eng reflections

During the spring semester of 2014 I have learned many things in English 101. This class has widened my view on what an argument really is. It has shown me to pursue my thoughts and beliefs on paper even if the majority of my peers may disagree with me. I have also learned the basics of writing a research paper such as citations, credible websites and sources and much more.

Prior to this class I’ve never written a real research paper. In high school I’ve wrote long essays about one of two specific books that were given out but never a truly independent search where I had I choice on what sources to pick. Also, I was never required to use citations in my paragraphs or cite the references and the end of my paper. In this class I was taught (the hard way 100/200) that each sentence that was not my own prior to writing the paper must have its source cited. This will be a lot of help in the future when I have to take other English or writing courses. Also it will keep me from getting sued.

While reading Eric Schlosser’s book, Fast Food Nation, I learned that there will be times where you as an author will have to argue points which are not pleasing to most audience.  In his book Schlosser was discussing the impact that fast food companies were having on our society such as unhealthy foods, mistreatment of employees, and corporate takeovers of small businesses. In my opinion this is a tough topic to write own due to the fact that many people around the world enjoy fast food. It is hard to argue against something that people have close to their hearts. However after reading his book he showed me that by having credible evidence, a good voice, and issues that a reader can relate to you can argue just about any point. This came to be useful to me while writing my research paper on how people should avoid an all juice diet. It is hard for a lot of people to hear that the diet that they are on is not working. They are looking for a miracle solution in any form. However, I used different points such as treats of cancer to get my reader’s attention.

The most important thing that I learned to do is work with classmates. I usually like to work alone. The main disadvantage to this is that you do not get another person’s point of view on what you are writing about. While rewriting blog #5 (essay 2) my classmates and I took turns reading each other’s work several times looking for any little mistakes. This took many tries to get it down perfect. For some reason it is nearly impossible to catch your own mistakes on paper. Another advantage to having classmates is to have someone to who you can pass an idea by verbally. When I have something on my mind that I want to write but can’t figure out how to write it, I usually talk about it verbally first to the person next to me. This helps get my ideas in order first before writing it down on paper.

Overall I owe everything that I have in this world to C.J (just kidding).  But seriously, I am a much better writing now than when I started months ago. I can argue on paper, write research paper, and I finally read my first book from cover to end. (Seriously)