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Nicole Decristan
Robert Arnold
UWRT 1101
November 5, 2014

Midterm Reflective Essay

I never thought that I would step foot into a four year university. I thought I would never get into a
university because I always doubted myself. Throughout kindergarten to twelfth grade I always struggled in
English. I personally like things structured, although English was structured, when it came to writing papers I had a
hard time. Math, science, and social studies were always my strong point because the formulas, dates, and
information were set in stone. English on the other hand had structured aspects as far as the English language but
when it came to writing papers, everything in the paper had to be formulated by me.
Taking English in college has changed my perspective of writing. I realized that everything I learned in
English from middle school to high school was not as important anymore. For example, I was taught that in your
thesis statement you should never give away your paper, but little did I know that is completely wrong. UWRT
1101 has made it easier for me to express myself in papers. I would normally get stressed out when writing a paper
but lately that is not the case. I have watched myself evolve from a high school student writer to a college level
writer. One way I have noticed the evolution is from the first paper I wrote in college to the most recent. My
sentence structure and diction has completely changed and it is beginning to sound less like a robot and more like a
scholar.
In UWRT 1101 I had an easier time writing papers because of the strategies that were taught. In the first
paper on my ePortfolio, which is the literacy narrative, happened to be a fairly easy paper for me to write. The
invention strategies we completed in class before writing the paper made it easier to organize my thoughts as a
whole. The reflection letters at the end of each paper have helped me to realize how I have grown as a writer. In the

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first reflection letter, we were asked to compare and contrast the altered book vs. the literacy narrative paper and
decide which one we enjoyed better. I noticed after writing the reflection letter that it helps me to reevaluate my
writing and I can begin to think of ways to improve instead of writing the paper and never looking at it again.
I have noticed that although my writing has improved, I still struggle in certain areas. I have a hard time
figuring out how I want to address my audience as well as whom I want to address. In the beginning of the semester
I tried to make my writing specific to one audience regarding the topic, however I have steered away from that idea
and I have addressed my papers to the general public. Making the audience as the general public has made it easier
for me to write papers because I can just continue my thoughts as they come to mind. I also struggle with having a
clearly stated purpose. I feel like I circle around my main idea instead of getting straight to the point. The found
genre paper I did was hard for me because I did not know whom I was addressing and what exactly my point was.
My writing has become more sophisticated because I no longer use childish words and sentence
structures. In middle school I tended to use the five-paragraph rule and I would use for example or secondly to
start just about every sentence. In high school I dropped the idea and just stuck to an introduction and conclusion
with short paragraphs supporting my thesis in between. Now I have noticed that I do not follow such a strict way of
writing. I jot down things as they come to mind and I combine my thoughts into one paper. I have found it helpful
that we have used peer reviews when writing papers as well. Reading what other people think about my paper
allows me to understand what it is I need to fix. The peer reviews also help to show how I am improving because
the less negative comments that my peers write, the better the writing is getting. Even though having less negative
comments is a great thing, every paper can be improved in some way.
From the beginning of the semester until now I definitely feel that my writing has improved and I state
my thoughts more clearly. Having the eportfolio has boosted my self-esteem and it has made me realize although I
struggle in certain areas, there has been improvement. I do not doubt myself as much and I feel better knowing my
writing has improved. In todays society it is important to know how to write papers for almost every job or every

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day situations. For example, I had to write a letter to Wells Fargo disputing a charge on my credit card. I had to do
so by writing a letter and sending it in to Wells Fargo. I could no longer write as a child instead, I had to write like
an adult. Using the writing skills that I was taught in UWRT 1101 helped me to write the letter and win the dispute!
I feel that I have become more confident when it comes to writing and I can only hope that my writing only excels
from this point on.