Course Reflection English 1010
Course Reflection
Before taking English 1010, even the thought of having to write a paper sent chills across my body. I compared writing to someone asking me to recite the Periodic table while being waterboarded, pure torture. Now, as this class has ended, I reflect on how I felt at the beginning versus how I feel now. I cannot lie, but I am still not the biggest fan of writing. However, my perspective about writing and the process that takes place during creation has grown a lot throughout this class. I still have a lot to learn about how to become a great writer, but I now have a greater understanding and appreciate the skill.
When I began this class, I had very little understanding of the process or concepts that take place when writing. I used to assume that writing is not easy for everyone else, and therefore, I feared to share my books because I felt they were not up to par with the writing skills of everyone else. I also thought that all great writers knew exactly what they were going to write and wrote it correctly the first time. For one of our class assignments, we had to read an article called “Shitty First Drafts.” This article talks about how everyone has terrible first drafts, and after reading it, I became more confident knowing that great writers are not perfect. They also have to work hard to make their final piece of writing, and that is just because you have a shitty first draft, which does not make you a bad writer after all.
My favorite assignment in this class was the first paper I had to write about a flash narrative. It took me a while to figure out what I needed to write about. I worked on three separate stories for this project because I just wasn’t sure which one I wanted to turn in. However, after discovering the draft that worked best for me, and I focused on it. As such, I felt excellent about it. It became evident to me that writing is a form of action that involves responding to a problem. I think that I have struggled a lot with this class because the book is very stressful for me, but after finishing my flash narrative paper, I became more confident in my writing. I realized that there are many types of books and different subjects that one can choose to write about. I found that I was enjoying writing about my life and the things that matter to me.
I believe this class has been extremely beneficial not only to my college career but also in my everyday life. Now that I have found learned analytical skills in writing, and as I write more often, I hope that I will increase this skill going into the future. I have found that effective writing is achieved through sustained engagement and revision, which leads to perfection. When I eventually perfect my analytical skill, I can use it to share my stories with others. I have a higher respect for writing, and I have chosen to continue to improve my writing capacity. Indeed, I am incredibly grateful for this class and Lynn for helping me grow as a writer.