1102 Reflection

Tommy Fuller

Ms. Morris

English 1102-XX

4 May 2011

Year-End Review

            Heading into Ms. Morris’s English 1102 class, I felt I could possibly have a slight advantage over the course because I had taking Ms. Morris’s 1101 class the previous semester.  Therefore once I signed up for the hybrid class, I knew the expectations expected from Ms. Morris as well as the demands that would need to be met in order to survive a hybrid class.  Demands such as numerous amounts of hours spent on assignments outside of class as well as the frequent use of the Internet.   Moreover, my previous knowledge on what to expect on this course has allowed me to finish strongly in this course. 

            As the course went on and we were informed of all of the assignments the course would consist of, the assignment I dreaded the most was probably the research essay due towards the end of the semester.  This essay seemed to be extremely tough and long.  However I must admit that when it was all said and done, the research essay may have been my favorite assignment throughout the entire course. The research essay was not really that tough due to the fact that throughout the semester each individual assignment focused on the topic of my research paper.  For example, we individually built up wikis or individual web databases on our topics.  This played a huge role in tying everything together in the research essay.  Overall, each assignment turned out to be relatively interesting and slightly challenging. 

            Peer reviews as well as individual conferences with Ms. Morris helped me tremendously with my writing.  The individual conferences probably helped me the most though.  This time allowed me to sit down with Ms. Morris and discuss my assignments in full.  These conferences allowed me to double check with her and make sure my essays were focused and on topic.  One of my downfalls in writing is that I discuss my topics entirely too broadly.  Ms. Morris would give me advice on how to narrow down my topic and focus on the quality of the work.  Ms. Morris also would take the time to point out my careless errors during our conference.  Peer review also allowed my classmates to read my essay and catch grammatical errors in my rough drafts.  I would take the information learned from both the conferences and peer reviews and go back and make corrections to my essays in order to have a high quality product.  I am not ashamed to revise my original essay.  As a matter of fact, I revised every assignment at least once. 

            One of our assignments this semester was an in-class magazine.  We had to collaborate with our classmates based on our topics and come up with a magazine discussing our group’s topic.  The group I was in had to create a magazine over environmental issues.  At the beginning of the semester, this assignment required us to work with all of Ms. Morris’s 1102 students with the same topic as ours and create one big magazine.  As time went on, the assignment seemed to be tougher than originally thought and many agreed it would be a complete waste of time for fear of others in the group not pulling their own weight in the production of the magazine.  Luckily, we were able to present a credible argument to Ms. Morris and reached a compromise of moving the magazines within our class instead of having on big magazine across the board.  Once we were able to work on the magazine within our respective classes, the magazine became a much easier task.  I worked with a great group, and we were able to create an excellent magazine. 

            Even though I had take Ms. Morris previously, she did through a slight curveball in the form of a final portfolio due at the end of the semester.  At first, this concerned me tremendously.  However as she continued to explain the portfolio concept throughout the semester, I felt that this task might not seem as hard as I first expected.  I also liked how we were given ghost grades.  The ghost grades allowed us to see where we stood as far as grade wise.  This good thing about ghost grades is it allowed us to revise our essays yet again if we either did not receive a good grade or if we were not satisfied with the grade we received.  The ghost grades have allowed me to put together what I feel is an awesome portfolio. 

            This course has allowed me to accomplish numerous things.  Overall I think this course has at least prepared me for my future English courses that I will take as I continue my collegiate academic career.  Also Ms. Morris discussed numerous times about web presence in class.  I feel placing this final portfolio on the internet has boosted my web presence tremendously.  Not only does this boost my web presence, this also allows my future employers an opportunity to view what I consider some of my top essays that I have written.  I feel this could help me quite a bit in a competitive job market.  Most importantly this portfolio allows me to showcase my best works for my final grade in English 1102.  I am extremely proud of my essays and am confident that they will bring me a well deserved grade.  The reason I am so confident in my portfolio is based on the ghost grades I have received on all of my essays.  I have received an A on all of my essays; therefore, I feel my portfolio will reflect those grades and should bring about an excellent grade for this course.  I would also like to thank Ms. Morris for all she has done for me in both English 1101 and 1102.  She is not only a tremendous educator but also a tremendous person as well.  Thanks again for all you have done.