Reflective Essay On Becoming An Effective Writer

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Before I started GSW 1110, I was anxious and was not confident in my writing. I struggled with contractions and repetitiveness, causing me to doubt my ability to succeed in this course. But despite my worries, I was able to succeed throughout the semester, due to all of the skills I have learned and refined. Being an effective researcher and critical thinker are a few of the many skills this class has taught me. More technical skills like editing and mechanics were also demonstrated for me. This new knowledge has made me more confident in my writing and more hopeful for the future. Throughout GSW 1110 I have grown immensely as a writer and have acquired new skills, allowing me to move onto future college classes and career opportunities. Research is a critical part of being a successful writer, and this course has vastly improved my research skills. Before I came into GSW 1110, I would research by plugging questions into google and picking whatever article seemed best. GSW 1110 taught me how to improve my past research methods by using databases to find credible sources with loads of information. When writing my first paper, “Arguing a Position”, I had to find credible sources to support my position. I learned how to use Summon and Google Scholar, both of which gave me credible sources to help support my position. Another integral part of research is creating citations that allow the reader to go back to the sources mentioned in the paper. In my previous classes, I struggled with making MLA citations in the proper format, but I quickly learned how to during the semester. When citing my sources for my first paper, I manually put the necessary information into an online citation generator and then I would make sure that the citation met MLA format. I remembered to repeat this protocol for all of my other papers, ensuring that my citations were up to MLA standards. From the initial stages of research to finishing citations, this course has taught me how to improve my research skills from start to finish. I will be researching and using research for the rest of my life, and I am going to take the knowledge from this class with me to heighten my research. Counterarguments often pose as a large challenge for writers, but with GSW 1110 I was able to write counterarguments in a clear and logical way. Earlier in my writing career, it was difficult for me to refute opposing views without attacking the other person’s opinion. During my time spent in GSW 1110, I learned how to effectively refute opposing viewpoints while still being honest and fair to that person’s viewpoint. A great example of how I learned to write counterarguments in a logical way can be found in my second essay, “Proposing A Solution”, where I had to prove why my solution was better for the cause. I did this by explaining how my solution was better in the long run for all of those involved than the opposing solution was. Both of …show more content…
In previous courses I always struggled with managing my time during the writing process. I would start rough drafting, hit a wall, and then ignore my writing until later. Overthinking was also a common issue for me, causing me to panic, which clouded my ability to view my writing clearly. Rough drafting is a huge step in the writing process and I struggled with it in the beginning of this course. For the earliest paper of the semester, I was unable to provide a complete draft for the rough draft day, but with the skills and tricks I learned in this class I was able to provide more complete drafts for future rough draft days. Having more complete drafts allowed for more peer and instructor reviews and more time for editing, all ultimately leading to a polished final draft. Grammarly and Paper Rater were great tools that eased my editing process by pointing out the weakest areas of my writing. All of these various resources allowed me to go more confident in my writing, which caused me to turn in more polished final copies, like my Justifying An Evaluation submission. GSW 1110 has given me a new outlook on the writing process, which I will carry with me throughout future college classes and my

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