Tad Song

ENG 114B

Prof. Turner

17 May 2017

Final Reflection Essay

This semester in English 114B with Professor Turner has been quite the journey. During

this semester, we have learned about what MLA formatting is, how MLA is used in writing, and

how to properly use it with the help of Purdue Owl. We have read and seen various forms of

books and media. There were many class exercises, projects, and essays over this semester and I

believe that each accomplished the job to give us more knowledge from when we first entered

the class. I believe that my writing has improved than when I first came into the class. We have

done two major essays which were Project Space and Project Medium. Project Space was about

space and how people are affected by it and Project Medium was about a medium or institution

where we felt needed reform.

One problem that I had was referring to my sources when I talk about my evidence in the

essays. On page 2 of my Project Medium essay, I said, On average since 1980, college tuition

prices rose 7% a year. Comparing it to this year, the inflation rate is just 3.2%. As long as the

demand for the good (higher education) continues to rise, the price will also rise. The argument

of education being worth it no matter the cost, has had students as well as their families thinking

about it, leading to student taking money from the government which on average would be $1

billion every year, and in total, more than $1 trillion (The Guardian). On my rough draft, I
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didnt say which source my evidence came from, but in my final draft, I said (The Guardian) to

make sure I gave the source the right credit.

I made a few grammar mistakes throughout some of my essays. For example, on page 1

of Project Medium, I said, College tuition is one of the most consistently discussed topics when

talking about colleges because they have such a significant impact on people, more specifically

the students. The correct grammatical use of topics is topic, but since revising my rough draft,

I was able to correct the mistake. Another example is on page 2 of Project Medium where I said,

Compared to the past, families are becoming more disagreeing with the new tuition average.

The sentence sounded a little awkward, so in the final draft, I changed it to Compared to the

past, families are disagreeing more today with the new tuition average. I know that we are in

college and students shouldnt be making these mistakes because we have been taught over and

over from middle school and throughout high school, but people arent perfect and mistakes will

happen. People can only make sure not to make the same mistake twice in the future.

Another problem that I had in the essays was elaborating my statements. On page 2 of

Project Space, I said, Studies have shown that people look left first and then enter to the right of

the store. I know I shouldve elaborated on what I meant by studies in my rough draft, but I

didnt and I saw my mistake. In the final draft I corrected my mistake and said, Studies from

various sociologists have shown that people look left first and then enter to the right of the store

Another example is on page 1 of Project Medium, I said, Colleges are increasing tuition and the

increase is economically affecting students in a negative way. I never really elaborated in the

rough draft and I thought it would need more elaborating in the final draft. So, in the final draft, I

changed it to Colleges are increasing tuition and the increase is economically affecting students

in a negative way such as students dropping out.

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As you can see, I have made improvements on my writing and the essays that we have

written throughout this course. Project Space and Project Medium had interesting topics that

dealt with society and human behaviors. Some of the ideas were easy to think about and write

about, but some ideas were complex and kind of hard to think about or write about.

Growth is a part of life; things are changing constantly right before our eyes. Throughout

the projects I feel I grew when it came to writing. Having to compose different types of essays

allowed me to do so. I was able to learn from my mistakes in the rough drafts and correct them in

the final drafts. Whether it be learning how to use MLA formatting or properly make an

annotated bibliography. Although I have made improvements, I still have some growing to do.

The future of what types of writing I will have to do, depending on the class or major, is still

unclear, but using the information obtained from this class will give me aide in future papers and

class assignments dealing with writing.