Introduction: Seeing the World in a Different Way

I have learned to look at a place or an environment in a different way. Now when I look at a billboard or an advertisement, I can’t help but think of what the creators were thinking and what they were trying to say when they designed it the way they did. Also when I look at the different types of architecture, it is kind of neat to just think about the design and layout of everything and wonder why they planned it out the way they did.

When I signed up for English 250, I thought it was just a class that I had to take because it is required and I did not think I would actually learn much. I was definitely wrong! I realized that I still have a lot of aspects I need to work on in my writing process. Some of the things I really need to work on are transitions between paragraphs, stating a clear thesis, and making sure I give credit to all the information I used. I had no idea that I would learn so much about how so many things relate to a specific place.

The peer revision that we did for our assignments helped me out a little bit. Of course, us as students don’t know exactly how everything needs to be, so there were some problems that did not get fixed and I realized that when my paper was graded. I should have taken my paper to the writing help center and had it checked before I turned the paper in. This would have helped me out immensely. I procrastinated a little on assignment six and forgot to cite the source that I used in my opening paragraph. This made me realize that I need to get more organized and that will ultimately help me write a better paper. I did not receive much feedback from other students, but the feedback I got from Ms. Martin was very helpful. I took her advice into consideration and was able to make my paper more interesting and meaningful.

My favorite assignment this semester would be assignment # 1. I really enjoyed looking back on my trip to California and sharing my many memories with the class. This essay wasn’t just about telling a story of my trip to California; it also made me think and express my views of small town living verses big city living. I compared Bakersfield, CA to Kinglsey, IA, which is my hometown with less than 2000 people. I was only 12 when I went to Bakersfield and loved it, and now that I think about it, I still feel the same way about big city environments. Writing this essay helped me to pursue one of my goals and I am actually going to move to California this summer!

Overall, I am glad I took this class. I wish I would have taken it a little more seriously had times and put forth more effort into my work. I have learned more than I thought I would from this class, and I thank you for that Ms. Martin.