Post #15

I feel like I have really improved on my grammar skills and detail when it comes to describing specific ideas or topics. At the beginning of the year, I had a lot of trouble with these two specific concepts. As a result of this class, I have a better understanding of proper English structure, and I feel these improvements show in my writing. Also, I am a lot better at organizing my ideas and putting them in a proper order as a result of this class. I used to have no idea where to put specific ideas in a paper. Now, I have a better idea as to where specific things should go in a paper as a result of Professor DiSarro's teaching.

There are a few things I still struggle with in my writing process. First, I still have trouble with repeating myself. Every time I write a paper, I always end up repeating something I already said earlier in the paper, giving the paper no variety and making it very repetitive. Also, I have trouble staying on track when it comes to writing a draft or paper. I always end up procrastinating and doing it at the last minute, which makes it very hard to write a paper. I feel like I write a better paper under pressure, but it is still very stressful. In addition to repetition and writing papers at the last minute, I also struggle with the way I conduct research. It is very hard for me to summarize what I have found in my research. I still have a tendency of writing too little or too much about what I've found in my research. As a result, some of my papers if not all of them lose depth that they could've had.

After having this class for 15 weeks, I feel like I have a pretty good understanding as to how this class is taught. Some of the things I like about this class is the teacher is very open to questions, answers your questions very well, always answers your e-mails, and gives really good feedback and advice on drafts and final papers. 

Some of the things I would change, however, is I would have more conferences for the students. This way the students can talk to the teacher more one on one than via e-mail. Also, I feel like the mini-ethnography could be a little more specific in the sense of what exactly to put in it because some people get confused by reading the directions. I would explain the ethnography more in class and give a few examples to show the class as to what I would be looking for in a mini-ethnography exactly. Other than that, I thought the class was a very effective class. The teacher was always well prepared for class, answered all questions asked by the students, and gave great advice on the drafts and final papers to help the students with their writing process.