The Class I Never Thought Would Matter the Most

Before I took this English class I did not really think about the technical things like punctuation and grammar when it came to writing. I came into this English course knowing how to explain something instead of showing something to my reader. When writing an essay I would think more of being able to elaborate on the idea or topic. In the classes I have taken previously, I have received very positive feedback on the essays I have turned in. The classes I have taken that required me to write essays were not English classes so I was not being graded on punctuation and grammar unless it was a careless mistake like spelling, not indenting, or not capitalizing the first letter of a sentence. Those instructors did not grade based on grammar and punctuation because they probably do not have perfect grammar themselves or knowledge on punctuation like an English instructor would have. Based on the feedback I have received on letters I have written or emails I have sent to important individuals on executive boards, in previous positions, I feel confident saying that I have a decent way with words. I was not comfortable with my editing skills because I simply did not know how to edit. I know I learned how to write, but it was difficult to retain that information since I did not put what I learned over the years to enough practice. I have always felt like I am much better at communicating my thoughts or feelings through writing than speaking because I can organize my thoughts much better when I write. On the first day of our English class, the instructor warned us that we would be required to share our essays with the class. The fear of showing people what I write when it involves my personal thoughts and opinions has always been an issue for me because I am afraid they might think I “suck”. Writing essays has never been an issue because I knew that my instructors would be the only ones reading them. The first day of class I left

feeling like I would not survive in this class and that I would only learn to dread it more and more. As time went by the belief of dreading the class proved to be false. I slowly felt more comfortable with sharing what I wrote with my classmates and noticed that my writing improved because I was able to write with out the fear of being judged. Normally, when an instructor has asked any of my classes to get together with other students for a class project, I tend to gravitate towards those students sitting near me. I must admit that I was very blessed to have been surrounded by great people who were all very different and always had something to bring to the table. Getting to know some of the people in the class on a deeper level than most classes would allow, created an environment that I enjoyed being in. In one occasion we were asked to present to the class something the instructor had reviewed over the period of the course. We could present the topic to the class in a method of our choice. I was not in class when the majority of the plotting for this group assignment took place, but I was shocked to see how well they communicated with me and kept me in the loop. I gave them my thoughts and opinions on what they had come up with and their ideas grew even further with what I had to say. It was very satisfying to see how well we could communicate with each other outside of class. My essay writing process before starting this English class was to plan by making a list of main ideas, and then I would elaborate on each of those ideas within the essay. I normally only worked on one draft and I would turn it in to my instructor. When I found out that in this class we would be revising our essays over and over again, I thought it was pointless to do so. As I worked on the first essay about my best personal experience,

I saw my essay progress from a decent essay into an essay I was beyond proud of. Having a fresh pair of eyes review my essay helped me see