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Maya Heath

Professor Kane

Expository Writing RC 1000

09 December 2020

Semester Reflection

This course provided me with some insight into how I grow as a writer. This course did

not push me in learning new ways of writing nor in styles of writing. It did allow me to hone in

on skills I have already learned. This semester I learned to write in clearer sentences. Being

direct is better than drawn-out sentences. Also, that quantity does not mean quality. My pieces

tend to lean on the short side. I try and to cover my topics and exhaust information in a short

piece as allowed. That is my style of writing, short sweet, and to the point. This course has

helped me write in my history course as well. Being concise is the best way to get a point across

or the reader could get bored. It helped me understand that, for me, to write a solid essay, I

need to take a couple days to write then edit. The longer I took the quality of my writing went

up.

Before this class, I have never had pre-writing. There had been jotting down ideas, but

nothing official. I enjoy the pre-write process. It helps organize my thoughts. Plus, it solidifies if I

am interested in the topic. Pre-writing will be a continued part of my writing process. That is

the only part I will be adding to my writing routine. My writing did not change too much over

the semester. My writing process only added pre-writing. Overall, I am satisfied with my
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process. I already practiced writing and editing over a few days and in chunks. Editing it all at

once led me to greater errors in my writing. I will continue to learn new ways to write but

fornow I will stick to the process that has worked for me.

This course did not challenge me. It felt like my high school senior English honors course

again. I had written these assignments except for the research proposal. It did confuse me and I

did do the wrong thing. Professor Kane let me redo the assignment and I further understood

how to do it. The rest of the assignments did not challenge me too much. They can more

naturally to me. Planning and writing is what I have always been told to do. We never had to

submit a topic for approval. That was new to me. High school accustomed me to gradually

longer essays overtime. The length of the essays was reasonable for the topics presented.

Nothing was overly strenuous. Overall the course did not push my writing skills to become

better. It sharpened my skills I had already had.

My goals for the end of the semester were met. I analyzed works and wrote my own

analysis of it. My analysis was on the song, Harper Valley PTA. It discussed women in the sixties

and second wave feminism.I had not tackled these subjects before. I had only written about

feminism but in the 1800s. It was interesting to analyze. For my research paper, I chose to

research why policemen should carry firearms. That topic is close to my family and I. For that

reason, it was interesting to learn both sides of the issue and to write about it. With these two

essays, my ability to convey an idea has become clearer.I can convey my understanding of the

topic to the reader. This course has carried into my history course. That was one of my goals I

accomplished. My other goal was to have a greater understanding of literature. The analysis
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gave me insight intohow songs can relect a generation. They can also a change peoples

perspectives.

This course allowed me to focus on skills I already had and become better at them. No

one can be perfect so all you can do is become better. Also keep in mind that someone else will

be better. That gives me a drive do do great in what I do. I would like to take these skills into my

degree field. My current degree track is criminal justice. I do not know my niche within that

degree yet. Writing no matter what you do, needs to be done well. It is crucial to understand

and perform correctly. My next writing course I hope to take is writing in criminal justice.

Writing analiticaly will be helpful. I now know what my strengths and weaknesses are better

than before. This course has set a solid foundation for courses to come.