Reflection in Writing

All my life, I’ve never been a good writer or even enjoyed writing. Today, I still do not like to write, but it’s not because I’m bad at it, it’s just because I find it boring. I’ve always mostly gotten average grade in English. I hoped that maybe this semester that would change, and it did just a little with the help of the workshops. I can not stay that I have strength in writing because I’m not very good at it. But I do have weaknesses. One of the hardest things I find in writing is the introduction of a paper. I have a problem starting my paper. It always takes me a day or two to write the first line and the thesis. It was a little easier this semester because I had the chance to talk to my peers about my paper during workshops. I was not born in the United States, so I’m not used to this writing system or any English writing system. I grew up write short essays, two to three pages paper in French. So, I had to adapt with the five to seven pages paper and the five paragraphs writing style. Another hard thing I find in writing or English classes that most students seem to disagree with me is writing research papers. Somehow, I just never thought it was right to use someone else’s word and cite it or quote it and make it perfect. I made average grades on my first three papers, I was concerned. My friend referred me to the English lab. I went to get help for my last paper, and they were very productive.

As a writer, I’m more of a story telling, personal experience writer, basically, just writing my own words, just like I was taught growing up. The most important thing I learned in class is the different types of writing styles, and basically how to start a paper or to think of a topic. The way you handed each student topics to choose from really helped and improved my writing skills. When writing, I notice that I make a lot of punctuation errors. I think the reason is because I don’t revise my paper throughout. But overall, I’ve improved this semester on my writing skills. I know I definitely improved on my research papers, and I loved writing about read and responses. One thing I will always struggle on, and that you have mentioned since the beginning of the year is detailed enough, explained everything I say, and avoiding clichés.