Ronald Greenfield Jr

5/8/2017

How I Benefitted from English 101

In more ways than one, I extracted a considerable deal of benefit from attending the English
101 course. Not attempting to spellbind the teacher with flattery, I must say that Professor
Baker was indeed one of the better instructors Ive had in my lifetime of scholastic studies. His
simplistic way of explaining things and his cognizance of the demographic of the class, was very
beneficial for me being a part time student and a full time professional. The things I took away
from this course I have already applied in my daily verbal and written behavior.
The exercise that was most meaningful to me were the essays. The essays were a bit
challenging because it has been a long time since Ive had to complete a writing assignment. I
have written hundreds if not thousands of emails, incident reports, and applications but essays
require a different type of thinking in order to write them effectively. I had to use some areas of
my mind that I probably havent used for some time. In conclusion, I am fascinated by the
chaotic yet scientific journey called life. Every point has been a humbling experience, and I am
exceedingly grateful for each passing moment that I am able to draw breath (1), is one of my
most memorable quotes from Essay 2.
English 101 was helpful to me because as Ive previously stated, it challenged me to think on
levels I have not explored in some time. It required me to use creativity, extended
concentration, and scrutiny. This has helped me in my regular life to be a better conveyor both
verbally and written. My writing has changed because now I tailor my writing style based upon
the audience; as opposed to before I demanded the audience adjust to my writing. I have
learned how to construct a well written narrative of information and how to do so succinctly
when necessary.
My hopes for applying the things Ive learned in English 101 to the future is to simply keep
building upon the knowledge Ive gained here. My approach to writing essays has improved and
I expect the experience from this course to carry me through the next level of English. I will
apply the expressions of my writings congruently with the assignment at hand. The only
improvements I would suggest for this course is the Blackboard layout. I think Blackboard needs
to be made a little easier to understand as far as what assignments are due and when. I often
found myself confused by the Blackboard postings. Outside of that I will use what I learned here
beyond this class and I look forward to the next step.

(1) Greenfield, Ronald. Then and Now: The Evolution of Myself. Essay 3. Germantown, MD 2017. Print