First College English Class

When I anticipated what college English class would be like, I imagined that we would be reading classic novels and having philosophical discussions in class…obviously I was not right and I am very glad for that.  I enjoy the freedom English class brings to relax during class and have light discussions about the subjects at matter.  This English class was somewhat like the English classes I took in high school with respect to the atmosphere.  It was a very open atmosphere where everyone could openly share ideas, which was nice.  Also, the fact that you were interactive with the class and personal made it more of an open and comfortable forum to learn in. I think that the deadlines that we were given for each paper, such as a deadline for our outline, works cited, and rough draft, were really good ideas.  I’m a huge procrastinator so the deadlines helped me to get organized and make progress on my essays. 

Rhetoric was the main thing that I learned the most about.  I learned how images are used to convey messages and portray certain things.  I also learned to actually analyze the different aspects of an image instead of just describing it.  As much as I did not like writing 8 pages of research paper, I did like organizing my information into a way in which I was constructing a convincing argument based on facts and rhetoric.  I learned to do research that was not just from Wikipedia but from actual reliable, scholarly sources.  I do think that my writing improved with this English class.  I paid more attention to my grammar and if what I was saying actually conveyed an effective argument instead of me just talking.  I did work very hard in this class and on my papers because I know that I am not the best writer.

However, I am an engineering major so English is not exactly my favorite subject.  I love reading though so if we were to have read a bunch of novels I think I would have found that more enjoyable than writing essays.  I did not like how long the essays had to be.  I struggled each time to get the required number of words because I feel like I had already conveyed the message I wanted to get across and I was unnecessarily repeating myself trying to get the required number of words.  I know that some other English classes implemented a required number of pages instead of words which I believe that I could have constructed my essays better with.  Also, I know some other English classes had optional days where they did not have a class so that they could spend that time to work on their essay or they could meet up with the professor to discuss their essay.  I believe this may have been more productive than coming to class and just being told to work on our essay because I like doing my essays at my desk in my dorm.  Also, maybe aforementioned quizzes from the book could have been given to give more grades.

Overall, my first college English class was a positive experience and you were a great teacher!