Personal Reflection on English 101 Course

Reflecting on my semester in English 101, I have learned a lot and still know that there is a lot much to be learned. English 101 has enhanced my reading, analytical, and writing skills significantly. Through this course, it has come to my realization that college English differs from high school English in complexity and commitments such as assignments. Assignments in high school were quite direct and did not require much research to get the answers. The readings were also relatively short and straightforward. However, the assignments in college are involved and ones that invoke critical and creative thinking to get the plots, and literary analysis.

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The course has considerably improved my writing skills. Over the duration of the course, I have learned how to express myself through writing. Before enrolling for the course, I was struggling with coming up with the right words to express my thoughts and opinions. In many occasions, I would end up avoiding some sentences just because I did not know how to phrase them and put them down in the paper. It was like I knew what I wanted to say, but I just did not know how. Taking this course has improved my writing skills significantly and increased my confidence when it comes to both spoken and written English. I have also enhanced my analytical skills. Gone are the days I would study a unit for the sole purpose of passing examinations. This course has changed my perspective about school and course work.

I enjoyed working on my reading assignments particularly the two readings assigned to us; The Ghostwritten by David Mitchell and The Metropolis by Upton Sinclair. These two passages widened my scope of literature and familiarized me with stylistic devices and figurative language. From the readings, I was also able to add onto my vocabulary and increase the complexity of my language. Similarly, my writing skills were greatly enhanced as it gave me an opportunity to explore my imagination and put in writing. For a moment I allowed my mind wander and in that single piece, everything was a possibility. However, I disliked the assignment about literary analysis. Analyzing literature and citing evidence from work was not exactly my cup of tea. Moreover, coming up with an article that is more objective than subjective also proved to be a little too hard and confusing.

It took me lots of hard work, research, and practice to earn my grade. There were some concepts I had to learn more than twice before I got them right. Over the semester, I have been very close to my lecturer and was not hesitant to ask for clarification on matters that were challenging. I also took a personal initiative of forming group discussions with classmates, and we would spend leisure time improving our reading and writing skills

In conclusion, the course has been much success to me as a student, and I am so glad to have enrolled it. There were some things about creative and critical thinking that I learned and have impacted my life in more ways than one. I can proudly say that I have been making more informed decisions since enrolling this course and many other life skills that may not be so obvious.