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Angel Peral
Professor Hymes
English 113B
3 December 2015
Writing is one of the things I used to hate the most when I was in an English class.
I hate it when the teacher would tell the class we had an essay due for next class. Nevertheless,
getting back an essay and getting a good grade on it boosted my self-confidence. I also never
really enjoyed reading; it seemed to bore me every time and wouldnt even bother picking up a
book. As I entered English 113A and now closing off English 113B, I noticed I grew
tremendously both as a writer and a reader.
I have improved a great deal over the course of this semester and the past semester. In
the beginning, I thought it was all going to be review for me and that I wouldnt learn anything
knew in English 113A. I felt as if I came into CSUN as a decent writer, but later on I started
noticing the amount of mistakes I started to make. What I later found out was that English 113A
helped me see my strengths and weaknesses through the challenges that I faced when it came to
writing a paper. English 113B helped me not only to improve my writing skills but also make me
a far better critical thinker when reading books; made me realize that I had to read in between the
lines.
When it was time to write an essay for any English class that I had through out the years,
I would read the prompt, once I read the prompt, I knew what I had to say. I was clear and to the
point. I had my thesis and my points laid out in the first paragraph. I had everything well
organized. After a certain point, I would tend to run out of things to say, and usually end up
repeating myself in order to get to the end of the page and finish the essay. In English 113A, I

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was able to figure out some of my strengths such as following direction, but sometimes the
weaknesses would come in from behind and attack. I would usually have an idea that I would
state, but I was not able to develop that idea to better support my thesis.
What I didnt know was the fact that I would greatly benefit from English 113A, and
would use many of the techniques that I was taught in different classes. I was able to implement
the methods I learned in English class into my Chicano Culture class. When it came to writing an
in class essay about, What does Chicano mean to you? Before the in-class essay, we had read a
few articles and a chapter in a book about Chicanos. The rhetorical strategies that I learned in
English class 113A such as narration, examples, or compare and contrast, just to name a few
were of great help. I was able to come up with a good thesis statement; I had good ideas and
supporting details. Everything was organized, I was able to include my own narration, and was
able to compare and contrast the difference between Chicano, Hispanic, and Latino.
What I also didnt know was that I benefited from English 113B as well. English 113B
helped me refresh my memory as well as teach me new ways on approaching a topic to write.
English 113B also helped me to polish those skills and techniques that were taught to me in
113A. I was able to implement these techniques in my Communications 151 class. One of many
essay prompts was, What role does the voice and nonverbal movements play in delivery and the
audience receiving the message? Prior to this essay we had to read certain chapters in the
textbook for the class to help give examples that will help our thesis. The techniques that were
taught in 113A and polished in 113B help me a great deal. In 113B we learned about three
different ways of writing a thesis statement. The use of writing it one-way helped me produce a
good, solid thesis statement. I also used my own personal experience to show how both
nonverbal movements and voice help deliver a message.

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The importance of reading has a certain effect when it comes to thinking and writing.
What I noticed when I started reading books that I enjoyed such as The Absolutely True Diary
of a Part-Time Indian, Into the Wild or The Scarlet Letter, is the fact that I became a bit
more articulate. I was able to be a more critical thinker that would be able to give a clear, in
depth answer when it came to writing a paper in English 113A. In 113B, reading the book
Angry Black White Boy helped my vocabulary, and knowledge grow as well as helping me
grow as an articulate person. In the long run this knowledge, vocabulary, and being articulate
cane come in handy when having to write an essay or just when having an academic talk with
someone.
Coming to CSUN and having both English 113A and English 113B made me come to
terms that reading and writing coincide with each other and are really important factors that are
indispensable. Now, I enjoy reading as well as having to write a paper because I know I am able
to use what I learned both in 113A and 113B to help me write a well-organized essay that will
have good details that support my thesis while being concise and to the point. Having learned
throughout these classes will help me prove that I grew both as a reader and a writer.

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Work Cited
Peral, Angel. A Selfless Hero. 27 September. 8 December.
Peral, Angel. Miscegenation, a Path Like No Other. 10 November. 8 December.