Carolina Gonzalez

English 5M

Achievement Summary

Reading Responses have been an enormous element for this class. Not only have they assisted
me in reaching the course goals and satisfied the expectations for this course, but they have also
shaped me as a reader and writer. From reading responses 1-10, my responses have changed for
each one. I carried new ideas and learning from one to the other. The content, context, language,
structure, vocabulary and so much more has changed and improved within every response I have
pursued.
The first reading response was a bit distinct from the many other responses I was assigned.
The reason being that the requirements were different and there was no definite set of rules for
the first reading response. I personally feel it was my worst work yet. I give myself the excuse
that it was the very first response, so it was just practice for me to ease in to the next few reading
responses I would encounter.
Language, structure, wording, and ideas have been the main elements I would say have
changed and lacked in RR#1. To begin with, it was extremely elongated; I was exceedingly
descriptive and tried too hard to make myself sound like an intellect. I was still fiddling with my
language and voice as a writer at the time, it was definitely not found within this RR. Another
thing was the structure. My writing just looked like a big mess that I am sure my professor felt
like it was never going to end. But overall I did understand the reading that went with the
response and followed the few guidelines we were given. Which I believe is one of the main
components from these responses.
For the second reading response, I most definitely denoted a difference from RR#1. I feel that
a lot of it had to do with the new guidelines given. They were precise and exact with what it was
expecting which gave me the ability to find the purpose within the accompanied reading. This
caused me to read the assigned articles with a different outlook; I read with a highlighter in hand
to highlight elements that would develop my response. Although I know my RR#2 was also not
the best of my work, I do recognize it was a lot better than the first. The structure of my
summary was a lot better and shorter but my use of words was still a bit tangled and hard for
others to understand.
Moving on to my ninth reading response. I can without a doubt say that this reading response,
along with the tenth, have to be my strongest work. It was structured and worded clearly, it was
well organized, well crafted, and very well negotiated. The wording was much more simplistic
yet strong which made it clear to understand. I organized and developed my ideas in a way that
would flow nicely and transition well between ideas. The structure was also improved; I
controlled my wording in order to be descriptive enough to be understandable and not confusing
to read.
As for the tenth reading response, the exact same methods I used for RR#9 were applied
for RR#10. I found that it worked quite nice with the ninth so I did the same thing with the last.
Each of my individual elements was strong and that came together to create a strong connection
with the context.
Throughout the process of creating all reading responses I have learned a lot about myself as a
writer. I have learned that my capabilities as a reader and writer are much greater than I once
thought. From this I have taken the skill of depicting any type of reading in order to facilitate my
understanding of that reading. They have aided me in the foundation of my personal writing style
and have opened a new perception towards reading. I recognize that I have very much improved
as a writer, and that is something that is prominent through the course of these ten reading
responses.