Hernandez 1

Claudia Hernandez

Professor Holly Batty

English 101 M/W

28 May 2019

Just the beginning

Now more than ever I see the importance on working on my writing and reading skills

to become an effective communicator on paper which lets my reader know that I took my

time to put together a paper with a clear understanding. When I first began the semester, I

wasn’t practicing my writing skills which wasn’t letting me develop further not writing

really threw me off when it came down to writing papers. My writing skills were weaker

now I feel I can write a paper with more ideas flowing from the top of my mind and just

overall with my organization of my papers. My reading wasn’t as fluent as it is now, I

understand better when I read after learning steps for better understanding what I read

like note taking as I read. With the practice of writing and reading also comes critical

thinking which connects all three. In order to write an essay, I have learned that it takes

critical thinking to make your ideas sound clear and easy to understand. This semester I

have put my critical thinking to the test with my essays. With writing a good essay comes

critical thinking also in reading. The more time I spent working on my writing and

reading the easier it had become for me today. I still need more practice to improve my

writing skills needed for everyday communicating and my career it is important for me to

not stop writing and reading to become the excellent communicator I strive on becoming.

To become the excellent communicator, I want to be I have work on my writing

everyday with just a simple everyday journal I can practice expressing my ideas clearly.
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The free-writes we did in class have helped me feel freer to express my thoughts when

writing. The essays we did in class have made me feel better when I have to start a new

paper it made it easier for me to structure my essay. After all the peer reviews it has

showed me that it is important to get a second look on my paper as more of my mistakes

will be fixed that way. The two essays we did in class have helped me get a better

understanding of what is expected when writing a college paper. The comments from my

first essay has really help me understand what I need to improve when I write an essay

and all the practice, we did in class has helped me with my writing today and will help

me with my future papers. I will take all these steps with me to write efficient papers that

I will have to do in my future to achieve my goals and to be an excellent communicator

on paper and in person.

Without being able to read we cannot write so it is important to have a clear

understanding when reading a book or even an article. In class professor required us to

read one book in class which help me be a more creative reader and the essay we did let

me display my creativity. Also, the strategies talked about in class like note taking while

reading has really help me become more concentrated when I read because I understand

the text clearly. At the beginning of the class it was harder for me to focus when I was

reading because I wasn’t underlining any words I didn’t know but with the note taking I

now have a better time when I read which is important for me if I want to succeed in my

future career as being and efficient reader helps when communicating.

Critical thinking is important for both reading and writing and just with everything in

general. Being a critical thinker is necessary when reading to understand and be able to

explain it in your own words. Everything we do in academics requires critical thinking

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when we write an essay, we must think critically to put our ideas together. In the class we

were tested on our critical thinking when we have to write our essays it really helped me

improve and now I can take these skills with me to my future classes and also my career

as it requires critical thinking to be a creative educator for kids.

After taking this course I really feel like my writing, reading, and critical thinking have

improved. When I read my mind is more visual now and get a better understanding of the

reading. Before when I read, I didn’t understand the literature because I wasn’t taking

notes and taking my time to really understand words I didn’t know. With writing I now

feel more comfortable to write and express my thoughts and I know that still need a long

way to go it’s the beginning to learning journey just like I learned new techniques this

semester they will be more to come and now I have this to take with me to succeed

academically with my writing, reading, and critical thinking.