Melony Robinson-Williams

Professor Batty
English 113
6 May 2015
Reflection
This semester Ive learned so much about my writing tendencies and about myself
as a student and a writer. Weve covered many essential steps in the writing process such
as prewriting, editing, ect. These tips were mainly covered in the book, They Say, I
Say. This book covers Summarizing, quoting, writing a proper counter argument, and so
much more.
The prewriting process was heavily discussed this semester. We did reading
journals in which we wrote down quotes on things we read and wrote a few sentences
discussing them. The reading journal really forced me to really understand what Im
reading. Before each essay wed have to series of prewriting assignments to prepare us
for the main essay. First wed write a proposal. The proposal really helped me gather my
ideas and form a solid theme for my essay. Often times Id use my proposal to write the
into to my essay and form my final thesis. Then wed write an annotated bibliograpghy.
This really helped me gather my sources ahead of time. So my supporting arguments
were clear and understood. Lastly, we did an outline of our essay. This was really helpful.
Not only did it help me organize my essay, but it helped me format my topic sentences.
Over all these prewriting assignments helped me organize my essays more effectively.
Before every essay we also did a peer review. These peer reviews helped identify

common problems I came upon in my essays. After I read them all I used their tips to
further edit my paper.
I think my writing strengths are my intro paragraphs. Giving thorough
background information and a clear thesis seem to be the strong points of all my essays.
My weaker points are probably my conclusion paragraphs. They seem to lack depth. My
Conclusions never really answer the How come question. The also fail to accurately
summarize my essay.
The strongest part of my portfolio is definitely my short story. Im most proud of
that essay. I worked really hard on it and I was most interested in it while writing it.
Although, it is my stronger essay, I do struggle with narrative writing. This is one of my
weak points. I lack the ability to describe things that appeal to ones senses. I think I over
came that when writing this essay. I got some help from a few of my peers. They gave me
advice on my writing which helped me in the long run. This portfolio definitely shows
my growth as a writer. Especially if compared to my portfolio from the previous
semester. The essay Im personally most proud of is the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde essay. I
chose a theme that was somewhat difficult for me and wrote an entire essay about it.
Overall this semester greatly improved my writing skills and influenced my
character. I hope to come back to this portfolio in the future use what Ive learned in this
class in further influence my writing. I plan on taking what I know now and applying it to
my future writing assignments.