They are looking all of this for in the reflective essay:
clear organization
well-developed, focused paragraphs
specific examples, details
well-constructed sentences
correct grammar and punctuation
here is my essay:
Reflection on Writing
When I use to think about writing, my heart would start to race because I wasn't confident in my ability to write. The idea of writing my thoughts down has never been fun, fast, or easy. I spend about 10-20 minutes looking at my paper before I can even begin to articulate. I chose my second essay because it still needed some work. When my teacher delivered my paper, I was praying it was going to be good news, I merely felt discouraged when I saw all the marking on my paper. Brain storming and finding a good thesis are other areas I need to work on. The biggest thing for me I think; is coming up with sentences that allow reader to understand my point of view. I thought that I should be able to draft an essay/paper in one sitting and be finished. I believe this is due to my challenge with spelling and grammar; not knowing a word would sink my confidence like the titanic. It's a difficult struggle to face personal growth when you feel rejection.
Being in EWRT 211, I have learned how to brainstorm for the thesis. We have covered a lot short essays about different authors with some of the same writing and learning disabilities that I and many others experience today. The reading on the short essays was very interesting to me. I wanted to know how the authors worked through their learning disabilities to become great writers. The essays were not just any old thing thrown together, they were inspiring life stories that analyzed some of the issues they face growing up and learning to write, some of the authors taught themselves how to read and write.
EWRT 211 has helped me build my confidence to be able to write about myself or expressed myself with words; which have been extremely exciting for me. I have found joy in writing. With my first essay, I waited to the last night before my assignment was due to start it. When I went to class the next day and we met in groups for our lit circle, we had to read the first few paragraphs. I noticed that if I had proof read it, I would have found some of the errors I made. I did the same thing with essay two. After the second essay was revised I realized that I was not spending enough time on my essay; and that's why the reader can't fully understand me. I knew if I read over the essay I would need to fix it and that's what I always dreaded, I felt like it might take too long. So the Lit circle groups became my best friend because we would have one or two of our classmates help us look over our essays. We would reflect on what needed to be fixed and learn about what was missing or needed to be changed it was great to help each other improve. The mini essay we would read for homework was a lot of help to me because we could write about our experience, comparing them to the authors that we read about.
I still need improvement on making my vocabulary stronger when choosing words to express myself in my writing. The struggle that I face with spelling has hindered my writing style all my life; I am now receiving help from the Educational Diagnostic Center here at De Anza College. The frustration that I felt with spelling will no longer be a problem because I will be using a spelling and thesaurus device, which will really help me along the way. I will be attending the speed 240 class in the summer. In that class I will be learn how to use different methods to help me with my learning disability, so that I can excel in English 1A during the fall semester. I do understand that if I read more it will help me to expand my vocabulary as well.
This summer, I will be reading the rest of the short stories in 50Essay's to help expand my vocabulary more. I am after a new passion for writing and I told myself after that second essay, "I am going to overcome my fear and learn how to write." Going into English 1A, I am excited to learn more about writing so that I can express myself at a higher level. I have a lot of work ahead of me before I am a great writer. However, the time that I have spent in EWRT 211 has opened my mind. Knowing English 1 A is not going to be easy or a walk in the park but I am prepared to write about this new journey in my life.What I'm going to show you below might indicate otherwise, but this is still a fairly strong paper. We just need to fix this problem:
This summer, I will be reading the rest of the short stories in 50Essay's to help expand my vocabulary more. I am after a new passion for WRITING and I told myself after that second essay, "I am going to overcome my fear and learn how to WRITE." Going into English 1A, I am excited to learn more about WRITING so that I can express myself at a higher level. I have a lot of work ahead of me before I am a great WRITER. However, the time that I have spent in EWRT 211 has opened my mind. Knowing English 1 A is not going to be easy or a walk in the park but I am prepared to WRITE about this new journey in my life.
This is an issue throughout the essay.
Good writing.... your essay challenges your claim of having no confidence in writing...Lol :D
I too notice the often repetitiveness of the word "write" that distubs the quality of your paper, Here are a few suggestions;
When I use to think about writing, my heart would start to race because I wasn't confident in my ability to write.
Every time I think about writing , my heart began to spin due to lack of confidence in my own skills.I have a lot of work ahead of me before I am a great writer.
I still have a lot of work to do to take myself to the level of a great writer.