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Olivia Ziering
Dr. Ron Carpenter
ENGL 2010
25 April 2016
Final Exam: Self-Reflective Essay: Take-home
My point total at this point in the semester is an 88 out of 100; however, I have
not yet re-submitted all assignments needed to raise my overall grade in this English
course. Once doing so, I am certain I will be able to reach my goal of at least a 90, or in
other words an A. The effort has been put forth, and I cannot imagine putting in
anymore time than I have into this course. With that said, I have done everything in my
power to present my greatest quality work.
I have grown tremendously by taking this English 2010 class with Dr. Ron this
past semester. Usually I notice some improvement, however that is not the case with this
course, the improvement here is profound beyond words. My writing process yet
rigorous has proven to be quite successful. I have learned that it is absolutely necessary
to follow these steps: prewrite, write, respond, revise, edit, and finally publish (resubmit). By prewriting, I am brainstorming all possible ideas and identifying my purpose
and audience in which I am targeting. Then, I can begin my writing, organizing my paper
properly, making sure the word choices are right, and the paper is well organized and
flows as a whole. Next, regarding the responding aspect of my writing process, I submit
my paper and wait patiently for a response from my teacher, once given that evaluation I
begin to revise. Finally, I edit the final quality and re-submit the assignment.

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Academic writing-style was never what we were executing in this course, and this
was the first for me. I have always learned up until this point how to write in this way,
and have mastered it to the best of my ability. Nevertheless, writing in this new way,
Dr. Rons way, has opened my eyes to other types of writing skills that will benefit me
more in the real world and serve me better for my future career as an English teacher.
There were a lot of firsts for me in this class: first childrens activity book, comic strip,
progress report, memo, etc. Not only did we write, but also we created works of art, and
we presented in front of the class as well as generated media recordings. Specific
document styles were heavily implemented and have changed my writing skill for the
better.
As opposed to the beginning of the semester, I think about my target audience
more and more and how I can properly convey a message across. Throughout this course
I have also been challenged repeatedly to re-submit all assignments since the opportunity
was presented, bettering my writing each time. Receiving this feedback from Dr. Ron
made me work extremely hard to earn the grade I knew I deserved after the three or four
times it took me to revise and get it just right. Though this class was limited on their
guideline, which was exactly what I needed for my training wheels to be taken off, and
for myself to know what is wanted without being asked. I do not need as much direction
and instruction as I did before.
By engaging with the audiences needs, my writing style and revision process has
most definitely transformed. By completing the progress reports, I have realized that in
order to captivate my audience, it is helpful to breakup the content, utilize bullet points,
as well as add a diagram to serve as a beneficial visual aid. I also became aware of the

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formatting of each individual assignment and paper, strategically planning it out and
tailoring it to what is asked of me and what the audience expects.
My writing style and process has been continuously influenced throughout the
semester by countless principles. Some of these principles that have aided me in my
writing are using clear language and being concise, drawing emphasis to certain points
whilst using bullet points as well as simplifying information. Being objective in my
writing, avoiding opinion has always been a struggle for me, but I am confident now that
I can write a well-written paper with conclusions based on hard facts and evidence. I
have always brainstormed and then began writing for all my papers; however, I have
never done utilized that principle as much as I have throughout this course, re-submitting
things three to four times, and I am grateful for having learned to do so to produce my
best possible work. Through progress reports and memos, I have come to know that
visual aids are extremely beneficial, and the information you are trying to get across to
your audience must be presented in a very specific way. Lastly, I have learned that
audience is number one, and with that said, through my writing my audience needs to
know what I want them to do with the information I provide, being clear about the
significance of the paper.
Having grown so much in such a short period of time is quite overwhelming, but I
could not have done it on my own, my teacher and group members have assisted me in
my growth a ton. I have learned so many key principles throughout, and have learned
essentially that I cannot write without an audience in mind as well as specific goals.
Once all assignments have been submitted and graded, for this English course, I believe
my grade should stand at an A (90% or higher).