ENG 108 Reflection

My first experience with college writing was a welcome relief from high school English classes structured around analyzing rhetorical devices. For once I actually got to study materials that were at least somewhat interesting to me from a standpoint other than diction, syntax, or symbolism. I was able to diverge from these old ways to study in depth the meanings of the works on a larger scale. One thing that surprised me about the course, however, was the lack of writing assignments. In high school we were made to write essays in class nearly every day in preparation for the AP tests, so getting a chance to relax in class was excellent.

Although I enjoyed not writing so many essays, I think I would have found it beneficial to do more writing. I can honestly say that my writing has not improved as a result of taking this course, though my comprehension and insight on different aspects of texts have improved significantly. The blog assignments, to me, seemed almost deleterious to my writing. I became accustomed to writing in an informal manner and my writings became simplistic.

Professor Severe exceeded my expectations as an instructor. As my first male English teacher, I enjoyed seeing the differences in perspectives from my previous teachers. He obviously knew what he was doing and guided the classroom discussions in such a way to open minds and get the students to think for themselves and trust their opinions and argumentation. One recommendation that I have is to provide more feedback on essays. There were very few comments on my essay and no rationales behind the grade I received. Maybe this is my analytical mind needing order, but I would like to see where I went wrong so that I can improve my writing.

All in all this class met most of my expectations, but was not the great leap that I thought it would be from high school to college. Though it was not as writing intensive as I was used too, I do feel that my insight and understanding of literature and films has increased due to this class.