Reflection
During this semester and while working on my project, I have noticed that I significantly improved my clarity and confidence while writing. At the beginning of the course I had some problems organizing my ideas in a way that would make sense for the audience and also to not fall in the same topic over and over again. My paragraphs at times were lacking focus and I would be so excited to write about my topic that I would jump between ideas without forming strong connections or detailing what I was trying to say. With time, I learned during the Journal and Writing assignments some strategies to make my structure of the writing better and to make my arguments more clear, with good explanations. One example is that I focused more on making strong topic sentences and used supporting details to help me clarify my main argument. Paying more attention to the organization helped me to communicate my ideas better in a clearer way, at parts I can say that it made my essay feel more coherent and persuasive.
Moreover, during this semester I learned a lot about the importance and value of revision. I used to look at the revision as a way to only correct mistakes like grammar and punctuation error but as I was working on my essay I realized that it is an essential part for the writing process and the more feedback you can collect the better for me to improve my work. Some feedback from the professor and classmates helped me to analyze some areas that I was overlooking and it challenged me to view my work in a different perspective. These feedback from classmates encouraged me to focus more on my topic and restructure some of my paragraphs to make it have more sense. This process also helped me understand that a good writing is hardly achieved in the first draft and that we need to keep revising and learning from others to make a better essay. Revision for sure became an opportunity for me to experiment and reflect on my ideas, which also strengthened some of my writing skills overall.
Another are that I felt that I really improved was the research and use of credible sources. At first I felt a little overwhelmed navigating through the library website to choose my sources and determine which ones I would like to add to my work. But, after getting more familiar with how to properly look for sources and the use of key words I became more confident with it. Over time, I believe these strategies helped me be more efficient and purposeful while conducting my research, I was able to find high quality sources easily than before and that also supported my arguments in an effective way. This practice also helped me boost my confidence in describing evidence and it helped to understand the importance of using credible sources that will really add value to my work.
Besides these areas of improvement I still know and recognize that there are some areas that I want to grow. I feel that sentence structure and vocabulary are two of these aspects that I would like to focus on future writing assignments. Because English is not my first language, sometimes I struggle to find precise words to express complex ideas. This is something that can make my writing feel more casual or repetitive at times, so I often rely on synonyms whenever I feel that my vocabulary is limited. I think that expanding my word choice and trying to experiment with sentence variety will possibly help me express my ideas more clearly and also can make my writing more engaging for the audience. I still want to continue developing this skill and create compelling arguments that will connect with my readers.
I think that overall this course has been a good step into my development as a writer, I have improved and gained skills in organization, research, revision and also reflection, which I will benefit in the future in other courses and in life. At the same time, I can recognize that writing is something that you will always be working on and improving no matter how much you practice it. I feel motivated to continue improving my vocabulary, develop sentence structure skills and overall clarity on future essays.