Reflection

Throughout this school year, weve worked on several topics,

some touching serious things such as the Holocaust, and some
concerning the assignments our class was assigned, which
pressed us to express our personal, individual, opinions, instead
of just blindly following what the majority was. As a writer, while
working on these projects, Ive seen myself mature and develop
throughout each topic. However, throughout the year, I have
finally been noticing imperfections in works that I, myself,
considered perfect. This has made me realize that I still have a
long way to go before I can acclaim myself as an excellent writer.
As I have reviewed over my past works, I saw where my
weak points lied. For example, in my narrative essay, The End of
the Year Project, I personally felt that the way I had described the
setting and my personal feelings were awkward, although
technically correct. I also thought that they had a rather rigid
edge to them, feeling as if it was written from a non-personal
view, rather than a first person view.
However, as the weak cannot exist without the strong, I also
spotted where my stronger points lied. In the same narrative
essay, I saw that I had used more precise and stronger
vocabulary, such as instead of using surprised, I had instead
substituted it in with the word astonished. I liked that I had
brought that into consideration, making the essay sound a bit
more enticing, rather than dull. I also thought that I had made the
sentences flow fluently, creating bridges from one sentence to
another, from one paragraph to the next.
I was able to improve every essays vocabulary by following
my, what some would consider, unorthodox writing method. I
would first form the general base of the paper, forming general
points into sentences, and would organize the sentences into
respective paragraphs. As I would write it, I also simultaneously
edited it, changing words into specific synonyms best for the
situation Im describing (which is also my favorite part of my
writing process.). Once I completed the essay, I would then tweak

it to whatever I deemed would be better, moving sentences,

sometimes even paragraphs up and down the page. This is the
method I consider best for me, but it may also be what causes my
awkward organization.
Overall, this year has been a view-changing time for me,
showing that I still have a long way to go, that Im not quite there
yet. Among these pieces, my favorite one would most definitely
have to be my Choice essay, Imagination vs. Knowledge. I believe
that one is the well-cultivated one, as I thought it was smooth and
consistent, and included additional information giving the
audience a better comprehension on the side of the argument.
Ive learned various things throughout this school year, and Ill
continue on improving until I can improve no more.