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Stephanie Wishart
Professor Collins
ENGL 1301
3 May 2017
Reflective Essay
This spring semester I took Composition 1301 with Professor Collins. Though the
semester was stressful at times, I managed to do well in the class. I had to balance Texas
Government, Sociology, Composition, and Fundamentals of Criminal Law while having a social
life and other responsibilities. I formed new friendships, and became closer to an old friend I had
not talked to since my sophomore year of high school. I also took an online class for the first
time and it was not as bad as I thought it would be. This semester I learned ratiocination and
organization/structure through the review essay that was assigned and the outlines that were
given.
Ratiocination was one of the strategies that improved my review essay. This task included
highlighting every other sentence to check the length, boxing the first word in each sentence to
make sure it did not start the same, and circling every to be verb found to enhance the diction
of the essay. This strategy also contributed to erasing any mistakes that were missed the first time
through. For each essay I did this semester, I used this strategy, and in doing so, my progress
increased on my ability to write. I was able to half the to be verbs I found by changing my
how to better my word choice when writing an essay so that the reader can gain a better
Organization and structure helped me this semester in English because I was well
prepared. Before I began to write the review essay, I already knew what to expect because I had
read chapter fifteen of the textbook. Chapter fifteen covered the characteristics to a review that
consisted of six sections; relevant information, criteria for the evaluation, well supported
evaluation, the audiences attention/needs, authoritative tone, and the awareness of ethics while
reviewing. The characteristics for a review assisted me when I started to search for a topic
because I knew what I had to be looking for. In addition to this, the outlines that Mrs. Collins
provided also strengthened my writing skills. This contained the thesis statement formula, what
was required in the introduction paragraph, and the MEE plan for the body paragraphs which
was the main idea, example(s) and the evaluation. This taught me how to be more organized and
formulated.
Therefore, the strategies I learned this semester has affected the way I now do my
assignments in regard to my academics. These strategies will help me in the future because I will
be able to use them again for another assignment in college. I will be more aware and prepared
for when I decide to take Composition two because I have learned ratiocination and
organization/structure. Not only will these tasks improve my college assignments, but I will be
able to help others and teach them how to use these strategies so they can improve their work.