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BrettAuerbach
Mrs.Stegner
ERWCPeriod0
3June2016
MyYearinReview
FormyreflectionletterIhavechosenpersonalstatement,bullyingresearchpaper,and
goodfood/badfoodandmutligenreportfolio,bringatexttoclassactivity4,andfromthiswork,
IwillreflectonwhatIlearnedaboutcorrectpunctuation,grammar,andspelling.Iwillalso
reflectonthingsthatIneedtodevelop,suchascomingupwithbetteranalysisofmyquotesand
followingtheinstructions.Iwilladdressmyacademicessays,whereIhavelearnedto
communicateefficientlyaboutthetopicIamassigned.Imustimproveonthemywordchoice
andagoalIhaveforthefutureistowriteessaysinlesstimewithmoreeffectively.

ThethreeessaysIchosetoanalyzearePersonalStatement,GoodFood/BadFood,and
theBullyingResearchPaper.Thepersonalstatementwasourfirstessaythatwewroteinthis
classanditwasreflectingonwhatweexpecttoimproveoverthecourseofsenioryear.Inthis
essay,IwroteabouthowIplayedvarsitybaseballasaFreshmanandhowitdrasticallychanged
myfouryearsofhighschool.Ireceiveda72/100onthisessaybecauseIdidntexplainmy
anecdoteinverywell.ThesecondessayIchosewasGoodFoodversusBadFood.Inthisessay
meandmypartner,JoeMassaro,explainedhowschoollunchesareunhealthyandthatkids
shouldbebringingtheirlunchtoschoolinsteadofbuyingit.Thisessaywaspersuasiveand
informationalbecausewefoundfactsthatsupportedourargumentandtriedtopersuadekidsto
bringtheirownlunch.ThethirdessayIchoseisthemultigenreportfolioessay.Forthispaper,I


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hadtousefourdifferentkindsoftexttoexplainwhysportsbettingshouldbelegal.Iuseda
meme,mediaadvertisement,poem,andadiaryentry.Assaidintheessay,byusingfour
differenttypesoftext,Iwasabletoexplainthebenefitsofsportsbettingandwhyitshouldbe
legalintheUnitedStates.ThiswasthemostrecentessaythatwesubmittedandIreceiveda
scoreof74/100.
ThethreepiecesofprocessworkthatIlearnedthemostfromareannotatedarticles,
evidencecharts,andpeercommentsandedits.Frommyracialprofilingessay,wehadtofind
manyarticlestoannotateinordertoenhanceourknowledgeaboutthetopic.Annotatingarticles
helpedmefindavarietyofdifferentaboutmytopicanditallowedmetoseemanydifferent
viewpoints.ItgavemetheknowledgetoputtogethersolidconcretedetailsthatIwasabletouse
inmyracialprofilingessay.The
IntototheWild
essaythatwewroterequiredmanyquotesfrom
thebook.Therefore,usingevidencechartstowritedownimportantquotesfromeachchapter,
significantlyhelpedwhenwritingtheessay.Itmadeiteasytofindthebestquotespossible
becauseofhoworganizedmychartswere.Fromchapteroneofthenovel,Chrishadananswer
foreverythingIthrewathim(6).Withoutmyevidencecharts,therewouldhavebeennowayI
wouldhavefoundthisamazingquotefromthebeginningofthebook.The
BraveNewWorld
essaytaughtmetousemypeereditsandnottakethemforgranite.Thefirstdraftofmypaper
wasverypoor,however,onceIletsomeoneelselookovermypaperandreview,Iwasimprove
mypaperandhaveitmakemoresense.
Overthecourseoftheyear,Ihavelearnedhowtoproperlyciteevidencethecorrectway.
Frommyracialprofilingessay,AfricanAmericansaresaidtobedisproportionatelyandlikely
tobestoppedandsearchedbypolice,eventhoughtheyrelesslikelytobefoundpossessing


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contrabandorcommittingacriminalact(WashingtonPost).IusedtheWashingtonpostseveral
timesthroughoutthisessayanditgavemeacrediblesitewhereIfoundalotofuseful
informationfrom.Alsofromtheracialprofilingessay,Iwasabletoimprovemyannotating
skillsbecausewehadtofindatleasttwoarticlesandannotatethem.Ilearnedthatthisyearthe
onlywaytogetbetteratannotatingistoactuallytryandonlywriteusefulthoughtsdownwhen
annotating.Beforethisyear,creatingaworkscitedpagewasalwayssomethingIhadtrouble
with.Thegoodfood/badfoodwasthefirsttimeIdidtheworkscitedpageandgota100%onit.
Thiswasbecausebothmeandmypartnerdidntcompletelyunderstandhowtodoit,soweboth
askedquestionsaboutitandwebothlearnedhowtodoitthecorrectway.Revisingafinaldraft
formewasneverasessentialstepinmywritingprocessuntilthisyear.InthepastwhenIwould
finishanessay,Iwouldclicksubmitandturnitinwithoutrevisingit.OnceIstartedtodothis
laterintheyear,thescoresonmyessaysimprovedsignificantlybecauseIwasnolongermaking
sillygrammarandpunctuationmistakes.ThefinalskillthatIimproveduponthemostthisyear
wassubmittingtoturnitin.com.InmypriorEnglishclasses,Ihadonlyusedturnitin.coma
coupletimes.Asmysenioryearprogressed,Irealizedthatnotonlycouldturnitin.comhelpme
withplagiarism,butitcouldbeusedinmybenefittohelpwithmyparentheticalcitationsinmy
essays.
Throughouttheyear,allmyessayshadmultiplestrengthsandweaknesses.Inthe
personalstatementessay,whichwasthefirstessaywewrotethisyear,Isaidmycoacheswere
tellingmethat.Ilearnedlaterintheyeartonotusepassivevoiceandtouseactivevoice.I
couldchangethissentencetosaytellingmetoplaycatcher,mycoacheswereoptimisticIcould
handleit.AnotherweaknessfrommypapersthisyearwasthatIusedtoomuchstyle.Ididnot


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useaconsistentpointofviewandIdidnothaveavarietyofwordchoicethatledtoalackof
flowandcontinuity.Oneofthestrengthsthatwasconsistentthroughouttheyearwasmycorrect
MLAformat.IcouldeffectivelycreateapaperthathadcorrectMLAformatbecauseIpracticed
itagreatamountthisyearandtheyearbefore.Comingupwithanaccurateandinformational
thesiswasanotherstrengthIkeptconsistentthroughouttheyear.Itookprideinmakingmy
thesismakesensebecauseagoodthesisisthestartingpointofapaperandwithoutasolidthesis,
itisverydifficulttomakeagoodpaper.
IhaveneverfeltsoconfidentinputtingtogetheraworkscitedpagethanIdidafterI
completemycyberbullyingessay.BeforeIhadwrittentheessay,Ihadalittleknowledgeabout
thebasicsofaworkscitedpage.Ihadnoideathatthereweredifferentwayscitethingsbased
uponwhethertheyareabook,website,orscholarlyarticle.IalsorealizedthatImustorganize
myworkscitedpagebythelastnameoftheauthorandnotbytitle.Also,Ideterminedthatthe
titleforaworkscitedpageshouldnotbecreativeormadeup,butthatitshouldbeWorks
Cited.Iendedupgettinga100%ontheworkscitedpageonmycyberbullyingpaperwhich
confirmedthatIimprovedandlearnedhowtocreateaworkscitedpagewithprecision.
Ibelievethatoverthecourseoftheyear,Iimprovedmycriticalreadingskills.Thisis
becauseIhaveconstantlyimprovedonmyessaythroughouttheyearassecondsemesterI
recordedmyfirstBonapaper.However,IdothinkthatIcouldimproveuponmywordchoice
andreadingthedirectionsmorecarefully.InmymostrecentpaperthatIwrote,Imissed10
pointsbecauseIdidnotfollowthedirectionsanditcostedmeawholelettergrade.
FromtakingERWCthisyear,Ihavelearnedthatcollegeenglishwillnotgetanyeasier
andthatIneedtoworkevenhardertokeepimprovingmyskills.Creatingportfoliosand


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websiteshavehelpedmeapplytheskillsandknowledgeIlearnedinthisclasstotherealworld.I
amcertainthatIwillbepreparedforcollegeenglishbecauseofhowcompetitiveandconfident
Tesorostudentsareintheirwork.BecauseIhavepeersaroundmethatstrivefortheultimate
success,itleadsmetobelievethatIcanaccomplishmygoalswitheaseatnotonlythehigh
schoollevel,butthecollegelevelandbeyond.