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Brittney Stewart Mr. Neuburger English 102-118 14 May 2013 Course Reflection To begin the course reflection, I will first address my own English experience from Ozarks Technical Community College. Of course it was required to take English 101 before this English 102 course, but the work load and the quality of work was tremendously different between the side-by-side courses. Within the English 101 course, I produced very minimal work, and the instructor did not expect much from the assignments given. I felt that my work ethic and literary experience was quickly going downhill. However, that all seemed to change once I stepped into this English 102 course. Within this classroom, I have produced poetry, taken a quiz over historical material, written various literary analyses on an array of readings, including smaller essays, and eventually I was led into a grand research paper, followed by a video assignment. The greatest attribute to these assignments is arguably the technology provided, but that will be discussed momentarily. The most challenging assignment was definitely the response essays that were required after provided a reading selection. Before stepping into this classroom, I had never seen such a demanding assignment. In fact, I thought that I would never be able to reach an A grade on the expected essays. To get a gist of the paper, the response essay is a one paragraph ordeal in which case allows only 166-216 words, a strong thesis statement, two integrated direct quotes, a word count, and a works cited section. This may seem simple, but the expectation was extreme after a single practice round. However, thats what made these assignments a wonderful

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challenge. Without learning about this form of writing, I doubt that I would be able to write a formal paper that has an intense amount of information in such a limited space. Thats the greatest part of the whole curriculum; I learned a new form of writing that is challenging, fun, and pushed me to be a better writer. Within the assignments, I was provided very little feedback, yet the feedback given was harsh and straight to the point. To list a few examples of marks, or comments, made on the assignments, I will begin with the first verbal comment I remember from Mr. Neuburger: I dont think you quite understand the point of clear and concise. At that point, I thought writing papers in this class would be nearly impossible, but this criticism (as I slowly began to realize) was also marked on my first paper in order to make a better writer, paper, and constructive listener. In my opinion, the feedback was solely constructive, supportive and the straight-forward attitude made the challenge even more interesting. Overall, the challenge to produce an A paper within this course was phenomenal, enjoyable, and finally the push I needed in order to be happy with writing again. Now, with those assignments being more of a sigh of relief throughout the course, I was eventually led into the grand ole research paper! I think that the hardest transition in this course was the switch from a one-paragraph extensive essay to the assigned 11-15 page research paper over the Holocaust. To be fair, the assignment was quite simple. A basic outline and a great deal of class time were provided for the assignment which was a huge stress-reliever. Also, Mr. Neuburger, as always, was lenient and delivered a tremendous amount of criticism, guidance, and support. With that being said, the research paper was simple, but I would have liked more time to understand the format required (pictures were a strong focus) and to collect a greater deal of research.

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Referencing back to the second paragraph, the use of technology within this course was incredible. I never thought that I would sign up for, or download, Twitter, Scribd, Blogger, Diigolet, YouTube, Movie Maker, EasyBib, and Bitly. I might have even missed a few forms of online technology seen throughout the semester, but even that list leaves me surprised. Honestly, Im not a huge fan of technology due to the fact that I much prefer a book in hand, pen to paper, handouts, etc. I enjoy tangible material, thats understood, but I cant help that I also enjoy all of the technology listed. This course has shown me that online sites and material can be a great organizer. In fact, my favorite site, shown to me by Mr. Neuburger, is Diigolet. Diigolet is a great way to organize research; I was able to highlight information (which was then recorded on the Diigolet site), save links and pages, and ultimately hold an immense amount of research on a single web page. Technology has claimed to be a friend, rather than a foe! I am prepared to use the online technology in future courses, as well as for personal use. Taking an end to this course, I have realized my strengths and my weaknesses. Looking back at all of my assignments, I believe that I should have worked on time management and, overall, my commitment to the course. I wish that I would have given more effort towards the research paper, but I cant help to be thankful for the lenient attitude I was shown by Mr. Neuburger. Although I could have done so much more for this class, and for myself, Mr. Neuburger took me aside and told me to just do what [I] can. This simple bit of advice really pushed me to finish this course, and to hopefully finish strong. I am so blessed to have taken this course with such a marvelous instructor.