Metacognitive Essay Essay, Research Paper

Going into British Literature and Composition, I had no idea what to expect. I

thought all I would be doing was writing essays, indeed there was allot of essay writing,

but there were many other key skills that I learned. Which included critical reading,

collaboration with my peers to achieve a common goal, and understanding the

connection between British history and literature.

One very important skill that I learned during the class was critical reading,

thinking, and writing. Before I started British literature and composition I had limited

critical reading, thinking, and writing skills. It was very hard for me to read a piece of

literature and then write a critical essay on it. For example, when I wrote the essay on

?Dulce et Decorum est?, I had an extremely hard time relating every thing to my thesis

and making comments to support the relationship of the evidence to the thesis. After

reading and analyzing more poems my critical reading and writing skills improved and I

decided to rewrite ?Dulce et Decorum est?. All of my comments were insightful and

showed an understanding of the relationship between the evidence and the thesis. From

that point on I could put it all together without problems. For instance, the essay on the

?Song? by Sir John Suckling and the in-class essay comparing Christopher Marlowe?s,

?The Passionate Shepherd to His Love? and Sir Walter Raleigh?s, ?The Nymph?s Reply

to The Shepherd? were the first really good essay?s that I wrote, I was able to critically

read the poems, critically think about what I read, and then write it all out on paper.

Another key skill that I improved during British literature and composition was

collaborating with a group of peers to achieve a common goal. I considered myself an

active participant in all of the group projects that I was a part of. For example, during the

ballad presentations my group was extremely upset that we didn?t get our top choice, had

to do ?The Bonny Earl of Murray?. Everyone was complaining and we weren?t getting

anything done, so I kind of became the leader, divided up the research, thought of a song

to sing our ballad to, and encouraged all group members to participate in the singing of

our ballad. Everyone in the group cooperated and in the end the presentation turned out

well. But I also have taken the passive role in group projects as well. For instance,

during the Restoration skits another member of my group seemed to have taken the role

as leader so I just put my ideas on the table and went with the flow. The group activities

in British literature and composition helped me to listen to what others have to say.

Everyone?s ideas are important, no matter what.

In addition to group work I learned the connection between British history and

British literature. All English literature is based off of what was going on at that time,

the history is in the literature. For example, in the Anglo-Saxon times the Celts provided

English literature with the legendary hero, King Authur, who even to this day is read

about in history books. In the Medieval times there were books written like the

Doomsday Book which was a list of land owners. During the Renaissance, Martin Luther

posted the 95 thesis on the door of a Catholic church, which triggered the Protestant

Reformation. Then in the Restoration writers like Christopher Wren and Samuel Pepys

wrote about events like the Plague of 1665 and the Great Fire of 1666. Later in the

Eighteenth century philosophers like Isaac Newton played a big part in the ?Age of

Reason?. All of the important events in English history are remembered today because

they were written down in stories and poems past from generation to generation.

All in all British literature and composition was a very beneficial class. Since I

plan on going to college the critical reading, thinking, and writing skills will be of much

use in writing papers. Learning to work in a group to accomplish a common goal is also

a great skill to have, because in the real world people have to problem solve together all

the time. As for the British history and literature, I think the literature opened my mind

up to different kinds of writing and the history gave me an appreciation for the English

culture.