English 2010

Reflective Essay Over the past couple of weeks I was given the opportunity to write an academic research paper for my English 2010 class. After finishing my academic research paper I can see that it has immensely helped continue my progression and the achievement of several of the Salt Lake City Community Colleges Learning Outcome goals. The first learning outcome, communication, is now something that I feel much more comfortable with. I have always struggled when communicating effectively in my writing. During the first few weeks I did just that, I struggled. However, through peer/teacher review and encouragement, I was able to learn ways to strengthen my writing abilities. For example, through two meetings outside of class with my teacher I was able to spend time asking how to portray what I was struggling to say. Along with her help, and a visit to the writing lab, I was better able to present my ideas in my paper In addition, another major area that was strengthened during the academic research paper was the way I learned to gather and analyze information. I learned how to use the librarys resources to my advantage with the help of faculty and the preparedness we were given in class. I was able to spend hours each day in the writing lab gathering information from several credible sources. With the advice given in class, we were taught how to analyze the sources we gathered and ensure that they were credible and reliable. Lastly, after completing the academic research paper I feel that I have also achieved aspects in the think critically stage of SLCCs learning outcomes. After writing, and rewriting, I finally mastered the ability to properly analyze, synthesize, and evaluate my writing. For example, in our research papers we were required to use three different perspectives. After incorporating them in my paper I was able to analyze what they were saying and evaluate it when deciding if it was trustworthy material. Whats more,

after analyzing all three, I successfully synthesized all of them when combining and comparing their separate ideas. In addition to progressing towards and mastering some of SLCCs learning outcomes, this assignment indirectly connected me to another General Education course, Communications 1010. After writing our academic research papers, we were required to write a persuasive piece of writing where we talked about an aspect of our research paper. Because the main focus of my research paper was college tuition, I was able to successfully come up with a convincing argument for my persuasive genre. In my communications course we are spent a short time presenting persuasive speeches, and due to my persuasive genre, I was better prepared and confident when presenting my speech in my Communications class on the same topic. In addition to benefiting me in another class, my academic research paper and my persuasive genre have benefitted me in other aspects of life. Due to writing an academic research paper on college tuition, I now feel that I have a much wider range of knowledge on post-secondary education. For example, from the weeks I spent researching college tuition and its causes and solutions, I gained an immense understanding that specific area. Though college education may be a small factor in some peoples lives, in my own it is currently a huge aspect that I focus the majority of my time. Now that I have written so much on the topic I better understand the benefits and importance of college as well as the debt that can come along with it. In addition, I was also challenged in a previous assumption that I held before writing my academic research paper. I had previously held the belief that college was not completely necessary to be successful, however, after completing my paper I have found many studies showing the importance of higher education and the need for it in todays society. Learning that fact, has given me a greater satisfaction while completing my courses here at SLCC. Spending so much time gaining a greater knowledge of the world, as well as challenging previous assumptions held, was not an easy process. To complete this assignment first involved choosing a topic. Choosing a topic was one of the hardest parts of the writing process. Once chosen, I spent much time

gathering articles and evaluating them. I spent weeks comparing my articles with other classmates in class and online (via Canvas). Once the most credible articles were chosen I completed an outline, and then several rough drafts. As I added more and more paragraphs to my paper, I not only became a better writer, but I also increased my knowledge on the topic. When almost complete, I had my English professor read through and give suggestions and then continued to edit it until the due date, when I finally felt satisfied with the final piece. As I mentioned before, choosing the topic was one of the hardest challenges that I faced. When this challenge arose I addressed it with help from others. I asked classmates for advice, as well as spoke with family about different aspects of college that would be interesting to research. Eventually I came to a decision that I am grateful I completed my research on. In addition to the topic, I also struggled with correctly formatting my paper MLA style. I overcame this struggle with help from my teacher, a visit to the student writing lab, and guidance from the Purdue Owl Writing Lab website. Lastly, I also struggled with the analysis section of my paper. I overcame this last struggle with help from online resources, my family, and guidance from my teacher. Though I experienced challenges when writing my academic research paper, because I overcame them, proves that my learning process throughout English 2010 has improved. Because formatting MLA style is now something that I am comfortable with, gives proof that English 2010 provided me with a useful piece of knowledge that I can apply to any piece of writing. Furthermore, analyzing was something that I was taught and satisfied with after completing my research paper. Overall, through I addressing and solving challenges throughout the semester my learning process was able to improve and become stronger from my time spent in English 2010. Not only has the semester spent in English 2010 challenged me and taught me many things, it also has helped me master several of the English 2010 course objectives. Ranging from the academic research paper, the public review, the persuasive genre, and even time spent writing on the discussion

board taught me many ways to write in different genres. Especially through my time spent writing the academic research paper, I was to master the majority of the English 2010 course objectives. Through the research paper I was able to adapt different styles of argumentation. For instance, I learned how to appeal to ethos to strengthen my argument which I feel I did successful when earning an A on the paper. I also adapted to different styles of design when writing the research paper, such as using correct paragraph format as well as proper grammar appropriate to the format. In addition, the research paper helped me enhance my abilities to conceive, draft, and revise independently. I was able to come up with my own ideas and create several drafts as I constantly revised all of the errors that I noticed. Whats more, the research paper also forced me to cite sources appropriately, including using an academic system of citation with a high degree of proficiency. As I previously discussed, I originally struggled when it came to using the MLA format, however, I later mastered the citation when I received help from the tutors in the writing lab as well as meetings with my teacher. Overall, from all of the information gained when writing the research paper I am now much more confident when it comes to my ability to understand and respond critically within civic conversations while also transforming me into a legitimate participant in that conversation because I have obtained so much previously unknown knowledge. Lastly, the research paper helped me master the last English 2010 course objective when it pushed me to work collaboratively with other writers. This was achieved when we were encouraged to compare sources and discuses ideas on the discussion board, as well as peer review each others drafts in class. Along with mastering the course objetives, I can also see that other areas have been achieved. At the beginning of the semester we were assigned to come up with a list of goals. My first goal was to earn the grade of an A through giving my 100% in every assignment. Whats more, I currently have an A and am on the track of maintaining it. Another one of my goals involved never missing more than 2 classes, which I have not. I also had the goal of completing my assignments at school between 12:20p.m. and 2:45 p.m. every day I have classes, which I have religiously done so far. Those were three goals that I felt were very important for the semester. The first goal, earning an A, was made doable through staying on top of

the other goals. Because I never missed one single English class I was able to earn credit for every inclass assignment as well as ensure that I was not missing anything, as well as earn a higher grade through attendance. Studying at school between the specified hours was something I set aside for myself so that I could stay focused with all of the needed resources readily available (i.e. the computers in the computer lab). These goals connect to my overall educational goals in that they are similar goals I apply to every class. Using these goals in all of the classes I have taken this semester have had similar results, they have aided in my success. Not only have the goals I set aside for myself connected to other courses, but they have also helped me progress throughout the semester. Because I have wanted an A in the class encouraged me to give my 100% in every assignment. For example, when I first wrote my academic research paper I worked diligently and hard, and truly put forth all of my effort. However, after my meeting with my professor, I was shown many areas that could use improvement. With the added knowledge, I took the paper back and continued to fix the mistakes she pointed out, again giving it my all. Because I gave my 100% from day one, that with the added knowledge and practice of the skills we learned in class, made my overall improvement that much more successful. When writing my academic research paper, I improved my performance, I was able to connect to other courses, I gained a greater understanding of the world, I went through various writing processes , I was faced with many challenges, and my overall learning process was strengthened. Through all of those factors I have gained a greater respect towards the English 2010 course objectives. I can now see from my academic research paper, as well as all of my assignments in English 2010, that the objectives in the beginning of the semester are not only objectives, but now successes that I can be proud of. What once were goals to complete are now achievements that I can feel greatly accomplished for.