Simpson 1

Brandi Simpson

Professor Bevill

English 1302

5 May 2017

Reflective Essay

Over the past few months, while taking English 1302, I have endured many interesting

writing assignments. Ranging from short academic responses, peer reviews, discussion board, to

three major essays. Each assignment completed incorporated a different structured style of

writing. Some writing assignments were more challenging than others, for instance, the three

major essays covered topics such as rhetorical analysis, casual argument essay and proposal

essay. I certainly have discovered what my weaknesses were in addition to my strengths as a

writer, while completing my writing assignments. After receiving feedback from my professor

and fellow classmates, I have concluded that there is plenty of room for improvement. The main

areas in which I can improve to become a better writer are as follows; properly formatting my

writings, strengthening my sentence structure, using proper in-text citations and creating a proper

MLA format necessary for my work cited entries. Improvement of these writing techniques will

contribute greatly to my overall writing process and in turn take me to the next level for future

success.

I can honestly say, this process has truly helped me become a better writer with

understanding that there is always room for improvement. I definitely need to improve on using

proper grammar within the structure of my sentences. Those are some of the writing challenges

that stood in the way while trying to get my points across, while completing a writing

assignment. Going forward, I plan to incorporate more structure in my writings in order to

 Simpson 2

convey my point of view to the reader. Making simple adjustments such as time management

will allow me to have more time for research and brain storming. Another way to improve is to

always have someone proof read my work and give me feedback before submitting a final

writing assignment. These are a few tools that will have a positive impact on my writing process

in the near future, especially since majority of the classes taken while attending college require

written papers throughout the course. Improvement in these areas will ensure that I do not have

any awkward statements or run-on sentences in my future academic and professional writing

endeavors.

One critique that the professor constantly commented on while providing feedback

during the writing process was my usage or lack thereof of in text citation within my body

paragraphs. I have learned that when writing an essay, argument or a proposal, you must stick to

the facts and provide information from reliable sources. I often struggled with this while

completing my writing assignments. To improve on in text citation, I plan on introducing my

sources properly, by making sentences similar to this example, For instance according to

Morgan Brinlee, in her article on the Bustle website, the reasoning behind these loopholes are

that before introducing the information. This will allow me to persuade my audience, regarding

the material that I will be presenting. This will ensure that my work is not plagiarized and also

prevent me from improperly quoting a source.

The three major essays that I completed over the semester all share one thing in common,

and that is the low grade I received for the overall MLA format of my papers. Due to the fact that

my work sited page was not properly formatted. Moving forward in my academic writing I will

be sure to use the tools the professor provided, tools like the website
 Simpson 3

https://owl.english.purdue.edu and www.plagiarism.org in order to help my work cited page

format which will ensure that I am following the proper MLA format.

I will take all the skills that I have learned and incorporate them in many different

aspects of my life whether it is school, personal or work. I am now better equipped to

successfully complete any writing assignment that stands in my path. This class has been a

successful tool that has helped me with the growth of my writing style as well as my

interpretation of English. Over the duration of this semester, I have become more confident in

my writing ability. Each assignment has taught me valuable new learning strategies. Although

there were a few bumps and bruises along the way and a few tears shed (a lot), I did my best to

overcome all of the challenges that I encountered this semester. I will take a fundamental tool

from each writing assignment and carry it with me in my future writing.