What I Have Learned
Jenny Miller
12-10-07
Reflection Essay
What I Have Learned
Did you ever think that one could learn so much about themself in such a short period of time? Over the course of about four months, I have written many pieces, short and long, that have left me with a new outlook on writing. While taking this online composition class, I have encountered difficulties, learned new techniques, and had to choose important topics to base my essays on.
This class has expanded my writing and compositions skills tremendously. Before I took this class, I didn’t really have a concrete idea on how to write good essays. I kind of just threw together an outline and made sentences out of it. My writing was very robot-like with no real personal connections. Contrasting my before and after essays, I would have to say that I have learned how to “paint a picture” with my words more effectively. I believe this skill is very important because the reader is then able to relate to and connect with the author. A difficulty I encountered was just simply getting the homework done before the deadline. Sometimes my life got so busy that those Monday nights came up incredibly fast, and I ended up doing all of my work in about two hours. There were nights where I even submitted things a few minutes after midnight! By the end of the class, I learned how to balance the given assignments better. For example, I would get the easy stuff done ahead of time and save the writing for Monday. Another obstacle I overcame was choosing the right topic to base my essay on. I determined that writing about something I am familiar with and connecting it to the main topic is the best way to go. No matter what the topic is, there is always some sort of experience I’ve had that connects me to it.
With the work this course has offered me, I have acquired many new skills. Along the way, there were difficulties and obstacles, but in the end, I learned how to be a better writer. I believe that I made an awesome decision in taking an online composition course, because I have taken so much away from it and I hope to use it in my future.