Quinn Walsh

Larry Neuburger

ENG 102 – 110

May 18, 2011

Final

This semester has been a good one for my understanding of English composition. In ENG

102, I wrote two full length research papers, a few essays, two outlines, and two bibliographies.

These projects were both troubling and informative. I have learned a great deal through the

instruction I have had in this class.

The most important thing I learned, by far, was proper citation format and signal phrases.

I have always had some difficulties with in-text citations and I rarely used signal phrases before

this semester. The instructor’s willingness to help and near-intuitive understanding of a student’s

issues were thoroughly helpful.

Another interesting point about this class was the way in which technology was used. The

class and personal blogs are an example of this. These were an important experience due to the

fact that the fabric of future education appears to be woven in pixels. However, there may have

been too much technological overlap. The “digital stories” we produced as an assignment

required less writing than a Bazooka Joe comic. While these were fun to make as well as watch,

they had nothing to do with English composition and felt quite out of place.

At the start of the semester I felt the same way most college students do about ENG 102,

“oh swell, another sixteen weeks of read, write, repeat,” but I found myself pleasantly surprised

in the end. The assignments were instructive and the teacher presented the material with a sense

of professionalism and humor only rivaled by Winston Churchill. The only real issue I could find
was the over accentuation of the Holocaust. I fully understand how terrible this time was in

world history, but I signed up for an English class not a “hey, don’t Nazis suck” class. I believe

everyone is in agreement with the idea that Nazis suck, and anyone who doesn’t agree is an

uneducated dick (if I’m allowed to say that in academic writing.) One paper is fine on the

subject, but I feel like we as a class beat this dead horse into a fine pony powder.

I thank the instructor for his time and energy. He was easily one of the most informative

teachers I have had in my college experience so far. I will, to a degree, miss this class when I exit

this room in five minutes or so. I doubt I could be any happier with my time spent in ENG 102

and I would easily suggest this class and this instructor to any who might ask for an opinion.