Reflective Essay - Edwin Hyatt III PDF

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Wrote a reflective essay about my first semester in college. I wrote about my course load, how I felt about my English professor at the time, and what lessons I would take from my first semester in college and apply it in the future....

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Hyatt 1

Edwin Hyatt English 101 Dr. Laptad 12/5/15 Reflective Essay Final Draft As a current freshman at George Mason University, I enrolled in an English Composition course on the first day of college that turned out to be different than what was expected. Instead of reading books assigned by my professor and taking quizzes based on the chapters assigned in high school, I wrote more in one course than any other high school course before. Rather than staying quiet, encouraged Dr. Laptad me to actually speak my mind in class discussions and debates. The only similarities between English class in high school and in college were the weekly journal assignments. After writing reflective journal assignment in Professor Laptad’s class this semester, it brought out more strengths within my writing than weaknesses because I obtained a voice in my writing that expressed my true perspective and that is what made my writing more effective and concise. Throughout this course, the majority of my grade and time was invested in the various essays I had to construct. I learned from Essay 1 to limit the amount of times of using letter “I” when writing in first person. In the other essays, I had to utilize MLA formatting, statistics or other credible evidence for my claims, and provide my own analysis. In addition to the essays,

Hyatt 2 class discussions and debates were significant parts of this English course. The debates, in particular, were fun because we interpreted two issues in different ways and it was exhilarating to try and refute the other side’s perspective. It helped me to abandon my timidness and become more vocal and bold. The homework and classwork that I did for Professor Laptad’s English 101 course was very insightful. I took notes of whatever Professor Laptad wrote because it was essential to integrate information into my essays or weekly journals. For the weekly journals specifically, I found this extremely meaningful because it allowed me to analyze information and conjure up my viewpoints for certain quotes. Analyzing information is something that comes natural to me because my writing is supported by the level of passion I have toward a specific topic, which makes my writing style strong. When she assigned me to read chapters two and six through eight for the purpose of improving my argument essay, it allowed to recognize my errors or if there were no errors, it suggested more information that could make my essay more convincing. The lessons I learned from reading the green book will help me for the future. For example, one of the chapters suggested that I simply state my claims and make concise, plausible statements that back them up. A perfect example of this is a resume. When I am writing a resume, I am not going to say something that sounds completely false or irrelevant. Instead, I will state my credentials and then support them with believable statements or references. As for the weekly journals, they have propelled me to critically think. In the near future, I will not simply state the obvious but rather go into details about why I think what I wrote and so forth.

Hyatt 3 During the start of every Monday class, Professor Laptad wrote down two quotes that the class had to try and guess which historical or current figure made such statements. In one such scenario, I quickly looked up the quotes on Google but then quickly realized that the fun of guessing was taken away. It was a lame response for me to tell my professor that I looked up the answers beforehand. Instead, Professor Laptad had the class guess what individual said the quotes she wrote in order to stimulate critical thinking and analysis. Everything done in my instructor’s class had some form of purpose in writing critically. The time when Dr. Laptad wrote the quotes down was to me one of the most fun and interesting moments for this course this semester. One component that I truly appreciated in Dr. Laptad’s class was the social element. I learned more of my peers’ names in college than I did in high school. This class was more inclined toward talking and collaborating with others and resulting in sound inferences and discussions. I loved having discussions with the class and having the courage to the state my claims about various topics. Before, I was more of a reserved person. I read the assigned chapters, did the quizzes, wrote journals, and watch one or two movies based on the books I read in high school. After this course, I have broken the timid barrier and I am more confident in what I say today than I did before the first day of this course. As the semester comes to a close, I have learned valuable tools that will help me become a better writer and a more well-rounded person beyond college. When I hear people’s opinions about something, I will no longer shun out what they say. When I construct my resumes or write important papers, I will remember to implement the rules Dr. Laptad instilled in me throughout

Hyatt 4 the semester. All of these things in more are precious and for me to never utilize these methods for my future would be egregious. I want to gain as much knowledge as I possibly can. It is by abiding by what my professor has said throughout the course of this semester and applying it in my daily life. This was more than a course for me. It was Life 101....