English 102 learning experience was quite enjoyable and enabled me to to understand education dynamics at the college level. The course enabled me to focus on my weakness as a leaner that ensured that by the end of the course I am able to conduct an independent research. The structuring of the class was interesting since part started with an introduction to the concept to be learned, which was followed by the assignment to ensure that the idea has been understood. Apart from reading and writing, I acquired organization skills that enable organize my class work and my life too. Before joining the course I had difficulties in organizing my life (King 11). For instance, when revising my essays such as the one about DACA program, I was able to organize paragraphs to develop a better structure. The organizing skill came in handy with reading, writing and research expertise.
Regardless of enjoying almost most of the unit readings, A Call for Cultural Democracy by Graves was the most enjoyable piece. The style used to develop the text is interesting and unconditional. I was attracted by the way the author uses exaggerations in terms such as “indoctrinated mind” and “students are being taught into a box.” The exaggerative pieces attract the readers and motivate them to continue reading to the end (Graves 54). I found the text thought-provoking and not depressing.
I met the course outcome in various ways including assignments and other class work. I can now apply a voice through blog posts to demonstrate my expertise in English 102. My voice is currently consistent and I am able to link the content I obtain from secondary sources to my idea or even develop an original content. I can effectively apply organizational strategies when writing and revising an essay. I effective understand sentence structures as well as the importance of genre in my writings (Graves 52). I can confidently say that I can evaluate and analyze both professional and peer writing, which is proved by the assignment I completed on “Should DACA get Federal Assistance for College.” However, there are many more examples that meet the learning outcome.
Improving my writing skills and experience has been a great deal throughout the course. I was able to enhance my expertise in pre-writing and the assignments have enabled me to focus on revising the work to ensure flow and accuracy of the text. the initial procrastination problem that I had at the beginning of the class has improved significantly due to practicing the knowledge gained in writing assignments, although am still working hard to make more improvements. The strict deadlines for all tasks have helped me and contributed to my success in the course. I now consider myself a good reader and writer. The piece by Patrick Sullivan helped me in improving my reading and writing expertise.
I was able to follow the description given by Sullivan on reading comprehension and how the students in college are supposed to read enormous materials across various disciplines. I used the critical thinking skills to understand and engage concepts learned from materials thoughtfully (Sullivan 166). Luckily I had access to various materials to evaluate during research that assisted in building foundation skills that make success possible different areas of English 102. Strong reading comprehension skills enabled me to generate reasonable content from secondary sources when completing assignments. The book by Sullivan helped me in understanding the importance of reading skills in college education, which motivated me to acquire extensive experience in analyzing reading materials.
The long engagement with books enabled me to enjoy reading and understand written content rather than cramming to pass the examination. Reading different books enabled me to avoid confusion as well as frustrations throughout the unit. Reflecting on Sullivan’s argument, reading is among the most paradigmatic activities of liberal education. I also gained strong writing skills that are crucial for success in college education (Sullivan 166). I achieved this by ensuring that all my readings incorporated serious writing since I put considerable effort in conducting the research. I could produce different drafts especial on the assignment about DACA students and make appropriate revisions. The explanation by Sullivan on the difficulties that face students especially in believing that they have something new to learn helped me to learn consistently to build my expertise.
The learning experience throughout the unit assisted me in developing both behavioral and attitudinal qualities that are critical for success in English 102 unit and other courses. The cognitive, writing and reading skills ensured that I can effectively conduct a research and present credible and meaningful results. The knowledge acquired in the unit is helpful in excelling in other college courses that require the student to have competence in reading, writing, and research. If I compare my current knowledge and skills with how I was before joining the course, I would say that the learning improved my overall cognitive skills.
Works Cited
Graves, Daniel E. "A Call for Cultural Democracy." New Directions for Community Colleges 2015.170 (2015): 51-55.
King Jr, Martin Luther. "The purpose of education." The Maroon Tiger 10 (1947).
Sullivan, Patrick. "An open letter to ninth graders." Academe95.1 (2009): 6.
