Manalo 1

Triston Manalo
Professor Collins
ENGL 1301
November 30 2016
Reflective Essay
English is one particular subject that I have always found myself to be decent at
compared to other core subjects like Math or Science. Unlike the other core classes, English
engages me the most when working on the assignments. As a freshman in college, I did not know
what to expect of the subjects I signed up for until the assignments began to accumulate. The
essays in my English 1301 class were much more detailed and required more research or deep
thinking, such as the visual analysis. Due to the lectures on pre-writing and using information
while crediting its authors, these essays seemed quite easy as long as a certain format was
followed correctly. By the end of this semester, I have learned how to use the MEAL plan and
write essays academically.
In my previous writing assignments before taking my English 1301 class, I did not use
any sort of concept when writing the body paragraphs. Sometimes the body paragraphs would
even stray off into another topic while throwing readers off and confusing people into not
knowing what the main idea of the paragraph is. Because of the MEAL plan, a plan that begins
with a main idea sentence to introduce the topic of the paragraph and then being followed by
evidence and analysis, and finally closing by linking the paragraph back to the thesis statement, I
was able to follow a certain method to make the body paragraphs seem as straight-forward as
possible to the readers. When using this method, it is easier to insert evidence while keeping
readers engaged in the paragraph. Before I began using this method, I would have a very hard

Manalo 2
time finding certain places to plug in information; therefore, I would also have a hard time
keeping a certain flow on the paper.
Academic writing is one of the main lessons that I have been taught this semester. Before
taking the class, I had already known the basic fundamentals to academic writing, such as the use
of first-person being forbidden, comma splices, and the correct use of conjunctions. Although,
there were many techniques that I was not aware of like the correct form of crediting an authors
work. This semester has taught me how to correctly give credit to an author when quoting by
either taking the first two words of the works title or by using the authors last name and
inserting that before the period after the quote. Learning this, I became aware of the dangers that
incorrectly citing ones work would bring.
By the end of this semester, I have learned how to apply the MEAL plan into my writing
while also learning how to write academically. This whole semester has been a learning
experience not only in the form of academics, but also in my personal life as well. These past
few months have taught me that preparation is the key to getting closer to success. Nobody can
succeed in a matter of seconds; it will take time and effort in order to be successful. My
experience this semester has been a successful one in terms of teaching me better and easier
ways to succeed in my classes and my assignments.