I have learned how to more appropriately use comas and apostrophes in my writing. I have always had certain ideas in my head on how and when to use the two. Many of these ideas were incorrect. This will surely help me to write more effectively in classes in the future. Now I understand how a coma in the wrong spot can change the meaning of the text, and hurt the message you are trying to convey.
2. How have the readings in the class affected you?
The readings hit home with me being military related, and me being an ex-marine with combat experience. I felt like I had a bit of an advantage going into the course with first hand knowledge of the topics we were reading about. Other then that, they were also a little hard to read, because of the memories they brought back. I think it was helpful for me to be forced to remember some of those events and to have an opportunity to express my own feelings about it in my writing.
3. How have you met the learning outcomes for the class (which can be found on the syllabus)?
I feel that I have come close to meeting the learning outcomes; though I did have a few issues to work on from the beginning. One of my biggest issues from the beginning was # 8. Locate, evaluate, integrate, and document information. I have always hated to research and cite other sources. I always seem to get frustrated trying to cite sources, even though it is a fairly simple task. After learning about citation machine this has become much more manageable.
4. How has your writing or your writing process changed?
I think my writing has become a bit more organized since the start of this course. Before I had a hard time writing about a subject that did not follow a strict time line. I was unable to keep thoughts flowing between paragraphs. I like to think that I have developed my organizational skills over this course.
5. What were your challenges in the class? How were you able to overcome them?
This was my first ever online course. That being said, my biggest challenge was being self-motivated to finish assignments on time. I have always been a procrastinator when it comes to school work, and this class just seemed to give me more reason to do so. Having an entire week between assignment due dates gave me 6 days a week to say, "I'll do it tomorrow, I've still got plenty of time". Also the fact that this course was so compressed for summer meant there was a lot more work every week than I had anticipated. As for overcoming these challenges, I did so by having years of last minute rushing to get things done practice under my belt. I will probably never stop procrastinating; I will just have to learn to stop with this "hunt and peck typing," because it really slows me down trying to write the longer papers.
Here is a link with some helpful tips for future essay writing
http://www.americanprogress.org/cartoons/2009/07/071409.html
Thank YOU for having this done early as well! I could only find one other person that had done it :) That is awesome you are a Marine! I wrote my essay about Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, so it might interest you! I'd be interested to see if you have experienced anything like that? I sure hope not though. Awesome that you have improved in this class...good luck with your future!
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ReplyDeleteI think that it is great when another student works ahead so thank you because I used you a few time as well to keep things rolling in the class.that's great that this class helped you with your commas and apostrophes, I was able to learn a lot from the assignments as well. It is nice to become a little more organized when your writing papers and you will find that it makes it easier throughout school. good job with this class and with your improvements.I hope you have a good rest of the summer and good luck with school!
shelly