Reflection Essay

Communication has been around since the dawn of man, and is present in other species of animals around the world as well. Good Communication skills are an important part of our culture and social workings today. As a writer and communicator, I feel that this English class has made tremendous improvements upon my skills.

As a college student, I have experienced having a hectic week where I thought "everything in the world was due". I have thrown together assignments and papers alike, trying to get everything done. Sometimes, I have found out, this method doesn't always pay off when you see your grades. Now I have learned to pace myself and give more attention to larger assignments. If I have a paper coming up, I might start by making an outline of what I want to say, or write a rough draft, and add to it later instead of writing it all in one hour. In the future, I hope that my writing process continues to improve as I continue as a student.

Having other people with your revision process can be a very useful tool. If I want help revising a work, I will usually ask a good friend or instructor. They have helped me with ideas, getting the reader's opinion, spelling, and grammar. It is always helpful to have another set of eyes to catch the mistakes that are looked over. Whenever these people help me, they usually give me some really useful information. I try to incorporate as much of their help into my revised project as I can, but sometimes I will disagree with their thinking, or not like how they have re-worded something. If I don't like the way it has been revised, I sometimes have to stop and think to myself that maybe I haven't come across the way I would like to in my writing, and should revisit some areas.

The assignment that has been the most enjoyable and interesting for me has been the This American Place radio essay. With so many parts and things to be done with this assignment, it is really nice to see everyone in a group work together and get each thing done. In the interviewing process, I learned that my voice hardly picks up on a microphone, so I had to talk super loud. I am thankful that my group and I began this project when we did, with ample time to work out some difficulties and think about our process, although, we still ran into problems. I think this assignment was really helpful in teaching me computer skills, speaking skills, and editing skills when applied to a real interviewing situation. It was fun to see how I worked under these conditions, and I think our group did a great job as a whole.

The communication skills that I have learned and improved upon have already made a difference in my life. I can apply many skills to other classes and assignments, as well as in my social life. These abilities can stay with me for the rest of my life.