Musings at the End of Term 1
ENGLCOM is the only subject this term that I go to every day. I had high expectations for it because, since grade school, I have excelled continuously in English subjects. ENGLCOM focuses on academic writing, tackling some of the subjects I have learned in high school in a more extensive way. Academic writing is definitely a new terrain for me because I don’t usually do it or need to do it. It has a lot of technicalities and considerations, especially in citing sources. One misconception I have definitely debunked is that academic writing is only for boring scientific articles or journals. Yes, academic writing is mainly for that purpose but the techniques in academic writing can be applied in most forms of writing. I loved the lessons on objectivity and avoiding biases because I also write for the school paper so I needed the tips in those lessons to make my writings better. The topics we write about are also very eye opening and exploratory; in the sense that I am allowed to bring a new perspective into it. Unlike before, where parameters for writing are controlled and ideas are constricted by biases.
The classroom environment is very helpful as well. Learning with peers who are adept at writing can be very humbling and challenging. Their line of thinking and vocabulary enlighten me. It also helps me realize that there is so much more to learn and to improve upon. Ideas in every class are most welcome, which helps me widen my thinking horizons and allow myself to see topics or subjects from new angles. Definitely, with all is rules and regulations, academic writing presents many challenges. In the writing process of my extended definition essay, descriptive writings are very hard to control especially because it is difficult to state what this term means to my life without using somehow flowery words. Contractions and oxford commas were also challenges that I encountered. In the argumentative essay, being objective yet firm in your arguments is the difficult part because it is hard not to write in a way that highly favors your bias. The argumentative essay’s writing process is also lengthy because you really have to put in time to research about possible points to support your claim and possible rebuttals to make your arguments stronger. Surely, the argumentative essay was the hardest one because it really challenged my critical thinking and ability to support the thesis with all techniques learned throughout the term. The main challenge for me in the argumentative essay would be the total abandon of the “half-worked” sentences because you don’t just have to sound persuasive, you have to sound smart as well.
ENGLCOM made me a better writer for sure. Not the best, yet, but definitely better. I learned a lot, not just from my professors but also from myself and my classmates. Writing opened my mind about many new topics and the perspective I can apply in viewing them. The things I learned in ENGLCOM will really be useful in my other writing and researching classes in the terms to come. Next time, I would be more aware of my technicalities, not just my ideas. I am very grateful that ENGLCOM made my first term a really busy one so that in in the following years, I would be able to apply all the basic techniques I learned here.