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Jennifer Kassir

Professor Beadle

English 115 8:00 AM

December 5, 2017

Reflection

English has always been my favorite subject. Ever since I was young, I used to enjoy

expressing my thoughts and I used to always freely write in my diary. I still do. When I was in

middle school, my writing got way better because my school focused on writing. I used to

always struggle with my thesis though and still do until this day, but I keep improving. I also

struggle with conclusions because it is hard to bring everything together and summarize it all in a

unique way. Additionally, I struggle with wordings because English wasnt exactly my first

language. English 115 honestly made me want to put more effort into my writing. This class

truly changed me. I never thought my writing could improve this much. I shocked myself. This

semester allowed me to openly express my thoughts. I went from a 76% in Project Space to an

89% in Project Text. This shows how much my writing skills have developed this semester.

Although I still have a long way to go and lots more to learn with writing, I strongly believe my

writing has improved because I have learned to incorporate a proper counter argument and Ive

mastered properly answering the prompt while indicating the significance.

In the beginning of the semester, I felt confident already in my writing because I had

taken Expository Reading and Writing in 12th grade. Ever since, Ive gained more knowledge in

English, especially with argumentative essays. Knowing myself, I tend to have a hard time

sticking to one side. In the past, I would always be in the middle, but I have learned to argue one

side as the year went on. I feel as if my essays are more structured now. I used to be all over the
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place. However, I realized that with argumentative essays, I should argue one side and then argue

my other side in the counter argument. With Project Space, it wasnt my worst, however, I didnt

do as well, but I was still impressed with what I have. I argued that private school was a

monstrous space because it negatively affected students. My counter argument was that if I

hadnt gone, I would not have been where I was today and that other people claim private school

helps students focus more due to the small environment. My evidence was, according to

Education Big, private schools have smaller class sizes and they focus on specific topics. I

elaborated just a little bit on it, but I didnt explain as much why this was significant and how its

credible. I should have discussed that more. My counter argument in Project Space didnt have

much credibility from other sources, but rather my own experience. However, with Project Text,

my counter argument definitely got better. It was more organized and I used credible evidence

from Monsters to explain why the original and the Shin Godzilla were similar. I said that they

both came out of the ocean, which is very significant because the ocean brings mystery. I

supported that by saying Genoways states the fear of the unknown, of that future that lies just

past the horizon, has been with us always (Genoways 132). I included a proper quote and the

whole counter argument was structured better. This is how my counter argument has improved. I

went from rambling to a cleaner argument.

When I was introduced to our first ever essay, Project Space, I was a bit concerned

because of the prompt. The prompt was to explain what space from our own experience is

monstrous, why its monstrous, and what does this space reveal about the values, fears, and other

beliefs in this space. This confused me just a little because I wasnt sure what the space revealed.

I tried my best to explain, but I couldnt really explain the significance as much. I just stated

phrases without elaborating, especially on the evidence. My thesis for Project Space was, Due
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to the small environment, strictness, and harsh discipline, private school can become a monstrous

space and affect students negatively because of the lack of self expression. Although this was

organized, it didnt answer the prompt. I did say that its monstrous because of the environment

and discipline, but I didnt say why those could affect students and what this reveals about the

space. I should have explained the significance more. However, in Project Text, my thesis was

perfect because it was not only organized, but answered the prompt as well as the significance.

The prompt for Project text was that we had to explain whether Godzilla has changed as a

monster from the original 1954 one to the Shin Godzilla of 2016. My thesis for Project text was,

Although the Original Godzilla and the Shin Godzilla had the same concept that Godzilla arose

from radiation due to the nuclear war, they had differences because of the special effects and

color scheme, Godzillas level of aggression, and the process of killing Godzilla, which is

significant because it shows that the different time periods in which the movies were filmed

affected the audience differently and conveyed a different message. I argued my opinion, that

Godzilla has changed as a monster and explained the significance behind it.

Overall, I would say I did a fantastic job this semester. I could definitely see the

improvement, and especially with Project Media. I am sure I did well. I dont know if I did

worse or better than Project Text, but I would say I did. I learned more when it comes to

explaining the significance in essays. This will truly help make my future argument essays more

credible. Audiences tend to look for why the author is saying what he or she is saying and I

definitely improved on that. I tend to digress a lot like in Project Space, it wasnt as organized,

but with Project Text, it was more organized, I had more evidence, and elaborated on it.
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Works Cited

Hoffman, Andrew J., and Ted Genoways. Here Be

Monsters. Monsters: a Bedford Spotlight Reader, Bedford/St. Martin's, a Macmillan

Education Imprint, 2016, p. 132.

Private Schools Pros and Cons. Education Bug - a Complete Listing of Educational

Resources, www.educationbug.org/a/private-schools-pros-and-cons.html.

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