Karapetyan1

MikeKarapetyan
ProfessorTurner
English114B
May10,2017

ReflectionEssay

Asawriter,Ibelievethatthereisalmostalwaysroomforimprovement.One

becomesagoodwriterbywritingasmanydraftsaspossibleandlearningthroughthe

experienceofrevisingthesedrafts.IwouldliketothinkthatIconcludedmyEnglish

114BjourneyonapositivenotebybecomingabetterwriterthanIpreviouslywasatthe

startofthesemester.IwastestedtomyfullestpotentialforbothourProjectSpaceand

Mediumessays.Onbothoccasions,weweretaskedwithwritinganargumentativeessay,

anareaofwritingthatIfoundchallenginginmanyways.Istruggledwitheffectively

organizingmythoughts,formulatingcounterarguments,andfinishingmyessaywitha

powerfulconclusionthatwouldallowthereadertofullyunderstandwhatIwastryingto

say.Fourmonthslater,IbelievethatIhaveimproveddrasticallyonmyweaknesses,and

havegrownintoamoreeffectiveasawriter.

Whenwritinganygivenessay,Ialwaysbeginbygatheringmythoughtsandany

informationthatIdeemcriticaltotheparticularessaythatIamwriting.However,Iwas

notentirelysurehowtoorganizethesethoughts.Thatis,IfeltlikeIhadsomuchtosay

butwasnotsurehowbestwaytoorganizemythoughts.EventhoughtheinformationI

woulduseandtheargumentsIwouldmakewereeffective,Iwouldnotplacethemwhere
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theyneededtobeinmyessays;thisresultedinthereadernotbeingfullyconvincedwith

theargumentthatIwasmaking.Forexample,formyProjectSpaceessay,Iwasarguing

thatthousandsoffastfoodlocationsinAmericaareonlycontributingtothealready

massiveobesityissueweface.Imadeastrongargumentthatfastfoodoutletsare

deliberatelyopenedinlowincomeneighborhoodsbecausepeopletherearemorelikely

toconsumefastfoodinhigherquantitiesbecauseitfitswithintheirbudget.However,I

usedthisstatementinaparagraphwhereIwasfocusedonacompletelydifferentpoint.I

understoodthattheplacementoftheargumentinthatparagraphwouldpotentially

confusemyreaderandmyargumentwouldbecomeweaker.ThisissomethingthatI

struggledwiththroughoutmyessay,whichmayhavebeenwhyIreceiveda75onmy

essay.However,aftertakingthisintoaccount,IenteredProjectMediumdeterminedtobe

muchmoreorganizedwithmywriting,andreceiveda93onmypolishedessay.Ibelieve

thisreflectsthedrasticimprovementinmywriting.

Afterbrushinguponmyorganizationalskills,Iturnedmyfocustoapowerful

counterargumentandtheimportanceofitinmywriting.Ihaveunderstoodfromthis

coursethatinordertogetyourpointacrossclearlyandstrengthenyourargument,one

musthaveanequallystrongcounterargument.FormyProjectMediumessay,IbelieveI

utilizedastrongcounterargument.IwroteaboutlawenforcementinAmerica,andwhy

manyfallvictimtopolicebrutalityandsenselessbeatings.Inmyfourthparagraph,I

counterarguedthatthereisanequalamountofresponsibilityonbothsides,bothsides

beingciviliansandpoliceofficers.Iplacedmycounterargumentinthefourthparagraph
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afteraLearningResourceCentertutorhighlyrecommendedit.Ibelievemygradeon

essaytwowasmorethanreflectiveofmyprogressinregardstoasolidcounterargument.

Whenwritinganessay,thelastthingareaderisgoingtocomeacrossisones

conclusion.Therefore,itisofutmostimportancetofinishoffonesessayconfidentlyand

efficientlysothatthereaderwillnotonlyfinishreadingonapositivenote,butwilltake

intoconsiderationwhatwaswritten.Ihavealwaysstruggledwithwritingadecent

conclusion,partlybecauseIrunoutofthingsthatIwouldliketostay.Moreimportantly,

Ineverknewthesignificanceofrestatingathesisattheendoftheconclusion.Formy

ProjectSpaceessay,Ididnotgoasfarasrestatingmythesis,andthatcanreflectonmy

otherweakpointsthatIhavepreviouslystruggledwith.However,forProjectMedium,I

notonlyendedmyessaybyrestatingmythesis,butIleftthereaderwithastrong

questionsothattheywillbeleftwithsomethingtoremember.

TakingEnglish114Bwasaveryinterestingexperienceforme.Itwasinteresting

inthesensethatIneverreallyunderstoodhowcomplexwritingcouldactuallybe.I

firmlybelievethatIamgoingtofinishthiscourseknowingthatIimprovedand

progressedtoadifferentlevelinmywriting.Ihavetoucheduponmyweakpointsin

organization,counterarguments,andconclusions,andcanproudlysaythattheyareno

longermyweaknesses.IwouldliketothankProfessorTurneraswell,whosepatience

andguidinghandhasalsoputmeontracktobecomingabetterwriter.Thereisalways

roomforimprovement,evenifoneisagreatwriter.