Alyssa Panunzio
106 #8
Fall 2015
Lighthipe
Self-Reflective Essay
Coming into college from high school is a big transition. I was nervous because I came into my writing 106 class thinking I would never be prepared for the papers we would have to write. I was partially correct. In my senior year of high school we did not write many papers. So yes, when I came into writing 106 I was not prepared for college level papers, however my professor helped me overcome this. Ever since I started high school I never believed that I was a good writer. I would always write a paper, think it was horrible, but end up getting an A on it. I have never gave myself credit despite always doing extremely well in all of my writing classes. This writing 106 course has proved to me that I am a proficient writer and I should be proud of the papers I write.
Throughout the years I have found that I write better when I am under pressure. I am not the type of person who can write a well-written paper a week before it is due. When I write my papers I prefer to do them in a quite area with no distractions. My best papers come from when I finish all the writing in one session. I feel that when I stop writing in the middle of a paper and come back to it later I lose my train of thought. Therefor when I have to write a big paper I make sure I start at a time that will allow me to finish the whole thing at once. Once the paper is finished, I go back the next day and revise it. I have found that this strategy works better because the work is fresh to my brain.
Although I purchased the textbook at the beginning of the semester, I barley used it. I found that the feedback my professor gave me was much more beneficial. However I do believe I should have used the textbook more often because I could have applied some of the tips towards my papers. Although I did not use the textbook, I did use an outline before every paper. During every class discussion, I was taking notes and making mini outlines. Then when the paper was due, I would put together a detailed outline that would make my writing easier.
The most beneficial part of writing 106 was the ability to revise your paper. This was a great learning experience for me. Many teachers would hand me back a paper with revisions and I would just take a glance at it. In this class, since we were able to get a second chance, I looked into my mistakes and fixed them correctly. Some of my papers were revised three times just because I wanted to work for an A. The first paper I wrote in this class was on labor unions. I struggled on this essay and the first grade I received was a C+. I am an A and B student so the grade I got did not satisfy me. I then revised my paper two times after that and ended up receiving an A-. Not only did the ability to revise papers give me a chance to get a higher grade, but it also allowed me to become a better writer.
Bloomfield college offers many resources that are there to help us become better writers. I k...
