mindset, and thus
there is no right or wrong as long as the point is supported. I am truly grateful for the support of
those around me, I could not be the writer I am today without each and every one of them.
Reflecting back on high school when I was told that college would either be the hardest
or happiest time of my life, I came to a conclusion. From everything that I have been though this
first semester of my freshman year, I realize that it will be both the hardest and happiest time of
my life. This is because the challenges will help me continue to develop as an independent
individual, and seeing how much I have grown already has made me incredibly happy. I was a
high school student that would speed through essays and breeze through exams like they were
nothing. I was successful in high school, but that was nowhere near true success. I realized that
Dr. Couture was right; the grades do not matter in the end. What really matters is the growth you
receive from past failures and constant attempts to improve. I have benefitted from Foundations
of College Writing more than any class I have ever had. I was able to grasp the knowledge from
the class fully because I just about used the word audience a million times in this final essay.
Using the five Student Learning Outcomes, I became the writer I always wanted to be.
Through constant revising I was able to make each essay effective in its own way. People can
now appreciate my hard work ethic. All five of my essays were seen by the Writing Center. I was
told that my writing was very impressive, and the people there were shocked that I was only a
freshman. I was asked to become a future tutor at the Writing Center. My writing growth has
given me a brand new opportunity that I will probably take advantage of soon. Real success in

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writing does not mean speeding through in order to get the assignment done. Constant reflection
and revising over time will lead to a truly successful paper. In the end, it just goes to show that
SLO and steady really does win the race.