M.+Course+Reflection

**English 11 1B ** **5/9/2011 ** **__REFLECTION PAPER __** ** The development of good communications skills is certainly important in achieving goals and being successful. There is no doubt that speaking and writing abilities can make all the difference. As I reflect on my growth as a writer over the past year, my thoughts are mixed. Do I feel I am a better writer? I view my English 11 class experiences in writing this year from what I learned about specific writing skills and organization, types of writing and the quality of my writing. ** ** As I prepare to graduate from KHS next year, I look forward to college and stepping into my occupation. Over the past year my focus has been more and more towards learning those things that will better prepare me for college and beyond. In preparing me for the future, the greatest growth I have made as a writer has been learning specific writing skills and proper organization for 5 paragraph essays, resumes, and cover letters. It is expected that one knows how to write a 5 paragraph essay when they step into a college classroom. It is also very important for everyone to know how to properly write a resume and cover letter. A resume and cover letter are an important means of introduction and first impressions. A good resume and cover letter will give you opportunities. At the beginning of this school year I did not feel fully comfortable with organizing my thoughts into a 5 paragraph essay. I end the school year knowing how to organize my thoughts into an essay and how to write a resume and cover letter. That is growth. ** ** My most favorite piece of work in my portfolio is the Self-Reliance Glogster. It is not my best piece of writing, but it was the most fun to create, and, therefore, my favorite. The Self-Reliance Glogster was like writing a comic strip. It is neat to combine art, music and writing into a single project. When I pick up the Virginian-Pilot, the first part of the newspaper I read is sports, and, then, I read the comics. The comics combine art with writing. I also like to write poetry and the Metaphor Poem and the Gatsby Rap were fun to write. My least favorite piece is my Gatsby Essay. Again, I do not consider it to be my worst piece of writing. I just did not like the book, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Gatsby, Daisy, Nick, Jordan and Tom are jerks in my opinion. They are people that need to get a life. Give me Shakespeare over F. Scott Fitzgerald any day of the week. Actually, give me Stephen Coontz’s Flight of the Intruder over anything I read this past year. It was fun doing a book report on Flight of the Intruder and I think my book report was a good piece of writing. ** ** I come to the quality of my writing. I cannot really say that I am a better writer from the start of this school year, except to say that I know how to better organize my thoughts for writing a 5 paragraph essay, resume or cover letter. Probably the only way to improve as a writer is simply to do more writing. If you want to grow and improve as a writer, you have to write. I am somewhat indifferent about Wiki versus paper portfolios. Paperless is definitely the way to go, but Microsoft applications like Publisher, Access and Project are applications that appear to be more often used in colleges and the professional world for projects and portfolios. In the 2 college visits I have made so far (San Diego State and Wesley College), skills in Microsoft applications have been stressed by admissions staff and faculty. My first college choice, VMI, gives a Microsoft applications inventory test in Word, Power Point, Excel, Access and Publisher to all incoming freshman. As I indicated earlier, things that are used and valuable in college and the professional world are things I want to learn at KHS. I will go with Wiki over paper portfolios even though I am not sure I will have the opportunity to use Wiki after high school. ** ** I have definitely recognized the importance of communication skills this year. Besides English 11 I have taken Drama with Mr. Whiting this year. One realizes the differences between good writing and speaking, and bad writing and speaking are found in the organization of one’s thoughts and the techniques used for presentation. I view my English 11 class experiences in writing this year from what I learned about specific writing skills and organization, types of writing and the quality of my writing. It has been fun. I know I need to keep writing to become a better writer. **
 * Patrick Wittle **