Lily McNair
ENG-102-018
Dr. Riek
May 4th, 2017
To the Future ENG-102 students.
Welcome and Greetings! I hope you have enjoyed the site and learned some new interesting and exciting things. I have so enjoyed this class and it has continually refueled my passion for writing. This English 102 course's objective was "learn to write focused and coherent thesis-driven academic essays using appropriate primary and secondary sources." (Course Syllabus) It is my belief that this objective was met in all three projects we did this semester. Each project had required a focused and coherent thesis that was incorporated into the essays and the appropiate use of primary and secondary sources.
Course Goal 2.1 was acquired in the chapters and articles we read as a class. It was possible to determine the different writing skills. And, because of that I was better able to learn the different situations in which to write.
Course Goal 2.2 was met in all three projects. There were different genres for each project. The "Sense of Place" was a personal narrative, the "Homeless in America" was a cultural literacy research paper, and the "History of Medicine in Yuma, Arizona" was a Historical Research Project. Each project had a different genre that required different writing conventions, especially level of formality, tone, and structure. Course Goal 2.3 was also achieved in all three projects. Each project required a thesis statement. The "Sense of Place" project's thesis determined why a place was significant to the writer. The Cultural Literacy project's thesis argued the importance of the researched cultural phenomenon. And, the Historical Research Project's thesis stated the significance of the researched topic, person or event.
Course Goal 2.4 was accomplished in the Cultural Literacy Project and the Historical Research Project. Both required reading and analyzing primary and secondary sources. As well as the appropriate communication of the interpretation. Course Goal 2.5 was completed in the three projects. Each had a necessary systematic inquiry that involved a series of tasks. The tasks I used predominately were locating, analyzing, and synthesizing all the information I encountered. The Sense of Place project was a personal narrative in which I had to analyze my memories of the city as well as incorporate them and other facts into the project.
Course Goal 2.6 was achieved in the Cultural Literacy and Historical Research Project. This was accomplished because it was imperative to search for sources in academic and official databases, as well as the World Wide Web. The three projects also met 2.7. It was necessary in each one to use the recursive system.
Course Goal 2.8 attained in the last two projects: Cultural Literacy and Historical Research Project. Each project followed the MLA format with in-text citations. In the Cultural Literacy project, the MLA documentation format was used with a personal interview and online citations. The Historical Research project followed the format with in-text and online citations involving academic journals, personal letter, newspaper articles, and books. Course Goal 2.9 was fulfilled in all three projects. It was essential to follow all of the grammar mechanics in a way that appropriately conveyed the meaning of the sentence or phrase.
Overall, this class has been extremely beneficial to me in my writing process. It has helped me grow in the MLA documentation style, research, and a review of the grammar mechanics. This class has helped push me to do my best and further develop my writing skill. I believe that it has my writing skill has flourished in this class. I am confident that his class has prepared me for further research papers. It has been a great opportunity to take this class and further develop my writing style.
Blessings and peace,
Lily McNair