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Birgeet Magallanes
Professor Adler
STACC Eng. 100 #72051
16 December 2015
Reflecting
English has always been a difficult subject to me, because it is my second
language and my writing skills are terrible since I overthink for hours about every word
and sentence that I write; which most of the time I do not get the grade that I wish I had.
Coming to Pasadena City College I knew that in order for me to overcome these
challenges in STACC Eng. 100, I needed to use many sponsors and resources that could
help me with my English skills. STACC Eng.100 was challenging to me at the beginning
of this semester because I had to write many essays while I had other homework and tests
to study for. However, I still managed to learn and understand concepts that I was unable
to learn before in my High School years. I was able to learn how writing a lot can help
me with my writing skills, not to pressure myself when writing an essay, and accept my
mistakes that others correct. For this reflection, I have decided to use three pieces of
writing that I have done in STACC Eng.100: Struggles in Literacy, Fitting into
Society, and Childhood Trauma into Adulthood. Each essay that I did in STACC
Eng.100 were very particular, because it challenged my writing abilities and allowed me
to overcome confrontations that I had in the past.
In essay #2: Literacy Narrative, we had to write an essay about an understanding
of our identity and how it has been shaped by reading, writing, research, and critical
thinking. I remember how I was terrified to write this essay because it seemed really

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hard and thoughtful; it was something I have never done before. I immediately started to
write notes about every explanation my professor mentioned in class to help me
understand what specific concepts he wanted the class to do in their essays. When I was
writing this essay I tried to remember every single scene of my life when I struggled with
my literacy, I analyzed my writing, and integrated ideas from other resources used in
class such as articles and Erin Gruwells book The Freedom Writers Diary. Even though,
I had all these resources, I spent my first paragraph writing and erasing because I was so
determined to make this essay perfect. I was overthinking a lot and that was causing me
to not concentrate, eventually, I would not have any idea what to write (writers block).
After a few days, I was finally able to focus on how to illustrate my educational
experiences.
Not only did I struggled with concentration but I also struggled explaining further
ideas by demonstrating with clarity my analysis. When I was introduced to essay #3:
Literary Analysis, I was very confused how to start with this essay. The class had to
develop a literary critique by analyzing and a critical response to the writing to show our
interpretation of the chapter from the book A Place to Stand, by Jimmy Baca. I wrote
how Baca used a gloomy tone, descriptive sentences, and allusions, for the reader to
understand the struggles he had in his life, such as, abandonment, childhood and
manliness. My argument was that all those struggles made him wonder throughout his
writing, if there is a place for him to stand in society. In my first draft of Fitting into
Society, my paragraphs were confusing, since many of my sentences did not sounded
right and I was not sure how to modify it. There were parts when I was summarizing the
story instead of analyzing it. When my draft got peer reviewed, I realized that I needed to

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be more concise and elaborate my thoughts deeply. While revising, I added more quotes
so I can proof the reader that my argument is convincing. When I got a feedback from my
professor, he commented, Some interpretive points could be further explained and keep
working in demonstrate and show your analysis. Although I explained my arguments, I
still needed to proof my points, this made me realize that on my future essays I need to
analyze more and ask more questions when I think I do not need help.
The essay that I struggled the most was my research paper, called Childhood
Trauma into Adulthood, because it was the longest essay that I had to write so far in my
educational background. For this research paper, our class had to write about a specific
topic that connects to Bacas memoir, called A Place to Stand. Finding the perfect article
seemed like an eternity at the time, there were so many articles that talked about
childhood trauma, but most of them were not developed for my interpretive argument.
However, I was capable to find the right ones that helped me support my assertions. My
introduction and conclusion were on the right path, I had the ability to explain how
childhood trauma shows psychological signs, such as, anxiety, bipolar disorder,
depression, etc. In contrast, I believe that in my body paragraph needs to be adjusted
because it was not strong enough. The structure of my essay was not adequately
organized, which I think should be improved. I have to admit, this may due in part
because I had the difficulty to interpret how to write vivid details and specific facts to
describe my topic.
In STACC Eng. 100, I also learned how a fixed mindset and a growth mindset
works when students are learning something new in school. In a fixed mindset, students
tends to seek tasks that proves their intelligence, because they want to proof to others

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how smart they are and they also believe that ability should bring success all by itself.
However, in a growth mindset, students believe that their intellectual ability is something
they can develop through effort and education. Learning this concept made me
comprehend how I should not have a fixed mindset, because when I used to write an
essay in high school I had the tendency to give up easily as a result of not trying my
hardest, which was the reason how sometimes I would get a bad grade on my essays.
However, I am learning to develop a growth mindset since that will help me understand
that when writing an essay I must seek for help and guidance. Now I am able to develop
my writing skills because I am working hard for it and thats how one can cultivate a
growth mindset.
Having this class has been an extraordinary experience, I would have never
thought that one semester of English class could help me progress so much in my writing
skills. Even though, I have had many times when I almost gave up in writing an essay I
made sure to not think that way, by reflecting on my thoughts. I am satisfied with my
work so far since I put time and effort in every essay, despite some unsatisfied essays that
were not good enough. Writing a lot and having students peer reviewed my essays have
helped me improve my writing. If you had told me in the past if I liked writing, I would
have said I dislike writing, but now my answer has changed I enjoy writing is a way for
me to write how I feel and think.