Reflection

Carlos Barajas
1

Reflection
I was told to reflect on my motivation to succeed in this course, which is English 102.
This made me pause for a moment and I started contemplating the true reasons for succeeding in
this course. From the depths of my mind I always wanted to become a better writer, analyze texts
more in depths, and a improve my skills that I will needed for my career as a criminal detective.
I want to become a better writer and the only way to show that is by succeeding in this
course. Last semester, the instructor gave us only three writing assignments in that course. The
main reason was to focus more on developing the papers through stages. The first stage was
brainstorming the main idea and the second stage was to write a rough draft. Then, our paper was
peered reviewed. I found this process most helpful because we were able to get a different
perspective and knowledge on the same topic. With this I was able to see where statements
needed more evidence or if was not staying on topic. I am hoping that in this course we are going
to do the same. I know that I am still unable to stay on topic with research papers. I somehow
start implying things if evidence is missing or give opinions based on a general information, such
as “every American hated Japan because of their attack on Pearl Harbor.” This makes my
research papers weak in evidence and untrue for some parts. I am hoping that sticking with this
course and succeeding I can get rid of that problem and get better at finding evidence and deeply
analyzing them for readers to understand.
I have always wanted to better analyze texts and I believe sticking with this course I can
achieve that. When I was in high school, I would usually struggle with literature class. In that
class we had to analyze every text like it depended on our lives. I was never that excellent at
doing this some my papers were often the same in context. I would only be able to find
symbolism and imagery, and that would be in every paper. I could only describe their purpose in
a paper too. It was very difficult since I dislike reading. What I would like to get out of this
course is to not only analyze more in depth but explain the purpose for each idea that the author
had with detail. Not only will this help my writing it can help improve my judgments based on
situations for my future career. I can assess the environment and act appropriately. With signs
that I am succeeding in this course, I will know that I am improving, and this will encourage me
to do even more with writing.
If I can succeed in this course, I know that I will be a step closer in achieving my goal in
becoming a criminal detective. My career will involve creating reports for crime cases. I will
have to acquire these skills in order to be successful with making these reports. If I do not have
these skills, I will not be able to write a report that explains the situation in depth and it will not
be useful to the team of investigators or in a court case. I may not even be considered for a job as
an intern if I cannot even write a decent essay. By succeeding in this course, I believe that I can
make great reports that will serve useful for investigations and it may even improve my status in
the police precinct.
After looking at my motivation for succeeding in this course, I believe that it can be
significant for my future. Not only will my grades look great, but I can personally feel better as I
 Reflection
Carlos Barajas
2

write essays for classes now and in the future. Not only that I can also be a little bit prepared for
the reports that law enforcers must write for every crime case. I feel a bit more excited that I am
taking this course and I will take it seriously.