Caitlin Cutting
English 2
Learning essay
June 9, 2010

What I learned this quarter

Class this quarter was about the same as in the fall. I did not expect to have to write a research paper, since we did one in the fall, but it was fine. The format was different for this paper than the first, so that made it alright. It was nice to only read one book this quarter, it allowed me to really focus on it and not have to worry about finishing it quickly to start the next one. We seemed to have a little more time to work on each project, but it still seemed a little rushed. Over all it was fine.

I was very shocked to hear we were writing another research paper. We had written one in the fall and I remember being told that was it, but I must have just wanted to hear that. This time around it was a very different concept of a research paper. I have never written a paper based mostly on what someone has already done. I almost enjoyed building up an argument to support what Doctorow says in his book. It was a new experience and it was a lot easier than coming up with my own arguments and points. I think this activity would have been better for the fall. Since the class is geared towards freshmen this semi-research paper would have been less intimating than the full one we did write in the fall. It could act almost as a transition into writing research papers. It incorporated most elements of a research paper but allowed to writer to use a primary source to build ideas around.

Reading only one book this quarter allowed me to spend more time with the content and ideas and get to know it a lot better. In the fall I tried to read all three books, but it was really a lot of reading in a very short amount of time. Eventually, I read all the books, but I was often behind and lost because I had so much reading and it was hard to focus on the content. Focusing on one book all quarter allowed me to really become familiar with the text and to go back and re-read what I missed or did not understand the first time through. I enjoyed feeling confident about the material. In class, discussion is a lot more relevant and I felt like I was almost set up to fail in the fall where as only having one book to know and understand deeply is much more easily accomplished.

All the projects in the fall seemed very rushed and I never felt like I had a good, completed project that I could be proud of. This quarter we have had a little more time to work on projects and the pace was a bit slower. Even so, I would have liked a little more time on the movies. That was a big project and I think if it was made to be a half quarter project, the movies could have been a lot better. The movies where good, but there where places in all the movies that could have been a lot cleaner and better, if time had allowed. My research paper was better in the spring than in the fall, but again, with more time I could have made the web page even better and more artistic.

The one thing I wish had happened in both the fall quarter and this quarter is having our writing actually looked at, corrected, and graded. Even though I am a junior, I could use some help with my wiring. I did not feel that I was able to advance my writing because it was never corrected. Coming into college we, as Santa Clara students, should know how to write, but that does not mean that our writing is perfect or could not be improved. I expect an English class to advance my writing abilities by teaching me what I do incorrectly and how to improve upon it. I do not feel like writing is a strong point for me and I had hoped that an introductory level English course would help me in this area.

During this two quarter class, I did learn a lot about Dreamweaver and making web pages, blogs and how to use them, and Second Life. These skills may or may not be useful to me in the future, but theyhave expanded my realm of knowledge.