Jessica Sanchez

STACC English 100 #3637

3 December 2014
Class Reflection
Reading and writing proficiently are the key to success in the English subject. My
attitude within the English area material is strong and balanced. When I graduated high school
my level wasnt as that poor but I did need a little more practice, effort, and knowledge. My
English 100 STACC class has helped me accomplish that goal.
At the beginning of this semester my English strategies were poor. One thing I wasnt
used to and made my reading comprehension get better was annotating while reading. This
strategy has made a huge positive impact in my reading comprehension environment. Writing
notes, thought, or even questions while my reading has greatly involved me in the reading in a
deeply manner. Actually, critically thinking while reading has also helped me view reading in a
different view as in that reading is a fun activity because I actually understanding the meaning or
purpose of the writing. Practicing my reading with these strategies has helped me go deeply into
the readings and understanding the double meanings. Like in the book The Madonnas of Echo
Park by Brando Skyhorse the whole book is a cycle and has meanings and messages hidden
within the lines. Thinking critically while reading is very beneficial because you get to
understand the point the book is trying to send.
In this class I have learned many new strategies on how to manage and improve my
reading, writings and learning habits and attitude. In this class my skills have evolved for the
better, and we learned how to write papers the proper college level and style. It has been of lots

of benefit when it comes to the help we were provided on how to transition from the high school
lifestyle and improper habits to the proper college style. For example in high school reading
critically wasnt really necessary because the answers were obvious. Skimming through the text
was of my habits I had in high school but now being in college I know that technique isnt going
to take me anywhere. I would always procrastinate on doing my work and here in college I have
learned that that is the worst punishment one can give ourselves because once you decide to skip
an assignment for the class you start getting used to it and the load of work starts to increase.
Another greatly changed habit of mine I learned to change was citing the sources in High school
that isnt required nor necessary but in college you have to or else you will be accused of
plagiarism. Citing sources while writing a paper or saying it out loud while presenting will
actually help your appearance and help you look and sound much more intelligent and educated.
Another thing that I got used to doing is freewriting for a period of time so I can get some ideas
out and start writing.
The writing I feel the most proud of is The Lost Soul that essay was the one about
reflecting on the themes within the book of The Madonnas of Echo Park. I really liked that essay
because I had the opportunity to demonstrate my opinion on what I thought the book was trying
to explain to us. I liked how I used the events that occurred in the chapter as interpreted them as
a religious interpretation. While writing this essay I try to organize everything in a sequence so it
can all connect like a cycle. Another thing was that I actually went out to reach for help at the
Teaching and Learning Center, the English tutors helped me there and gave me tips and
compliments for my writing. They also fixed the grammatical errors they noticed, that was of
great help. The essay I disliked the most out of all the ones I wrote this semester was the first one
we did in class about our educational history or background. That was the essay I disliked the

most because I felt I wasnt well prepared since it was at the beginning of the school year. The
grade I got which was a C+ wasnt as pleasant and proves my point that I did not do so well on
it. Another reason of why I disliked it was because there was lots of information that was asked
for. It just created more confusion.
One thing I am defiantly going to set a goal for is writing better paper so I can get an A
on it. I feel that my writing need a little extra help so I plan to get some help from tutors as I am
doing now. I also plan to get help on my run on sentences it seems like I have a problem with
those and I cannot put them together. Commas sometimes are another issue I get. I plan to
accomplish this and become a better literate writer. Another goal I am thinking of setting for next
semester is of getting better with my diction. Vocabulary words have always been one of my
problems as well. I plan to use the advice we have been given and actually use the dictionary to
look up any word that comes up to me that I dont know the meaning.
English is an important subject that we should all try to be good at. It is also very
important to overcome the obstacles we are facing when it comes to writing or reading. There are
many resources out there that we can use to become better. A main thing is pay attention in class
and take all the professors advice into consideration because it will help us in the future.