Kevin Keys

Ms. Ridgway
Eng. 110
Part A
In English 110, so far over the semester there has been a lot of work being put in that is
leading up to this final paper. We have worked on many different papers, almost all of them
being in a different genre. For example we have written reviews for restaurants, written profiles
for things, and a whole slew of other papers in different genres. Along with all the different
genres we also did free writes that just let us get our mind working, so we could have an idea of
what we wanted to write about. Each writing assigned to us had a set of SLOs that were related
to what we were writing about.
Writing as a Process
For me writing as a process has probably been one of my most improved areas over this
semester. At the start of the year I did not really have any process for writing a paper. Through a
few different exercises in class and just working ahead on papers I started to have a prewriting
process whether it be through research or having already written some ideas down on what to
write about. Exercises such as free writes helped me to think of ideas for my papers. The free
writes would help in multiple ways such as getting rid of writers block by just writing whatever
comes to the mind even if it is completely irrelevant to the subject. Making progress in this
outcome will help me personally in the future because I will be able to have a plan on what to
write about and how to write about a subject in the future.
Writing as a Process for me will definitely need to be improved even more because
having a plan is half the battle, and execution is the other part. Sure you can just not have a plan,
but the final result might not be as polished as it could be with a plan. For example, a big
research paper needs to have some sort of process. Whether that process be writing what you
know off the top of your head then researching for more content and support, or researching a
subject so you know what youre writing about. As for me, my process needs to start sooner and

continually build like on papers. I need to start researching earlier and keep researching as well
as writing a head of time so I can make corrections as I work instead of hoping things will
magically fall into place.
Research
Research for me usually was mostly done on the internet and seldom in books, but this
semester I also got chances to do research by interviewing people instead of just looking for
things on the internet to read. I actually much preferred the interview version of research than
online because it was more personal; however it was a little harder to write more on a subject
because a person can only remember so much about an experience. Another version of research
that we have done over the semester is research through writing of what ones own beliefs are by
having a topic to write about then having the author think about if they agree or not. One
exercise that we did that I got to learn a bit more about myself was the first few memoirs that we
shared because I remembered things from my childhood that actually have an effect on who I am
today. Over the semester I learned more about myself and also different ways to research things.
This will help me in the future if I ever need to find out more about something and need to
research it. I can now employ different research tactics to get enough information to be educated
in the matter.
Reflection
Obviously reflections are something I have been working on over the semester. At the
start of the semester, reflections were completely new to me. I had never really even heard of
them until this class. Reflections for me were useful in the way that they made me reevaluate my
works and think about what might need improving and what is starting to get better in my
writing. Reflections on bigger papers do more than smaller reflections because simply there is
more to question about what you have just written. Something that really helped my reflective

process on my papers is peer review because its another person reviewing your paper without a
bias, so then once you read their remarks it can be easier to reflect on your own writing after
seeing what your peer stated.
At first I didnt really think I would needs reflections for really anything but after more
thought I see how they could play a role. Reflections could be notes to myself about an
experiment, or some flaw in a paper I noticed and I could write a reflection to cement the things I
improved on and need to improve on for next time. Reflections seem like one thing that could
really improve someones writing in the way that they note what to fix, and whats working.
Improved grammar, spelling, word choice, and some many other things could benefit from
reflections because they force you to take a look at your work and think about it.
Grammar and Usage
Although the high school I attended focused heavily on English, and especially on
grammar, I did make improvements on my overall usage of it. Things like sentence structure
improved, word choice, word placement, and even usage of different words to convey a meaning
in a different light improved for me. Paragraphs became easier to form as my sentences became
more fluid. This fluidity helped me because often times I would be able to write a couple
paragraphs on something and have them make sense, where as in the past two paragraphs that
were supposed to go together just wouldnt always seem like they were written on the same
subject. Improving on my grammar will help me in the future because it helps me to
communicate an idea more clearly to an audience. Some things that helped me to improve my
grammar were peer reviews, and even just rereading my papers after writing them to see if they
make any sort of sense, and if the paper or sentence didnt make sense then I could take a step
back and think about how I might be able to restate my thought into a more suitable sentence or
paragraph.

Grammar will definitely help me in the future. Right now I am studying Mechanical
engineering, which is a pretty complex subject, and having to write a paper on it will be difficult
as well, but hopefully it could be simplified through grammar so that not only mechanical
engineers understand it, but other people can too. I have also thought about considered changing
my major to other engineering fields, such as, Chemical, or Biology, and grammar would help in
those fields for lab reports or even just taking notes that are going to be read by other people. No
matter where you go or what you do grammar plays a big role because its how people
communicate. If ones grammar is poor then they might be misunderstood, or even not thought
of at all because people might see them as uneducated because they couldnt convey a simple
thought.
Conclusion
Over the semester I have learned many different things. Things like how to not only
review another persons paper but your own paper as well. I have learned better grammar by
working at it and getting feedback from peers, or even just reading their work and noting what
they do that is more correct. I have improved my writing process; I now tend to have more of
process than just doing everything in one night. I have also learned to just take a moment to
reflect on what I have done and make corrections myself for next time, and also note the things
that dont really need fixing for next time.