Personal Narrative: Coming To College Composition

What a Feeling to be in First-Year Composition: A Writing Analysis on the Important Qualities First-Year Composition Instills in Sacramento State Students for Future Success in Academic Writing

This past year in English has been rewarding and self-fulfilling. I entered the year as a new and improved Poppers in writing essays. A glance at my first paper- an essay on Ender's Game- and my last one in 9th grade, the This I Believe essay, is a great example of the incredible differences in my writing which quickly improved as a freshman. However, entering sophomore year I was struck with the false belief that I was done learning about how to write and that from then on would just be about gaining more experience. How wrong I was.

Transitioning from high school to college can be overwhelming. Before English 1301, I did not worry about preparing for college. I quickly realized that my little background in writing essays was not enough for college courses. Writing is not just a skill that I will need for English classes. In college, I will have to use effective writing skills in all my classes to complete research papers, essay tests and communicate with professors. Throughout my education, writing strategies persisted to be a challenge for me. I dreaded writing because I could never find ways to transition my thoughts from my mind to the paper. Ironically, a class that petrified me due to the amount of required writing ended up helping me in numerous ways. English 1301 and my professor prepared me for college and real life by giving me a foundation of effective learning strategies.

Over the course of the semester, my main goal was to become a more precise writer and develop my identity as a writer. According too, the Portfolio Letter assignment sheet, becoming a better writer consists of precise planning, draft and revising. It also includes understanding a variety of academic genres by examining the basic characteristics that defines each type. In order too efficiently meet my goal of becoming a better writer, it was very important to have my work evaluated by others and myself as well. The use of rhetorical knowledge, critical thinking, reading and writing all are the important aspects in this course. All of which helped tremendously with becoming a more precise writer and developing my identity as a writer.

As a child, I had no father to guide me on the path to maturity. Even in the idyllic scene of a father and son playing catch, as I tossed the football onto the roof of my house by myself, the roof replaced the person that I was supposed to learn the essence of manhood from. Although my early and painful realization of his absence was distressing, I learned how to rise above my disappointment and become my own motivation. Throughout my life, I have been knocked down, but I was never defeated–that is what defines me as a fighter. Relentless in achieving my goals, I will myself to succeed despite all that deters me.

At the CIA, “Food Is Life” means that food is a major ingredient in your life. To others food might mean good taste, but to me food means so much more. Food is what I see, obviously eat, but most importantly, it’s what I think about all day. Food means everything to me and that is why I wish to enroll into the CIA because I know that I will find my success there.

Before entering this class I thought I was a well written writer, although as I continued to come to class and work on assignments I then had realized I could use alittle improving. Writing seems to come very naturally for me because I write all the time. I tend to write poetry to express what i 'm feeling at times, it is how I ventilate what it is that I am feeling. So when thinking about topics it is not very difficult for me due to the fact that most of the time I know exactly what it is I would like to write about. Taking this class has showed me how to be a more effective writer and a more effective researcher. When writing my paper I have learned to improve by reading what I have created out loud and making sure it make since, I also have peer reviews and personal review to go back and make sure that my grammar and punctuation is where it should be.

Many students of all ages have issues with writing, the only way to get better at writing is to have experience. I never paid much attention to my writing skills while in high school, I simply did not care about writing. This year as a freshman in college, I have struggled with writing this semester in GSW 1100. Even though I have not been passing papers, I understand that writing in college is extremely important to learn and develop. This is important because most courses in college have writing in them. As the semester has progressed, I have slowly started to understand where I am with writing and where I need to improve. Revising my essays is a great way to learn from my mistakes. Although my writing is not great yet I am slowly improving

Attending community college has opened many doors and presented many opportunities for me. With the help of my professors and the education I gained from my classes, I was hired at a company that will help me continue to grow. I was hired at a Fastenal branch in Three Rivers, Michigan because of my academic and intellectual skills I learned at Glen Oaks Community College.

Walking into a new and unfamiliar place, I was more nervous than I have ever been before. Growing up as a shy girl, I never went out of my way to meet new people or try different things. As a result of only staying in my comfort zone, major changes in my life would cause me to panic. On the list of the hardest things that I have ever had to do, somewhere along the top would be walking to my first college class alone. College was something I was not accustomed to, but was going to quickly become part of my daily routine. Aware of the many horrible stories past college students would tell about their college work and professors had me on edge. I wondered if I was capable of obtaining the grades I desired and enduring the stress that would occur.

Since I started my classes at the Montgomery College, I Have been improved my writing skills even though I would able to continue to learn the writing process well. Before I came to school, I couldn’t even write any thing. I started from American English Writing 1, but it was so hard for me to write well for many reasons. For example, I had trouble with grammar, to write organize, and to make my paragraph attractive. After a long grueling process, I have improved my writing Process. To improve my writing, I have gone to the Writing Center to get a tutor, and I was seeing my professors where ever I needed. I think I am not feel very good about because I need more practice to

In the past few weeks, I have seen myself grow step by step to become a good writer. I have had to work on essays which took time and effort and a few corrections from my peers and my professor. I have become accustomed to new writing skills and techniques which I believe will be of great use in years to come. I intend to incorporate corrections provided in class and even in peer group discussions into my writing. I believe learning is a process which demands discipline and proper guidance. I am thankful that I have managed to acquire all the aforementioned elements in my journey to become a proficient writer. I have grown from an amateur that was completely out of touch with the facets of proper writing.

I took a journalism class for two years in high school and my teacher was a journalist herself, so at times I feel as if I have a good handle on writing. However, sometimes I do not know what to write or how to write it and I am always nervous that my writing will come off as amateurish. When I get that feeling, I become insecure about everything I put on paper. I hope to one day get over that fear or insecurity and be able to just write what comes to

Writing essays and other types of posts has always been difficult for me. But, throughout this composition class, I have learned many interesting and new things about the different types of writing styles. When starting this class, I considered myself to be an average writer with run-of-the-mill vocabulary, ordinary sentence structure and typical finished products. This class has helped me greatly improve my writing skills in a variety of ways. I have learned multiple things by taking this class, such as new ways to approach writing and that there is much that I still need to learn about composition.

In previous courses, my writing skills have been mediocre or just enough to pass the class. Throughout the duration of this course, I have written a variety of papers using different techniques and skills. Previously I would write assuming that the only audience would be my instructor. This course has helped me realize that there are many steps and skills involved with writing a well-organized and easy to comprehend essay. My expectations coming into the course were high and remained high throughout the duration of the course. The essays I wrote in the class really challenged me to progress in my writing skills.