Stephanie Riccio
Eng 112
Self-Eval
Prof. Guarino
Coming to college
is a frightening thought for many, how much work will I get? Are the professors
mean? Will I fall behind at the fast pace in which we move? Personally, the
college classes I’ve enrolled in have been nothing but a positive impact on my
life and education. I have tremendously
improved as a writer throughout English 112; I’ve gone through multiple drafts,
peer review, and lots of classes to get me where I am. Whether it was learning
how to in cooperate logos, ethos, and pathos or how to organize my paragraphs
in an essay…it all contributed to my success.
The first essay
that we were assigned in this class was an autobiographical piece, and it was
to be four to six pages. When I first heard this my heart dropped, it was the
longest essay I have ever been assigned. When it was time to bring in our first
draft I was only two pages deep and I was nervous for the reaction I was going
to receive from my classmates and professor. When I got to class I heard that
we were doing an exercise called peer review. I have heard of this term but
have never gotten the chance to practice it with my writing. My first draft was
a D, after the peer review session I went back and revised my essay. I made
changes in the amount of information that was used, the thesis statement was
strengthened, and the organizational structure was altered. For example, I changed the story line to be
just about my mother’s and I relationship, not my whole life in general. My new
thesis statement was, “My
relationship with my mom throughout the rollercoaster ride of my teenage years
has taught me that even though I don’t understand the reasoning behind some of
the decisions she makes for me; she is always looking out for my best
interest.” My final grade was a B+ after the revisions I made.
Furthering on in
this class, we had lessons on argumentative writing; how to structure the
essays, adding in logos, ethos, and pathos, and mentioning the opposing side.
In an argumentative essay we had to write for our third assignment, I had to
write about the living conditions here at Southern Connecticut State
University. When writing this kind of essay you need to prove your position in
the thesis, For example my thesis was,” Due to the rude RA’s, absurd rules, and
filthy bathrooms, the quality of living on campus needs to be a better
experience socially and physically here at SCSU.” Here you can clearly notice
what side and position I took with the argument. When adding logos, ethos, and
pathos into your writing it helps you gain creditability. This makes your essay
stronger and more interesting for the viewer.
One aspect of
English 112 that helped encourage me and push me as a writer was the one on one
time that Professor Guarino provided for every single one of her students.
While in these meetings she provided helpful information to strengthen our
writing skills. She took a lot of her time going through every essay and
specially pointing out aspects that needed to be fixed and even offered
alternatives for you to turn to. When ever I had a question of=n any of the
work in this class, she was there with her helping hand to guide me along. I
strongly feel that Prof. Guarino encouraged me to strive to be a better writer;
she always had uplifting things to say to me or a positive remark to help.
After all of the
practice I have had in making my writing “perfect”, I am confident in the
writer I am today. Over the past four months my writing has lengthened, strengthen,
and greatly improved due to my English 112 class.
