ENGL 298 B: Intermediate Writing Social Sciences   Autumn 2011, University of Washington

I like to be challenged.  In this class, I like how Paige comments on our papers and gives us blunt but helpful comments.  I have always enjoyed being challenged because I feel as though it helps me to become a better writer; I try to learn from my mistakes and then try alternative ways to write.   So far, I have found the assignments in English to be encouraging.  I particularly enjoyed learning about Goldman and contrasting her ideas with Plato’s philosophy.

I tend to become distracted in my writing or I sometimes want to divert from my thesis, so I know staying on task and writing with a clear voice will be somewhat of a struggle for me, as it always has been.  I feel as though I have been trying to make my writing more clear and concise.  With our first quiz, I did well, but I now know college writing is much different from high school.  I need to be clearer with my writing and I also need to stay focused.  I always worked hard in high school so I have yet to see a monumental change in my writing habits, but for now I have noticed a change in my thought process; I have definitely been thinking a lot more about what I am going to write before I actually write.  This may sound odd, but oftentimes I will write without giving enough thought into what I am actually writing.  So far, however, I do feel as though my reading habits have stayed about the same.  I love to read, so the homework is not so much of a chore for me.  I am excited to see how much more I will develop with my writing throughout this quarter.