The End?

Varun Jaitly

Expression through Literature

My Time in English 1S/T

1. Identify oneself as a part of larger academic discourse communities

            Throughout my time here in English 1s/t I have learned to summarize, analyze, and section pieces of texts. It may seem redundant to go beyond basic reading and comprehension, but with the introduction of Sociology and the use of my own personal Sociological Imagination, the use of more in depth analysis of texts has become evident. Many times the Authors strongest points are not blatantly written out in text but is hidden behind the written words. Breaking down and analyzing pieces of text allows you not only to understand that text better but it gives you a chance to understand the essence of the author's thoughts. In one of my Essay's in English 1S I described the process as going beyond what was coming out of the readers mouth and going deeper into his mind, because sometimes words aren't enough and to truly experience a piece of text you have to experience the essence and emotion that the reader felt writing about something, only then will you truly grasp the big picture. In this class I have learned to go beyond the text by cutting it down and analyzing the text

2.   Understand reading and writing as a means to think critically and to develop and articulate own perspectives

            One of my biggest issues before taking these two courses was getting my thoughts and ideas down on to paper. I had gone throughout high school failing to take my essays to their max potential because I couldn't write them properly, whether it was poor sentence structure, lack of organization, lack of proper quoting, and an overall sense of disarray. However, now I am capable of not only writing a well structured essay, I know how to make it a worthwhile read. Whether it's the introduction of quotes and pieces of outside texts to analyze and relate back to my point, or an analysis of my own points. My essays have become something I can be proud of, and a tool for getting my point across.

3.   Understand reading and writing as an integrated processes for meaning-making and communication

            For me, prior to this class my best method of communicating my points was to present or talk about what I had going on in my mind. It was difficult to truly communicate through my writing. Maybe it was due to the writing process I had been taught which focused more on organization than content, or simply my lack of practice. I would take an interview over a written resume or Essay any day. Now, however that has changed and I am able to genuinely communicate my point through my writing as well as analyze others, and in essence communicate through the reader-writer process.

4.   Reflect on their own reading and writing processes as an avenue to achieving greater control of these processes and increased effectiveness as a reader and writer

5.   Understand and value of academic integrity and demonstrate ethical conduct.

            One of the biggest issues seen in my writing prior to this class was the constant appearance of RTS and sentence structure issues. That as well as terrible grammar led to an essay with horribly inconsistent essays. My essays used to be unreadable, and incomprehensible, I had a serious issue. Thanks to this class as well as the constant effort by Mr. Lewis I was able to genuinely reduce my RTS errors and make my essay's more coherent. This is evident throughout my essays in this class and you can see the issue improve every essay. As far as Academic Integrity goes, I do not feel it is an issue since it's something I accept as law. I understand the effort it takes to create an original idea that is not only worth exploring but genuine in its synthesis. So to take someone's work or even analyze something and not give the creator proper credit is ethically wrong. I know I wouldn't want someone taking credit for my work so I don't plan on doing that for anyone else.  

            Despite being required to take the class, my time in English 1S/T has been productive. No English class has been as fun and impactful as this one, from fixing my Essay skills to the way I read text, this class has changed every aspect of my reading and writing capabilities. I am extremely thankful to Mr. Lewis for his support throughout my attempts at becoming a more competent writer, and one worth reading. The inclusion of Sociology in this class has made not only the writing process but the use of writing as means of communication a worthwhile learning experience. I even started a blog between the two classes featuring work I am doing regarding my major and something I want to do later on in life. The benefits of becoming a writer is not limited to a more eloquent manner of communication. It is however an expansion of the way the mind thinks and talks, when I write I hear the voice in my head say what I write, and as I do so it makes my writing feel better, and that is the writer I have grown into. One that not only seeks to verbally communicate my emotions, thoughts, and ideas, but one that can take a piece of paper or open up a word document and write about whatever I want without worrying about my ability to communicate my thoughts and emotions.