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Janiece Bennett
ENG-1001-04
Glen Davis
12 December 2025
Semester Reflection
As this semester ends, I have taken some time to reflect on all the writing task I have
completed, and how each one affected my growth as a writer. The first essay I worked on was a
personal narrative, and out of all the essays I have completed this semester, this one was the
easiest for me. Since I have already written many personal narratives throughout high school, I
came into this class already comfortable with how to structure this type of essay. When writing
about the experience that shaped who I am and influenced me to come to college, I was able to
express myself naturally without feeling pressured to write. This allowed me to easily think
about ideas and figure out how to relate my narrative to the larger message. Completing this
personal narrative boosted my confidence and reminded me of how important it is to develop the
skills that we already have.
While the second essay, which was the persuasive essay, was more difficult, I was still
able to get through it. In high school, I had already drafted argumentative essay, even though we
rarely finished a full essay from beginning to end. Instead, we worked more on specific elements
of an argumentative essay such as claims, thesis, counter arguments, rebuttals, and how to
connect evidence back to the main point. Therefore, even though I was familiar with the general
idea of a persuasive essay, the process of writing everything into an organized and detailed
persuasive essay challenged me more than the personal narrative. The hardest part when
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completing this essay was finding sources that directly supported what I was trying to persuade
my audience to consider. Using Ebscohost and searching for peer review articles was difficult
because it often felt like the sources I found included extra viewpoints that did not fully connect
my topic. This paper helped me understand what makes up convincing evidence and how to use
it in a way that supports my argument.
By the time we reached the third essay, I expected to feel completely prepared. However,
this essay was challenging in an unusual way. Instead of struggling with the writing itself, I
struggled with my focus and time management. I started drafting this essay early but eventually
lost interest because we had a long time to complete the essay. It was much more difficult for me
to remain focused because I was also dealing with issues outside of class. In a way, I see that
having too much time may be just as distracting as not having enough time. I need to improve
my time management because the consistency of my effort decides the quality of my writing.
Being on time and paying more attention in class are two things I know I need to work on
this semester. I came to realization that being tardy or missing brief portions of the lecture has
had an impact on how well I understand or receive information. Rather than taking notes, I
occasionally found myself depending on my memory. This is why I want to make sure that I
regularly attend class on time, take all the necessary notes, and arrive to class prepared each day.
In addition to improving my attention on topics were disgusting in class, this will prove to my
instructor that I am dedicated and present. Attendance is important, and in my next semester, I
will make sure that I do not forget that.
Going into next semester, I am going to strengthening my editing habits. Sometimes I
tend to assume my essay is fine without fully rereading it for mistakes, and if I dedicated more
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time into editing my drafts, it will become easier to meet expectations. I also plan to continue
going to the writing center the tutors there were extremely helpful throughout the semester. They
help me notice things in my writing that I did not see on my own. Their feedback played a
significant role in my improvement, so I want to keep using that resource. Another one of my
goals is to use one device when completing my essays. This semester, I had an incident involving
switching devices and I do not want to deal with that again. Staying consistent with my tools will
help me stay organized and avoid unnecessary problems in the future.
Overall, this semester provided me with lots of challenges, but it also made it easier for
me to figure out my advantages and disadvantages. I am now becoming more aware of the things
I need to improve on, from research and revision to attendance and note taking. I know that I still
have space to grow, but I am committed to becoming a more organized writer in the upcoming
semester.