Reflective Writing, Term Paper Example

In the class I think that there have been a number of areas in which I have improved.  In approaching some of the questions to respond to in this short essay, I have realized how I have grown as a writer in some of these areas.  Here are some of the areas that have affected me as a writer.

Argumentative Writing

One area that has especially helped me is found in argumentative writing.  In the ideas needed to build a successful argumentative essay, I have been able to improve my skills in this area of writing.  Our work in this area has also made me realize how important this skill is to have in a number of contexts.

Argumentative writing is also crucial to have in other areas of one’s education and career.  In our work in developing an argument, I have come to realize how this type of writing allows one to become more aware of critical thinking skills.  Additionally, argumentative writing is relevant to other areas of one’s life, such as being able to gauge the relevance of other’s opinions.  Truly rhetoric and justifying positions are valuable topics to study and develop beyond academics.

Thesis Statements

Developing a thesis statement has never been second-nature to me.  This is one topic that has helped me comprehend and develop such skills, as thesis statements are an important and essential part of writing.  This is perhaps the most effective topic for me personally, as we spent time learning the essentials surrounding their development.

Previously developing thesis statements seemed very time-consuming to me.  I had always rushed through the process of developing a well-articulated thesis statement that was in line with my research and arguments.  However, I appreciate the time we have spent in developing thesis statements.  This will be invaluable as I progress in my writing.

References and Citations

A final “memorable,” if you will, topic in class for me was in perfecting how to reference and cite clearly.  This is obviously something that I have done before, though I admit that I at times have done what was needed to get by.  However, in making myself go through these processes slowly, I must say that I have learned how to become efficient and effective in referencing and citing sources.

Attention-wise, this has been an area of difficulty for me in the past.  As other students have expressed, it feels odd to spend time on what seems to be something little like referencing and citing a source.  Yet as I learned how to become better in these skills, I can now reference and cite my sources quite quickly.

In referencing and citing sources, the skill will remain very valuable.  As I progress in academics I will be better able to make the most out of my sources, and demonstrate my abilities in giving good quotes and paraphrases from them.  Additionally, I have learned how to better organize my sources for a project.  I feel confident that I will be able to organize sources for any scope of a project, whether it is two sources or twenty.

General Comments

At times there were some exercises that seemed too basic for me.  One of these I believe was in employing pre-writing techniques.  I certainly realize the value of such techniques, although I don’t care to actually write them out or go through long processes before writing.  For me I find it more effective to start outlining, or even writing, rather than going through such steps.  However, I suppose I may just have a pre-writing technique or two automatically in my head that I like to go to, which may account for my thinking here.

Another area of growth for me is in revising work.  I have a tendency to not take the time to properly revise my writing.  The time we spent on revising works and using multiple drafts helped me a lot.  I learned a lot of simple mistakes that I have made that can easily be corrected.  After seeing this in my work I think I will be able to spend some time editing and rereading my work.  This is something that I will need to focus on in order to develop.

A general area of improvement through various exercises, I found, was in my research abilities.  I think this has been one natural by-product of the class, in being able to research topics, arguments, and ideas in writing.  I feel much more comfortable in researching these elements in the many exercises and assignments we have completed.  Of course this is something that will be very relevant to my ongoing academic and writing career, as being able to research efficiently and effectively is very important.

Conclusion

Overall I feel that there are a number of ways in which I have improved from the class.  The time spent on developing thesis statements, argumentative ideas, and proper references and citations was effective for me.  I also think that my research abilities and revision skills have improved tremendously.

I can’t say that I have any major criticisms.  Even in areas that I found too basic to me, as previously covered, still were useful to me as a reminder.  All of these areas have been improved in my writing and articulation abilities, which I will take with me in my future endeavors.