Reflective Essay Outline

By Sarah Moore

First Paragraph: What goals I set in the beginning, what I accomplished, best part of my paper/elements I’m most proud of, parts instructor will like:

Over the course of five months, I learned how to set necessary goals for writing a successful paper, such as making my support bits clearer and more distinguishable, formatting my works cited page correctly, and overall constructing a paper that was informative but still enjoyable to read. However, probably the biggest goal I accomplished was learning to write in a way that incorporated my individual style, and wasn’t completely restrictive or technical.

At the beginning of the year, one of my goals was to improve my ability in getting my point across, as well as make my arguments more concise and clear. For English as a whole, I wanted to master the technical and analytical side of writing because it was something I have always struggled with. With the help of feedback from both my professor and peers on multiple writing assignments, it gradually became easier to locate my arguments, expand on my opinions, and be direct with my conclusions. I have not fully tackled the ability to write technically, but I have discovered ways in which to combine technicality and creativity to ultimately produce work I am proud of.

Second Paragraph: Research process,: enjoy, disliked, did I find what I needed, adjustments, computer/web skills:

The most challenging paper we had to write in English 121 was the research paper, partly because of the requirements (5-7 pages, 5 sources minimum), but for me individually, picking the topic independently. Granted, one of the biggest tasks with the research paper was finding credible sources, especially on the scholarly sites that our professor recommended. The website EBSCO, had hardly articles on the topics I searched, and though I had better luck finding articles on google, the whole process was very time consuming.

Third Paragraph: Useful tips/hints about the research process, advice for other students, make research simpler, conclusion: found the class helpful:

However, after some exploring, I was able to get to my best sources from checking the reference page on articles I found on google; they often directed me to scholarly articles that hadn’t previously been listed on EBSCO. Lastly came choosing the topic, and staying content with it. I was very fortunate that personality traits, specifically introverts, extroverts, and ambiverts, had already been researched and written about, so I was able to find a variety of helpful facts and information. It wasn’t the easiest paper to write, with making sure that the credible sources coincided with my points nicely, and citing each one correctly, but I wound up very pleased with the result for my very first research paper in college.

Reflection

Nora Hixson

English 121

Professor Jenn Zukowski

Reflection

At the beginning of the semester, my goals included being able to narrow down my topic, as well as being able to get my point across clearly and effectively. I also hoped to become better with citations and finding reliable sources, and how to use them to my advantage. Another goal for me was to work on my time management and how to not get super overwhelmed. I believe I have improved on being able to narrow down my topic, but I think I still need to work on the clarity of my writing. I still don’t have a very clear writing style and sometimes it’s hard to follow. I also need to continue to work on my time management because I found it was easy for me to fall behind in the process of writing each essay.

While researching my topic, I learned that the number of children with body image issues between the ages of eight and ten was much bigger than I had originally thought. I also learned about the EBSCO database, and what a useful resource it can be when looking for reliable sources. From random articles and websites that I had found through Google Search, I discovered that it’s very hard to find unbiased writing about body image and the media.

I think the best part of my paper is the topic that I chose, because it is something that I am passionate about. Unfortunately, I don’t think my writing did justice to the topic and how much more in depth I could’ve gone, which I am disappointed about. I don’t think I spent enough time working on it and I didn’t ask for revisions from other people who could’ve helped me.

I think my instructor will hopefully like the number of sources I used to support my writing and how I used them. I unfortunately don’t think my writing was clear or concise enough for it to be easily read and understood.

I feel like I have definitely gotten better at researching on the web and being able to find reliable sources online. This made the research process easy because I knew what I was doing, but also difficult because it would become super easy for me to get distracted while I was researching online. I also don’t think I spent enough time researching in general and I don’t think I spent enough time thoroughly reading my sources. I think when I revise my essay before turning it in for the portfolio that I will be sure to match up my in-text citations with my works cited, as well as double checking that I am properly quoting the information that I read.

In the research process I discovered that EBSCO was easier to use to find reliable sources as 
opposed to just searching in Google. I also discovered that the more specific I was in the wording I used to search, the easier it was for me to find results that applied to my topic.  

Reflective Essay

Sarah Daly

English 121

                When I first enrolled in English 121 I felt very confident about my abilities in writing and composing essays. But when I started the class I felt very differently. My number one goal for this class was to complete the class, and I am almost there. My number two goal was to better understand and be able to use in-text citations. This was one of the most intimidating things to learn and implement into my writing. I feel like I now have a firm understanding of citations and great resources to reference if I need help.

                When I was researching my topic of the Sasquatch, I learned about other cultures’ sightings and stories of the Sasquatch. There was a surprisingly great website that talked about all the Sasquatches around the world, and the legends and stories surrounding them. I learned that there have been sightings of these creatures for hundreds of years. There is an organization called the Bigfoot Researchers Organization. They go all over the country to investigate Sasquatch sightings and evaluate physical evidence that others have collected.

                I think the best part of my paper is my thesis. It was fun to write this paper about something that is lightheartedly controversial. It was interesting to research and find so many studies and articles about this topic. I am proud of all of the effort that I put into this paper, and especially the editing and refining of it. I think that my instructor will enjoy my thesis as well as see some of the improvements in my writing.

I have learned a lot about scholarly sources and databases.  I learned how to access them and how to find the most effective sources for one’s topic.  I also learned how to create a blog, create blog posts and read other blog posts. I feel much more comfortable using this resource than before I took this class.

                I have mixed feelings on the research process. I enjoyed learning new facts and searching through helpful information. I dislike the time that it takes to go through all of the unhelpful information. The research process took me a lot of time. I struggled to find sources that contained the information that I was looking for. I feel like if I had been researching a topic with more hard evidence, the process would have been easier and could have been done it more efficiently. If I were to give advice to a new English 121 student I would tell them that if they want to spend less time searching through scholarly journals and more time writing, they should pick a topic that has been well researched and frequently written about.  This would make the researching process simpler. 

Rubric Evaluation of Research Paper

By Sarah Moore

Re-reading my introduction, I'm not at all satisfied with the wording or general idea it's giving. I would say, based on the rubric in our syllabus, that my intro would either be a Weak (D) or Competent (C). My ideas are hard to follow based on how they're presented, and my argument is not very apparent. I really dislike my sentences, they seem really jumbled. The reason why I'm targeting my introduction is because it's one of the most important paragraphs, and since it's the very first thing my reader will see, it should be good and coherent. I think I can improve it by listing my subjects in order, using more examples, and making sure my writing flows well.

I feel like one thing that I have done well with, especially in my revision over the weekend, was adding more credible sources. There aren't necessary four in each paragraph, but there are definitely six to eight throughout, which could make my paper Strong (B). Improvements could be, however, to include more, and better connect them to my ideas.

My formatting has consistent flaws, so most likely that area is Competent (C). I have a strange habit of making all of my citations in the Works Cited page APA format, rather than the correct MLA format. There are also a few errors after I add credit to a quote I just paraphrased or quoted that I need to work on. I can hopefully bump my formatting up to a Strong (B) or Superior (A) by really studying helpful citation websites like purdue owl, or asking the help of a classmate.

Research essay Revision

By Sarah Daly


   One of the criteria that I have a superior handle on is my thesis it is very clear and to the point. One

of the criteria that is competent is my documentation style. I have all the in work citations but there

are many errors with the grammar and placement of the citations. I believe i will easily be able to fix

these before i turn in my final draft. On of the areas that my paper is weak on is the grammar and

formatting. I have several grammar and wording issues.  

Essay Rubric Evaluation

By Nora Hixson

-My thesis I think would be Strong, but not Superior. I think this would be because The people who reviewed my rough drafts were able to find two Freaking Points instead of just having one clear one.

 -I think my Clarity/Coherence would also be a Strong because I do have a few run-on sentences and sometimes my paragraphs don't really flow together.

-For Use of Sources I think I would be either a Strong or a Competent because I have not used nearly enough of them in my rough drafts and sometimes I will use them incorrectly in my writing.

Reviewing Essays In-Class:

By Sarah Moore

Three things I improved:

• I took into account the feedback my partner Nora wrote, which was rewording the awkward sentences, taking out ideas that didn't match my thesis, and adding support ideas.
• I rewrote my introduction, added more to my first body paragraph, and wrote the second body paragraph, as well as added (some scrambled) points to follow in each of my paragraphs for when I next edit it.
• I found and cited several more sources and incorporated them especially in my second body paragraph. 

Three things my partner improved on: Nora Hixson

• She added a bunch more detail to all of her paragraphs--I definitely saw an increase in size.
• At the end of each paragraph, I could tell what her points were much clearer than I could've before; I can tell she spent time on evaluating what she really wanted each paragraph to say.
• Particularly in the second body paragraph, she uses a positive amount of ethos.