Dear Mr. Laura Cline,
This has been a truly amazing class; in fact I feel that I have learned more in this course than I have in an of my previous college courses. I love the positive feedback and the constructive criticism I have received in this course. I feel that the positive feedback is one of the reasons I have been successful in this course. We have explored many different readings in this course that have had has the affect of making me think outside the box. Furthermore, my organization skills, as they apply to my writing, have changed in a positive way, which I feel will help me in both my career and my future college courses. Along with all of the positive aspects of this course, there has been many areas which have challenged me. As a whole this has been a great course.
The readings in this course have been very interesting, and have defiantly challenged me in many ways. For essay number two we were asked to write a essay on a poem. In general I have a difficult time reading some poetry. When reading and analyzing poetry, you must be able to interpret the deeper meaning behind the writer’s purpose. In some of the poetry presented in this course, the idea or meaning was deeply imbedded into the words of the poem, and I felt that it was difficult to read between the lines. However, after reading through them many
times, the purpose of the assignment at hand become more clear and I was able to write about what I saw as the poems meaning.
The two large reading assignments in this course, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and Dracula by Bram Stoker, were challenging in their own way. I feel that I have defiantly improved my ability to analyze and think critically about not only reading, but also in other aspects of my life. I will be able to use and improve my ability to think critically as a student in my future classes, in my future career as a physical therapist, and in my life long journey as a mother.
This course has taught me to be a more organized writer. I have learned to think about what I want to write about while I am in the process of readings instead of waiting until after I have finished reading to develop my ideas. In the past, I would read simply for the pleasure of reading. I was never worried about thinks like, why did the author write this, or what is the deeper meaning behind this novel. I believe that, after taking this course, I will take a second look at everything I read to see if I can see the meaning behind it.
I feel that I have improved my ability to do things such as, write a focus statement, use organizational strategies, apply sentence structure strategies, locate and document information on sources, and evaluate readings. A focus statement is very important in writing. I have developed the understand of where to use a focus statement, and, when going back to read the things I have written, I have a better understanding of how it helps to tie the whole paper together. I have also developed many different organizational strategies. After my last essay, I now understand that an effective paper will use good organization. The paragraphs should be placed in order of effectiveness. I should use my strongest paragraph at the end of the essay, before the conclusion, so that I will leave my reader with the most convincing information at the end. In writing it is very important to use proper sentence structure. A paper can loose its effective and convincing affect if the sentence structure is of poor quality. Although I understand the rules of proper sentence structure, I sometimes have a difficult time putting those rules into use in my own writings. This is an area that I will continue to work in. Another area that we have spent a lot of time on in this course is documenting sources. This is a tool that I feel I will use throughout my college career and into my future career. Sometimes finding all of the needed information in order to properly document a source can be difficult, especially while working with online sources. However, I feel that I have further developed my understanding of the importance that this task holds, and I will work to improve my understanding of this skill. Furthermore, I have learned to evaluate readings. In this course we were presented with a variety of text to read and evaluate; all of which presented a challenge. This course has helped to develop many strategies for effective writing, evaluating and documenting.
As a whole, this course has been a very positive learning experience for me. Using the techniques I have learned will continue to prove beneficial in my future career as a student, mother, and as a professional. I have learned to evaluate and think critically when reading, and I have developed a stronger knowledge of organizational skills. The positive feedback and the constructive criticism have been the most helpful aspects of this course. I am truly grateful for the opportunity to experience this course, and I would recommend it to anyone!
Thank you sincerely and respectfully,
Rebekah Prieto
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http://library.ucsc.edu/help/howto/write-a-literature-review
