Final Reflection

After a whole school year has past, I have learned many new things, took new risks, and overcame many obstacles. With these challenges I experienced throughout this term, I believe that my English skills greatly improved.

At the beginning of the course, I expected to learn the types of literature in different languages (which we did with the short story packet) and be able to explain the characteristics of each (which I don’t think we did). Come to think of it now, it would be awkward to learn about languages other than English in English class. At the start of the year, I was worried about English due to my poor vocabulary skills. I was relieved to find that we did not focus much on vocabulary during class. I still feel worried about my vocabulary skills, though.

After going through two commentaries (excluding the final exam), I think I improved greatly on my analysis skills and reading comprehension. Whenever I read now, I look out not only for the literary techniques, but also why they’re used and how it affects the story. When I write down my thoughts and analysis, I use the SEX rule almost automatically. And to use this, I search for important quotes beforehand, even before I know what to write about. At first, I neither expanded nor gave examples to help prove my statement, as you can see with one of the essays I wrote near the beginning of the year. Now, I do them both naturally without caution.

Also, because of the commentaries, I started structuring my writings in a more organized way. For example: I start off with an introduction, about three body paragraphs, and end off with a conclusion. I have a topic sentence for each of the paragraphs and a thesis that explains my belief of the whole writing. I keep the introduction and conclusion concise but to the point. If you notice, this reflection is also in this manner.

In my opinion, I think I can have my paragraphs have smoother transitions between them. I have the habit of changing the topic dramatically just because it’s a new paragraph. Instead, though, I think I choose good quotes that are on topic and integrate them well. I use them in appropriate timings to emphasize and support a statement.

Since I do not have very good vocabulary skills, it’s hard for me to use specific vocabulary. I sometimes have to use words that are close to what I have in mind. For example: even if I want to describe a crimson sphere, the exact words may not come to mind. Therefore, I might describe it as a red ball instead. Although they are similar, they are not quite the same.

Along with vocabulary, I have many mechanical problems, especially grammar and spelling. Without spell check, I think that all my typed-up essays would be filled with green and red underlines. I always get the tense mixed up and I sometimes add “s” to irregular plurals like “sheep” and “deer”. Compared to the beginning of the year, though, I think I became more aware of these problems.

To be honest, I hate writing in a timed situation. It causes you to rush, you get nervous, you can’t stop glancing at the clock, and so on. I’d rather sit back, relax, and type up the writing without any time limit so that I can revise and edit as much as I can. Even though I still dislike being timed, I think I got better at pacing myself, so that I’d finish in time and so I would have time to revise.

Being creative probably does not mean to be original and to be imaginative; it is probably to be able to see something from different perspectives and to express it in your own manner. We can all strengthen our creativity by analyzing anything and by understanding its meaning of existence. Throughout this term, we have been analyzing literacy, and from that, we were able to learn how to be creative.

I did not really like the blog process, since anyone could see what you wrote. I know that this could be both a good thing and a bad thing, but still, it seems embarrassing to think that anyone in the world can see what you write. Also, it’s kind of embarrassing to see your blog in the search results when you google your name.

Finally, I would like to say that I enjoyed this course very much and was happy to participate as a member of this class. I hope that I can make the best out of what I have learned in this class and use my improved skills and knowledge in the future.