Self Evaluation

When I first started this semester, I was still very much at high school level: I used a specific form, I found quotes that agreed with what I had to say, and so on. As the semester progressed, however, I found myself becoming a better writer each week. I’ve become more grounded, I’ve started to push back against quotes, and I’ve been writing more organically, letting the structure emerge from what I’m writing. Most importantly, I believe, I’ve been able to find a lens for my writing. Something that has so often been missing from my essays has been a specific point of view to write from, a small “break” from which the essay emerges. This class has allowed me to find that break and hold a lens over it to find what I’m writing about and how I’m going to write it.

Hand-in-hand with becoming a better writer, I’ve also become a more critical thinker. I’ve played both the believing and the doubting game with all the texts we have read, which has been an immense help in finding important information. Reading has always been the most difficult part of any literature class simply because I greatly dislike annotating texts. I believe that it brings me out of whatever I’m reading and causes me to be distanced from the text and the message I’m supposed to be getting. During this class, I have recognized the merits of annotating texts, and will be using this method in the future.

In class, I was mostly silent in the beginning, but I’ve worked my way up to talking more and have talked at least once per day (if not more than that) for the past few weeks. Working in smaller groups has definitely been a huge help when it came to writing essays, especially when we talked about our essays before writing them. People like Claire and Muni often opened me up to new ideas for my essay, or gave me a new lens to look through. I like to think that I have helped others with their writing in the same way: helping them find another point of view to look at something, or bringing in another example for them to work with.

Writing two essays with Muni was my favorite experience of this class. Working with someone else meant that there was someone who cared just as much about the essay, so we could each bounce ideas and theories off of each other. We both brought different views and research to the table, so when we got together it was very easy to put together the final draft of our essay.

Going into the city was so helpful for me on a personal level. Getting to know the city near which I would be spending the next four years was immensely useful. I now feel comfortable traveling into Philadelphia, for myself or for another class. I never used public transport at home, so it was a new experience fro me at first, but I’ve found that it has helped me be more confident.

I will be taking away so much from this class. I am now able to speak up in class without thinking what I am going to say first. I will be bringing my ability to close-read texts. I will write more organically, push back against other people’s views, and be able to find a specific lens through which to orient my essay. This class has brought me from a high school level writer and thinker to college level, and I could not be more grateful.