My Transformation Through This Semester Over the past month, I have experienced transformation and a changed point of view

in English. Starting out, learning how to read with comprehension and then turning it into a piece of literature was very difficult for me. Throughout this course I have come to encounter many quality pieces of literature that have helped me improve my writing. The book I Hate Writing by J.M. Bohannon was a good piece that provides guidelines and assistance to writing papers. The works of Langsten Hughes and Malcolm X are great examples that explain how race can correlate to their writing. Reading the assigned passages from powerful writers was not the only influence towards my progression. Another aspect supporting my view was the different teaching techniques and activities that went on during class time. I believe everyone has their own unique way of learning and it is beneficial when there is a wide variety of ways to acquire the information that is provided. From the time I started English classes, writing was not my choice to communicate with others. In high school, my writing was centered on the five paragraph essay system and I learned in a different way that did not prepare me for college English. The college system of writing caused me to feel anxious and uncomfortable because it was something I was not accustomed to. Being overwhelmed by the new material sent frustration and fear through my body. Since being exposed to the different teaching methods I have developed a new feeling of learning about this area of education. I am learning to understand how to convey the message to the reader by expressing myself clearly and by developing my own unique writing. The book I Hate Writing by J.M. Bohannon had a large impact on the improvement of my writing. An important lesson I learned is the different techniques on how to write your first

drafts. After reading chapter five, I learned to transition my thoughts freely to paper and not worry about perfection on the first drafts. Some of the key words that stood out were: Brainstorming, Building a Web, and Free writing. I liked these different methods because everyone has their own way of transmitting their ideas onto paper. Another part in the book that caught my attention was the information presented in chapter 7. During this chapter Bohannon expresses different methods on how to reach out and grab a readers attention. An example of these methods that I use from the reading are: to tell a story or directly state your argument because it was useful towards reconstructing my Literacy Narrative and staying on topic. I feel that after being exposed to Bohannons teachings it improved my strength in my writing abilities by giving me confidence and guidelines to properly constructing a paper. My reading has been influenced by some of the writers that were assigned such as Dr. Seuss and Stephen King. I now have more respect for writers because I realize how difficult it is to project thoughts through words and text. Dr. Seuss wrote a great short story called The Lorax. This was a story that had a ambiguous message intended for more than one audience. It was a great piece to get my mind wrapped around my Rhetorical Analysis paper and to understand an idea from more than one viewpoint. Another influential author that has a strong core in his writing is Stephen King. Kings descriptive choice of words paints a vivid image that enhances the readers understanding to the message that King is conveying. The different pieces of literature from pristine writers were not the only beneficial factor to my writing. During class, I experienced a wide variety of different activities that were helpful. One such method that is used often in class is debates. Debates are great sessions that help me start thinking and allow me to express my view points in an open manner. Workshops are another technique that allowed me to analyze other peers writing, and have other students

inspect my paper as well. Due to workshops, I was able to pinpoint specific grammatical errors in my writing, and it allowed me to receive constructive criticism from another student. Using appropriate criticism was a good tool for finding errors in my writing. This criticism acts as an insight to the areas that I need to improve on. Overall this class has been very challenging because I have found it hard to put my ideas on paper. A challenge that I face with writing is sending the appropriate message to the reader. I am building towards making my writing more clear and staying on point. Another challenge is reading the works of other writers and interpreting the way the author presents his/her message. After reading the works of other writers, I have learned to distinguish the different styles of writing. Furthermore, I feel I have not yet reached my full potential in English, but I am progressing toward improving mistakes and finding a solution the problem. In conclusion, I am now a better writer than I was in high school, but I still have a long journey ahead of me in order to reach my goals. Dylan, I think this is a really nice reflection. Not only is it well organized (which is something that might be difficult considering all the work weve done in the first six weeks), but its wellwritten and well-argued. Though there were a few points that I thought you couldve developed a little more, overall I was impressed with your use of detail and specifics. I can really tell that youre growing as a writer! Keep it up!