I

have learned many things this semester in English 104, most of which are related to the
structure of an essay and how to organize my own ideas in it. For example, I have learned
that I dont always have to start with regular introductions and end with sentences like in
conclusion, I could be much more creative than that. I can start my essay in any way I want
to as long as it makes sense and relates the whole essay together. I have learned that my
ideas sometimes could be trapped in my mind, so sometimes I should start writing my essay
to get those ideas out and have them in front of me. It could be a short paragraph or just
bullet points, or even a conversation with a friend discussing the topic. One of the most
helpful things that I have been convinced to do and will most probably continuo doing is
writing multiple drafts for every essay. By doing so, I could improve my writing skills per
essay, since in each different essay I improve a certain skill. For example, in the discourse
analysis I improved my analyzing skill, and learned to look at things from different
perspective. I also learned how to think about what others say, like when I did an interview
with a house maid I was listening to her answers and what is she saying, but at the same
time I was listening and trying to figure out what she isnt saying. I was looking and her body
language and the way she answers a certain question. Another skill I have improved this
semester is how to write a story that could get the reader to picture themselves in it, just
like I did in my literacy narrative. I have used many new ways for me to describe my feelings,
senses, and the environment all around me. This semester, for the first time in my life I have
written a multi-paragraph introduction. All my previous writings had a short introduction in
the beginning, except this semester we did the CARS introduction. I have learned how to
organize and support my CARS introduction using source and previous research. I have
learned that no matter what, every draft of an essay could be improved more. There no
such thing as final draft. By writing the discourse analysis for the first midterm and leaving it
and writing other essays, then when I have looked back at it I have realized that I missed
several points and there were several grammar mistakes. Even though I have submitted
more than one draft for the discourse analysis.
This is my first draft of the literacy narrative:



















It was very short and didnt have proper ending, basically this is my SFD. But then after
revising it and improving even more on the story and the events, the whole piece was
improved. And I have received an estimated grade of 3.5 out of 5. After even more
improving and working on expanding my ideas, I have submitted my third draft and received
an estimated grade of 4 out of 5.

Most of those skills that I have learned this semester in English 104 can benefit me in the
future. For example, the skill of working on and improving previous work could be helpful
for me in my academically and even on daily routines. I could be working on a project
without revising my own work or getting feedback from other people to have different
perspectives and different ideas on it. Also, the skill of analyzing different artifacts could
improve my own way of speaking or writing, because now I could have an idea about how
other people could think about what I am saying or writing.