Monterrosa 1

Laura Monterrosa
Professor Lewis
English 113A
11 December, 2015
My first Writing Assignment in Middle School
I was eleven years old when I first learned what an essay was. In elementary school no
one told me what an essay; it was until I entered middle school, where I found out about essays. I
didnt know that we had to learn how to write an essay in elementary, but we did learn how to
write sentences and fix our grammar. I remember my elementary teacher would give my class
grammar practices. The word essay was new to me; I knew nothing about it, I didnt even know
what a thesis was. Ms. Burns, my elementary teacher, did make us find the thesis sentences in
authors paragraphs, but I did not remember the name. I remember entering my science class,
the lights were bright, and the walls were white and filled with posters. I remember when my
sixth grade science teacher, Ms. Martin, gave us an assignment in which my class and I had to
write a five paragraph essay on deforestation. My teacher talked about what was required in the
research paper such as: an introduction, three body paragraphs and a conclusion. These words
were new to me. I did not know that we needed to learn how to write an essay in elementary. It
was difficult for me to write an essay, I felt like I was not doing it right, I spent long hours on
writing my essay. After my first writing assignment I had another research paper or my English
class in which I did better on. Now and I have a much better understanding of writing essays.
When my sixth grade teacher, Ms. Martin assigned my first essay on deforestation, I
stayed after class to discuss the assignment with my science teacher. I asked her for help on how
I can write my essay and if she could clarify what was the main topic she wanted me to write

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about deforestation, but she gave me instructions as if I knew what an essay was. I decided to
search online for help. When I did my research, it did help a little bit, but I had no clue what a
thesis was. I was very confused and asked my brother for help. My first essay made me feel
petrified. What worried me the most was doing my assignment wrong. I didnt want a bad grade.
Creating a thesis was hard for me because I did not know what a thesis was. I knew nothing
about an essay. I did not know about organization or style. I remember thinking I cannot do this
assignment. I was stressing out because this assignment determinate a huge part of our grade. I
had to write about deforestation, but I did not know my main point in this essay. I did not know
whether it was on how to stop deforestation or the negative effects on deforestation. My essay
was not well organized and I felt like I was going to receive a bad grade.
It took me hours to write an essay because it was difficult to start the introduction and I
didnt know what to write. I was sitting on my chair in front of my computer exhausted because I
didnt have any idea on how to start the essay, what to write for my body paragraph or how to
end it. I sat in my room and stared at the computer screen upset because I felt like I was not able
to complete the assignment. I remember starting my essay on a sunny day around eleven in the
morning .When I was finally done writing my essay, I was content that I was able to complete it.
It was definitely stressful writing an essay in which I had no knowledge about. I turned in my
essay and a few weeks later, I got it back and in the comments, my teacher said to cite the
websites I got my information from. I remember I got a C; I was relieved that I didnt receive an
F, but I still felt bad about my homework assignment. I didnt know how to cite either, but in
English class, my teacher taught us how to write an essay and how to cite. My first essay was
difficult for me because I did not know what an essay should contain; I did not know whether I
was doing a good job at it or if my punctuation and organization is correct. Putting my thoughts

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in words was intricate for me because I was not clear on what I was trying to say. Language was
an aspect where I had to work on in my essays because I had grammatical and punctuation
errors.
I had another essay assignment, but the assignment was for my English class, we had to
do a narrative essay. The more writing we did in my English class, the better I got on writing my
essays. We wrote a lot to get use to writing. I also learn how to cite my essays, although it was a
bit confusing to me. The amount of practice I received in my middle school English class made
me feel more confident about my writing. I had more knowledge on how to write an essay, but I
feel like I still need practice to get better. I need to improve my grammar and punctuation.
When I wrote my first essay in middle school, it was very difficult for me. One of the
struggles I had was pointing out my ideas and starting an essay. I kept writing without knowing
whether my spelling and organization was correct or if I was clear in my writing. It was still
hard to start an essay, but practicing on my writing helped me get better. In the beginning I hated
writing essays because I felt like I was doing a poor job. I didnt like writing and I didnt have
anything to write about, unless its a narrative writing. After writing more essays, I started liking
it. The time when I felt proud of an essay assignment was when I was in the seventh grade. I
wrote an essay about the Zune mp3 player and the iPods. It was an essay about the similarities
and difference; I did a lot of research and cited my essay. I put a lot of thought on my essay and it
was a topic I was interested in. The best feeling was when my English teacher, Mr. Zepeda,
talked to me about my essay; he said that my writing has improved and that my essay was great.
My grade for my essay was an A, and I was pleased that I was able to write a good paper.

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Now Im in college and writing an essay is not as challenging as it was before. Learning
and continuing to write essays has given me a positive effect because I learn how to write better
each time I write. I do struggle on the start of my essays because sometimes I have no ideas or a
topic to talk about. I gained more knowledge on writing essays than I did before. When I first
received my writing assignment, I was terrified and didnt know what to do. Now that my
teachers or professors assign a writing assignment, Im not as terrified as I was before because
now I have more practice on writing. Im able to write an essay without the fear of not
understanding the assignment. I learn how to get better on my writing each time I have a writing
assignment, although I do struggle in some aspects, I dont let it stop me from completing it.
What Ive learned throughout the years of writing or doing any assignment is to not be afraid to
ask questions, whether its a teacher or a peer. I felt embarrassed asking my friends what an essay
was, if I were to ask them a question, they could have been helpful. Writing my first essay was
tough, but I learned from it and now I continue to write essays and its something that I think I
will continue doing.