Running Head: Final Exam Reflection 1

Final Exam Reflection

Christian Coughlin
Chandler Gilbert Community-College
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Final Exam Reflection

This semester of English 102 was certainly an interesting time. I learned to how to

communicate as a write much more effectively, alongside understand the various aspects of

writing. Developing such a stable reference to the writing culture itself has aided me

tremendously throughout the duration of the course. It also taught me how to analyze writing in a

specific way in which I can completely understand the genre itself. Developing this skill will be

very essential in future writing assignments and courses. Although I personally don’t enjoy

writing lengthy essays, I’m overall very good at it naturally. I’ve worked with several different

genres of writing for many years now. Specifically, online, I wrote website posts and blogs in the

past. However, it’s much different when it comes to academic writing. This type of writing is

much more formal, since I know I’m being assessed. Some of the topics we learned throughout

the semester weren’t interesting to me. However, they taught me how to truly get through an

assignment I don’t fully comprehend. I really enjoyed these complex topics, due to the fact that I

can truly know get through any prompt.

I developed the writing skill of adaptation. In the past, I typically failed to produce

quality content towards a prompt I truly did not care for. All 3 projects themselves were boring

without a doubt. However, they weren’t so boring when I followed the instructions by Professor

Fields himself. His setup allowed me to complete partial drafts and look at required readings

which helped me tremendously. These overcomplex prompts turned out to be beneficial and

allowed me to diversify into uncomfortable areas of writing. I also never have dived so deep into

the concept of writing itself. Previous classes made writing extremely boring. The way the

course was setup was ideal for the writing assignments themselves. Another writing skill I’ve

developed is my cultural awareness towards the writing subjects. “This aspect has 8 parts:
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Topic(scope), Audience, Purpose, Constraints (limitations), Genre, Visual Design, Exigence, and

Writing Culture. Grading focuses on whether the thesis statement and any other claims/opinions

are deep and supported by effective reasoning for the target audience” (Fields). I’m able to

understand the concept of writing and the awareness aspect to it.

I learned these specific writing content knowledges by indicating areas of understanding.

I also took several notes throughout the lectures and that helped a lot as well. I was able to refer

to my notes to understand each aspect of writing efficiently. However, I do see how these notes

can be considered useless in some cases. Inefficiently, I do see how this learning technique can

be a problem. Many students do not want to sit through a lecture of writing and would rather

participate in it themselves. I’m not part of this majority, and it seems like many people in his

class enjoyed this aspect. However, if someone is specifically hands-on, I can see how this

specific instance can be a struggle. Also, we do go over several examples in class that really

emphasize the understanding of the class. These examples truly do allow me to understand the

subject a lot more and push the understanding along the way.

This new method I learned allowed me to get through the semester with good essay

grades. I think I wasn’t as strict with my grammar specifically because I understood who my

audience was. I feel like most students don’t analyze the writing as scientifically. It seems they

are more aware of structure, and rather grade on your format than the content itself. That’s what

I’ve specifically noticed from the essays I’ve graded or been graded upon. Students are afraid to

grade other students due to their same skill level. However, this skill of peer reviewing has been

very helpful. It’s always reassuring to see other student’s writings. “More recently, strong

support for peer response groups has come from theories that emphasize the social nature of

learning, language thought, and writing” (Zhu). The process allowed me to feel much better
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about myself, alongside helped me understand the topic itself. Peer revision is an extremely

beneficial process when applied correctly and is a great tool for future assignments.
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References

Fields, Gregg. 8 ASPECTS OF WRITING WITH DESCRIPTIONS. Retrieved from URL.

Wei, Zhu. Effects of Training for Peer Response on Students’ Comments and Interaction.