Gonzalez 1

Gabriela Gonzalez

Professor Beadle

ESW 113 A

01 August 2019

Reflection Essay

It is my first semester in college and I go to California State University of Northridge.

My english class led by Professor Beadle was quite interesting. Over the years I have struggled

with english and it is no surprise that i'm in this college class. I had four different english teacher

over the years in high school and only one truly helped me with my writing skills, but that was

way back in sophmore year. I went to Northridge Academy High School, which is on the CSUN

campus. The first day of class was literally, the weekend after I graduated from High school. I

really was not looking forward to spending my whole summer writing essays, but it was a

requirement inorder to continue going to CSUN. English can be fun and interesting sometimes

when you're writing about something that interests you. Let's be real, not all english classes will

give you that opportunity, but you just have to stick by to learn something out of it. This english

class has taught me new techniques like not procrastinating, using my word choice better, going

to the LRC for help, writing longer essays without complaining about them, and it has given me

the experience of a small college class, which I will mostlikley never have again. If I'm going to

be honest, this english class was pretty cool and interesting; I’m glad I got the opportunity to take

this class because it helped me a lot.

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In High school I had a teacher named Mr.Gross and he was my favorite. He really pushed

me into staying awake in class because if not my grade would drop. He kind of reminds me of

Professor Beadle because if I was asleep he would wake me by asking me a question I didn't

know the answer to because I was asleep. My writing skills were terrible when I first entered his

class, but he saw that I was really trying hard and he helped me improve them. Going into ESW

was almost as similar because after 2 years of not getting the right help I needed my writing

skills went down.

Taking the english class ESW was an eye opening experience for me. It taught me at

what level my writing skills were at and pushed me into improving them to college level writing.

The essays I wrote during this class weren’t always the best, but getting the feedback from my

professor helped me realize what I was doing wrong. Another thing that Professor beadle helped

with, was that he made it a requirement to go to the LRC for help; I’m glad he did because they

really did help. They helped me with revising my essay, making stronger arguments, and fixing

my outline. After writing Progression one which was 4 pages minimum, I started to realize that

this was the way it was going to be from now on. I have improved my writing skills by knowing

how to fix my punctuation, creating a strong thesis to road map my essay, making a strong

argument and taking the time to review my essay to make sure it all falls back on my thesis. I

also learned how to do counter arguments and refutations during Progression two and three.

With progression two I had trouble understanding what was the meaning of a counter argument.

It wasn’t until progression three, where I felt more comfortable and confident about my counter

argument and refutation. I learned a lot of new techniques that I’m proud of and I’m glad that I
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got to experience it with a small class because it gave me the advantage of having a one on one

conference with my professor.

Overall, my first semester in college was a good experience for me. I got to meet new

people and learn how college really works. When I had trouble with my work, I would go to the

LRC for help and they gave me great advice. I’m glad that I got the chance to have a small class

and get the feedback that I needed to improve on my writing skills because it helped a lot. I am

proud of my improvements and I want to continue becoming a better writer.