Changes In Writing Essay, Research Paper

Changes in Writing

My last day of high school was January 21, which was my first day at UWM. I graduated early from high school and decided to jump right into college. I was not too worried because I figured that I would catch on. I came into English 102 and found out what an analysis paper was. I had never written one before. This type of paper was very different than the ones I had written in high school. I had done research before, but I had never had such explicit directions. I was confused about how to organize so many ideas into a single paper and make it sound right.

I had some very basic weaknesses. My sentences were choppy, and they seemed as if they should have been combined. This was a big problem for me because it made my writing sound childish. My paragraphs did not even flow in my papers. They were short and only touched on the ideas that they were trying to convey. The transitions were weak, too. My papers were basically good, but they looked as if they still needed some refinement to make them easy to read.

My examples did not seem to work with my papers either. They seemed to be placed in the paper in random locations. They did not support my views or opinions. The examples which I used in my papers were usually good, but they did not directly reflect the point they were trying to make.

The creative aspects of my papers were the strongest parts of my essays. My hooks always gave the reader a good reason to keep reading. They would grab the reader’s attention, and make them wonder what was going to be brought up in the essay. Although the examples stuck out, they were always relevant to the rest of the essay. Their placement was usually off, but they made a good point. The strongest skill I had in this class was the way that I always showed both sides of an issue. I consider this is a very important skill in writing because it gives the writer credibility. If both sides are presented, the reader will tend to trust the writer more.

Looking back on English 102, I see that I could have saved myself from the simple mistakes that I have made. My writing improved toward the end of the class because I was more careful when looking over my papers. The coherence of my papers also was strengthened throughout this class. The reason for this is that I learned how important revising is, and I have seen the results on my essays.

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