Hargrove 1 Kristin Hargrove Carol Sieverts English 2010 19 November 2013

Personal Reflective of English 2010

I did not know what to expect when I began my journey in English 2010 of the fall semester at Salt Lake Community College. There were some things I knew for certain at the beginning of the course. Writing and English have always been my strongest suit, I thoroughly enjoy reading and was excited to reawaken these passions. The other thing that was certain, I had been out of college English for four years. I scored a perfect hundred on the placement test so I felt English 2010 was the class meant for me. I accepted the period of absence as an academic challenge. The apprehensions of working in a group project for the semester quickly dissipated as I established my group with a gentleman named Michael. Working in a group project for an English class did not just strengthen my writing abilities. It required to me utilize communication, problem solving, and leadership skills. These are attributes are important in multiple experiences whether academic or professional. Being a part of a group project insisted for me to be accountable and responsible. I liked being the person my partner could rely on. This is a wonderful stepping stone to the many more group projects that will follow in college and life.

Hargrove 2 English 2010 jumpstarted some of these characteristics to continually support my college career. One passion I revisited in this class and working in a group is my love for not only peer editing, but discovering revising. My professor, Carol Sieverts, explained revising as revisioning. The definition of being able to take some thing and improve upon it to make it a stronger document and not just in the grammatical errors. This was so eloquently put to me and I found, I have a real knack for the lost art of writing and communication in this day and age of abbreviated technology. After practicing peer revising on the shared papers through out the group project, we were allowed to revise one to show we understood what revision truly meant. I chose to do the profile assignment. Our profile assignment was written by my partner and was about Dr. Sanjay Gupta. I did assist with the peer revising, but was glad to take on the challenge of bolstering the paper. I chose to take out some parts, although well written, I felt did not highlight the subject himself. I wanted the paper to flow more consistently and allow Dr. Sanjay Gupta to shine continually throughout it. One thing that was apparent from the first paper was that I need to improve my works cited pages and the profile papers cites needed to be addressed. This turned into an opportunity to research information to make the cites correct and complete. English 2010 guided me towards what I want to study in college. Being undecided for so long, I wavered between many things. Now I know I want to major in a business communication degree with an extensive writing program. I would love to be the person who consults people on anything written business. Whether it is business proposals, the new hire packets in human resources or outsource marketing material.

Hargrove 3 Starting my non traditional student career with English 2010 was one of the best choices I made. It allowed me to realize that I do have a lot of strong academic talents that needed some nurturing. It is preparation for the different writing styles that will be expected in other classes that are not English. I feel confident to work in groups and to establish the necessary communication, written and leaderships blocks to be successful in my academic and professional life.