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Jonathan Gavidia
Professor Topf
English114B
5 May 2014
Self-Reflection
As a writer I have noticed myself progress over the courses 114A and 114B. The
challenges and obstacles faced during this class have now been surpassed, and what I have taken
with me is knowledge that will be added and conducted onto my next paper(s). My perspective
on how I write will be sculpted down on this self-reflective essay; my greatest strengths and
weaknesses will be jotted down on this paper as a visual concept of what I have obtained.
When I first started this course, beginning with 114A, I thought it was going to be a piece
of cake; just get the work done, and bam you passed. But as I got deeper into this class
transitioning to 114B, I came to the conclusion that English takes a much more than broad
understanding. As I look back at my papers, I catch on the simplest mistakes. Just one eye scroll
down my paper, and I have already managed to catch enough mistakes to start the paper over. I
had a lot of weaknesses before I started English 114A, and I still carried a few of those errors
with me as I moved on to English 114B. One major example was my problem of proper citation.
I honestly did not ever get the order, or what I had to do to cite for that matter. To me, citing
meant just copy and paste what you see. Luckily because of my English114B professor, who
explained how to cite, I was officially back on track with citing. Not only for the help of the
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professor but to finding out easy bib. It has now become one of my strengths when writing an
essay.
Besides proper citing, I had the habit of having bad transitions. From one paragraph to
another, they did not connect or link to each other in any way. I could start one topic and start the
next on a completely different genre. This held me back a while, the struggle of making those
errors followed me throughout the years. It was a constant battle for me, because I could not
keep the topic going. At some point I did not even know what to write, so I would use the same
sentence and paraphrase it in a different manner just to fill in the page to meet the pages required
from the professor. It was a mission impossible for me, but because of the course I found the way
to smoothly connect each paragraph and to transition away from it in a manner that still makes it
acceptable. This has been one of my biggest obstacles. In some cases it still is a challenge, but I
have learned much more.
I had a hard time understanding Logos, pathos, and ethos. It just never really cliqued to
me during my first semester being English 114A. I felt as if I was learning something new in my
114B course. I could not quite point out what was what, when reading something. Whether or
not they were trying to attract the reader using ethos, pathos, or logos. The first time I fully
understood it was when my english114B professor played a short video of Mel Gibson, the
movie was called Braveheart. Our professor played the small clip to where Gibson had said his
freedom speech. We watched it, and our professor later made us find out if he was using ethos,
pathos, or logos. That is where I officially understood it, and how they were to be used.

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My favorite written paper I did in my English114B would have to be our V for Vendetta
paper. I loved writing this paper because we had to look at it in a different point of view. For
example, watching the movie I sided with Vendetta in his rebellion, to change Britain for the
better. But out professor challenged us to write in a different view. So he made us go against
Vendetta and side with the British government. I would say it was a touch challenge because that
was something new to look at. From some other point of view I was not in favor of, we had to
write as if we were against Vendetta and what he was doing was basically awful and based
simply as a terrorist. I was challenged in this part of writing, and I enjoyed writing it at the same
time.
I was really rusty when writing this assignment, and as I looked back at my written
assignment I saw a lot of mistakes. Enough to make me question whether or not I actually wrote
this. I actually blushed just at reading it, because I did not really write about what I was supposed
to, I basically just babbled on about the story, a summary basically. Besides that, I also did not
really have much of a thesis, no citing, and a lot of grammar mistakes. The list can go on and on.
What I liked about my professor is that he would take his time to make small revisions to our
papers, to give us an idea on how our papers could be written better. I had a lot of weaknesses
than but thanks to my professor they have now become my strengths.
Besides my weaknesses I would say I dont have a lot of strengths in English, much
more weaknesses for sure. Just because English was never my strong suit. But I have still
managed to survive through all my courses taken. What I do know is that, when it comes to essay
I can be really creative, I tend to plan ahead as soon as the assignment is given. I start
brainstorming, and sometimes pull off ideas from my everyday life style and use them in my
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Essays. I also tend to write unfinished lines on my paper. So when I officially start my paper I
already have a guided line to help me continue the paper. They way my professor also taught our
class helped me a lot. It made me feel at home, and really confident. He was really detailed on
how he wanted his work, and very clear and precise. I also enjoyed his vocabulary, I really
learned a couple new words just because of how he would reach out to us.
In my future course I know for sure, I will incorporate my new skills onto my next paper.
I am positive they will come in handy during my next English course. What I will do is, plan my
work ahead of time, do more research on my work to have a clear understanding of what it is I
am writing about, and use it to my advantage. I will make sure to revise at least twice, and make
sure to take a trip down to the LRC for a bigger chance of having exactly what the professor
wants.
I definitely learned something new this semester, it was a fun and new experience. I
would say I was challenged in all aspects of writing; from grammar to even formatting an essay
correctly. I gained a lot of new information and I would say my writing changed a lot in every
way possible. Although I gained a lot of new writing material, I still feel like I lack a lot in my
writing skills. This reflective essay has really made me think about how I see my English
courses. Reflective writing gives you the chance think about what you are doing more deeply
and to learn from your experience. You have the opportunity to discover how what you are
taught in class helps you with your real-world or academic tasks. It did make me look back and
learn from my past experiences. I feel like I am looking at my written assignments, not only that
but my course in a deeper understanding. I look back and think to myself that I should have
taken this class with more patience, and understanding.
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As a reflective essay I enjoyed writing this because just like what I read online, Writing
your thoughts down makes it easier for you to think about them and make connections between
what you are thinking, what you are being taught and what you are doing. Your written reflection
will also serve as a source of reference and evidence in the future. Which is exactly what I did
and felt. Without reflecting upon this experience it may quickly be forgotten, or its learning
potential lost. I feel this reflection was essential, to really look back, and remember the first day
of class to the ending of class. To actually remember your work and compare and contrast to
what you have accomplished, and what more you can incorporate on your work.
















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Works Cited
1) (Gillett, Andy. "Genres in Academic Writing: Reflective Writing." Genres in Academic
Writing: Reflective Writing. Andy Gillett, Mar.-Apr. 2014. Web. 09 May 2014.)- Writing
your thoughts down makes it easier for you to think about them and make connections
between what you are thinking, what you are being taught and what you are doing. Your
written reflection will also serve as a source of reference and evidence in the future.

2) (Gillett, Andy. "Genres in Academic Writing: Reflective Writing." Genres in Academic
Writing: Reflective Writing. Andy Gillett, Mar.-Apr. 2014. Web. 09 May 2014.)-
Reflective writing gives you the chance think about what you are doing more deeply and
to learn from your experience. You have the opportunity to discover how what you are
taught in class helps you with your real-world or academic tasks.

3) (Gillett, Andy. "Genres in Academic Writing: Reflective Writing." Genres in Academic
Writing: Reflective Writing. Andy Gillett, Mar.-Apr. 2014. Web. 09 May 2014.)-
Without reflecting upon this experience it may quickly be forgotten, or its learning
potential lost.