Tran Dinh Trung

An Minh Khoi, MA
ENGL 111
25 December 2023

My initial confidence in writing crumbled fast in ENGL 111. The essays demanded
more than I'd ever crafted in high school. Each draft was a grueling battle, hours spent molding
nebulous thoughts into something coherent. Then came the revelation: the draft's power. It
became a messy playground, where raw ideas could stumble and evolve. I longed for this
freedom in past essays, where polished perfection choked potential collaboration and deeper
engagement. Now, liberated from the shackles of academia's pressure, I'll embrace the imperfect
birth of ideas. ENGL 111 taught me, true mastery lies not in flawless first attempts, but in the
fearless dance of words and raw thought.
Starting with the first essay, ‘‘Literary Narrative’’. I intended to explain my journey
to IELTS, but I made grammatical and vocabulary errors. I was also concerned about the word
count because my story seemed too short compared to the requirement and this was the first time
I had written so much. It was a pretty big challenge for me but when I completed it, I felt very
proud. To make the story more authentic, I combined everything from the plot to the diction and
even a bit of my own emotion. However, I think the flow of my essay was lacking and I needed
more guidance. I didn’t think my first draft was bad because I already had a solid set of ideas
from my sources.
Moving on to my next essay, ‘‘Rhetorical Analysis’’. I noticed that the essay
format was clearly laid out. Although for me, it was difficult to write about a TED talk video
rather than an article because the talk was very short and the evidence was not cited because it
was images displayed on a large screen. However, the TED video I chose was even shorter than
usual, which made my ability to provide information much more difficult, when I had very little
information. It was difficult for me when I started because I didn’t know how to lead the story in
a way that would engage the reader. The only thing I enjoyed was watching the source and
coming up with the main ideas for my essay. I thought it would be simple because I found a lot
of points to explain the main points. Unfortunately, it didn’t go as planned; I got stuck a lot and
finally ran out of points. My peer didn’t really provide enough evidence for the parts he marked
on the comment sheet, can't quite pinpoint where things went off track. I forgot to cite my work
and didn’t choose the source wisely.
Finally, the ‘‘Argumentative Essay’’ was considered the most difficult for me. I
had to read a lot of research papers written about controversial issues in Vietnam, so I had to rely
on information and opinions of Vietnamese people commenting on the internet. Although I had
to overcome many obstacles, I finished it on time. To be honest, addressing the issue of vehicles,
I knew I would face quite a lot of controversy, as I am a Vietnamese citizen and I am also using a
motorbike. I tried to be as neutral as possible, but sooner or later I also believe that motorbikes
should also be banned in the city. I was a little proud of myself for completing it. Unfortunately,
the word count was not enough and I had difficulty expanding my point of view and sometimes
got stuck, trying to find the right words. Moreover, I could refer to other classmates' work. I
think that seeing other people's work is one of the best ways I learned how to edit my own work.
I will become better at my work because I can read my essays objectively. I didn't see the value
of evaluating and criticizing other people's writing before. After completing the revision, I read
my essay many times. I checked for grammatical errors and the clarity of my argument
throughout my essay.
ENGL 111 served as a fertile ground for nurturing my writing abilities, fulfilling my
hopes for the course. Not only did my essays bloom with richer content, but the peer review and
meticulous proofreading sessions honed my editing skills into sharp tools. However, the benefits
extend beyond just this single semester. The seeds of knowledge sown in ENGL 111 will
continue to flourish in the upcoming courses at UEB, enriching my written voice with newfound
confidence. This class wasn't just about mastering grammar and sentence structure; it unlocked a
treasure trove of unexplored topics and themes. I embraced the unfamiliar and delved into these
uncharted territories, my pen guided by the insights gleaned from ENGL 111. Through this
voyage of words, I feel I have evolved, not just as a writer, but as a thinker and communicator.
The confidence and versatility I've gained will undoubtedly resonate through my future academic
endeavors, leaving a lasting impact on my written expression.