Andrew Farrington Farrington 1

Professor Jan Rieman

English 1101X

October 7, 2009

Reflection of College Writing Course

In my English 1101X class, I have learned many new techniques to become a better

reader and writer. This class has helped me break down and better understand certain essays and

passages that we are required to read and write about. In high school, I wasn’t required to read

much of anything, so I was oblivious to how these practices were so important. One technique

that has helped me significantly in this class is the use of underlining. It allows me to go back

and reread over key information or anything I am unsure about. Underlining has really helped

me in focusing on the main idea of excerpts I have read in this course.

Another way of reading and writing that allows me to learn to my best ability is to isolate

myself in my dorm room so I can completely focus on what I am working on. I try to work in

silence so it doesn’t distract me from my work. I feel that this is the best method for me because

I tend to concentrate on everything other than what I am working on. I usually do this at night

because I feel more relaxed. After reading the essay for the first time, I summarize in my head

about what I’ve read and then reread it. When using these techniques, I feel I can learn the most

that I can, rather than doing it any other way.

I am very comfortable with the fact that you require us to take one essay and break it

down in several different ways. For example, for our Jean Anyon assignments, we wrote three
 Farrington 2

essays: an inquiry, an interpretation, and a multiple perspectives essay. While writing these

essays, I felt that I learned more and more with each one I wrote. I am also comfortable with

working with other classmates during class. I am happy to build new relationships with other

people in the classroom. My other courses require little or no group assessments so I am glad to

have that opportunity in your class. The peer workshops help me significantly because it allows

me to analyze what the other students have written to give me better ideas for my own essay.

I believe that the day book is a great idea to practice writing and is a good warm-up to

begin the class. I enjoy opening my mind to certain topics to write about and I hope to continue

this practice throughout the semester. I also feel that the feedback that you give on our

assignments greatly helps to fix bad habits that we may have. I believe the students really

appreciate and reflect on the constructive criticism they receive on their papers.

I don’t often feel challenged when it comes to writing, but one thing I have been having a

little trouble with is understanding the difference on some of the work that you assign to us. For

instance, we were required to write the three different essays for Anyon that I mentioned earlier.

I was a bit confused on what approach you wanted us to take on each assignment. I was hoping

to get a better understanding when we did peer editing, but it seemed as if the other students

were also confused. I now understand what you wanted us to write about after asking you to

explain the difference of each one.

While registering for this college writing course, I expected to learn new techniques to

help me become a better reader and writer. You have successfully filled my expectations thus

far in your class. With the peer workshops and class discussions, it seems as if we are correctly
 Farrington 3

following our classroom culture document. This document has helped me greatly in this class by

giving us a little freedom so we can do our work to the best of our ability. I also believe that the

class description matches the curriculum in this course thus far. One goal that I hope to have by

the end of this semester is to be able to write long and extended essays without having trouble

finding things to write about. I also hope to expand my vocabulary by writing multiple essays

for this class.