To Whom It May Concern,
In the past semester, I was able to cultivate a significant increase in my ability to understand, analyze, and present ideas and concepts through a few processes. Primarily, I have become much more familiar with addressing argumentative essays and speeches and being able to write the ones that are able to concisely present my stance and its reasoning. This includes grasping technical aspects of the process, such as structure, precise word choice, cohesive control of opinion and facts in order to form a thesis. The thesis has become even more vital to my writing, and I have continued to shape ways in which I am able to build a thesis that is specific, precise, can be argued, illustrated, and be secure enough to be argued for with confidence. These skills are useful beyond writing essays and speeches and are influential on my approach to other aspects of life such as issues with educational, social, political, and economic systems.
This semester was able to improve my abilities to implement systems and habits that have improved my learning. Due to experimentation with different ways to critically analyze material, take notes, and structure them into my own argumentative or descriptive essays, I was able to finally find the methods that were relevant and convenient for me. As I have previously struggled with connecting seemingly unrelated information in the ways that would be insightful and impactful, finding a note-taking style that was understandable was essential in improving my overall research and analysis skills. I found the method of outline note-taking the most coherent for classes relating to writing, as I was able to see the connection between larger concepts and detailed statements. Additionally, the structure of the classes was well-balanced and easy to transcribe into ever further abridged notes through this method.
Note-taking had a positive and a considerable impact on my ability to write better descriptive essays. The outline method allowed me to discern between topics and their contents easier, which provided me with a simpler way to select a topic which would be specific and interesting. As descriptive essays rely on memory, organization, and good presentation, the proper compilation of information was essential to my writing. The outline method was also easy to transform into the outline of the actual essay. Instead of browsing through tightly-packed and often excessive information, I was able to simply relocate, delete, or add information depending on its relevance to the essay. Additionally, my constant interaction with certain topics has improved my ability to remember information when I come across something related to it. The editing of my descriptive essays which includes restructuring and more technical aspects of writing have also evolved during the semester.
Last but not least, my experience with this class and American Literature in general has become much deeper and more involved. My knowledge of historical, social, political, and cultural aspects of America as presented through writing has become much more complex but clear due to the interaction with primary sources such as the Declaration of Independence. Secondary sources that critically analyze these factors in academic essays, such as the Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work by Jean Anyon, have illuminated my understanding of the innate biases of infrastructural systems such as education and its continued relevance today (Fighera, 2017). Additionally, much of the material was simply enjoyable and moving, such as poetry by Claude McKay.
Work Cited
Fighera, Emma. “Examining Differences in Early Childhood Education.” Hamilton, 2017. Web.