Mackensie Rohloff

English Comp

Reflection Essay

November 6, 2007

            When registering for this class, I thought to myself, “Another boring English class, I hope I at least get a passing grade.”  My reasoning for this is because I stress out over having to write essays.  I don’t have enough confidence in my ability to write them.  This class went above and beyond my expectations.  Out of the six classes I am taking this semester, this is my favorite. 

            This class has been very interesting from the start.  The topics suit me well and were easy for me to write about.  I was amazed at the way I felt when writing.  Everything seemed so natural and calming for me.  Writing gave me the quiet time I needed to think and reflect on my life.

            I most enjoyed the partner project because it gave me the opportunity to meet someone I otherwise would have never met.  I learned a lot about her and also about myself through this project.  I felt this assignment to be very therapeutic.  I knew my partner wouldn’t judge me and I felt I could tell her anything. 

            I least enjoyed giving peer reviews.  I felt as though I may have been too harsh on some people.  I didn’t mean any disrespect towards anyone.  However, I wanted the truth on my essays; therefore I felt I needed to be honest when giving my opinions as well.  Constructive criticism is hard to take sometimes, but I think I learned a lot from peer reviews both on the receiving and giving ends. 

            The biggest learning tool for me was to support my thesis and paragraphs.  By focusing on primary and secondary support, I think I wrote better essays.  I don’t remember how I wrote in the past, but I think my future essays will include a lot of support. 

            I expected to struggle in this class, but instead I had a blast and learned a lot.  I learned that I enjoy writing and it is a stress reliever instead of a stress causer.   This class was a lot of fun for me and I am extremely excited to take English Composition II next semester. 

Classification:  My desire to travel is rapidly growing.

Cause/Effect:  Because my children are so young, I haven’t been able to travel as often as I would like.

Argument:  It is important for everyone to travel at some point in their life.

“The one thing college actually offers–a chance to learn–is considered irrelevant, even less than worthless, because of the long hours and hard work required.” 

This caught my attention because too many people expect things that they do not deserve.  I know too many people who feel that the world owes them.  I got the same message while reading this essay.  The author points out how some students feel they deserve a better grade for whatever reason, even though they didn’t put forth the hard work to honestly earn a good grade.

“After 10 years I should have known better, but I went to my office the day after final grades were posted.” 

I think this is the thesis because the essay continues to talk about what happens after grades are posted.  The students,with their different issues regarding their final grades, contact him to beg for another chance, more options, etc. 

The second paragraph is a great supporter of the thesis:

“After the student gave his tale of woe and left, the phone rang.”

The students begin contacting him soon after the grades are posted in hopes of a grade change.  This clearly is supportive of the thesis.

I enjoyed this essay and it gave me a heads up on how I should look at achieving my college grades.  I also know not to complain to a professor after final grades are posted, rather think about how and why I earned the grade I received.