Dear English 110 student,
You don’t have to be Mark Twain to get a good grade in your first year writing course. What you do need to be is a hard worker. I’m guessing that very few of you are English majors, but that doesn’t mean you won’t do well in this class. Before this class I thought I was a great student and a pretty good writer, I won an essay contest once and got good grades on all my papers. However, after I got back the first few assignments I got a reality check. You will learn a lot in this class; like when you make a claim you better have the evidence to back it up. I think I am a better writer because of this class and because of the Writing Center. Timeliness, relevancy, and compellingness mean something to me now (you’ll see what I mean once you read Commonplace). I feel like after this class my future papers will have a better argument, better structure, and better writing in general.
First and foremost I want to let you know that this class is a lot of writing! Blogging everyday can sometime be a pain, but if you put time into your blog especially when it’s about a paper you’re writing it pays off. Be sure to do all your blogs and make all your comments (and don’t wait until the last minute). They are the easiest points to get and you’re going to need them! Another way to boost your grade if you don’t do as well as you had hoped on an assignment, which will happen, go to the Writing Center. It’s just a little bit of time out of your day and the bonus and advice you get in return is well worth your time.
Don’t get discouraged when you’re faced with your analytical research paper. It’s a lot of work, but if you do a little at a time it’s manageable. Another thing about your ARP is to make sure you get as close to the page requirement as possible in your rough draft. If you put the time and hard work into your rough draft you will get a better grade, better feedback, and have something solid to take to the Writing Center for help. When it comes time for your final draft, due exam week, you will be thankful you put in the hard work on your rough draft. Also, doing a good job on your rough draft will help with your Commonplace paper.
One last bit of advice, don’t get hung up on the course theme; whether you enjoy SciFi or hate it, give it a chance, it might just surprise you.
Dear future English 110 Students,
As a student has finally completed this course I would like to give you my best wishes and advice. I personally have developed greatly after taking this course. I looked deeper into meaning behind what is put in front of you and took that knowledge and developed it into a well written research paper. I have learned how to judge other's writing and help them improve their own skills while also improving mine from the feedback I have received from my fellow classmates. English 110 gives you a chance to develop you skills and learn how to critique other people as well. To best succeed in this class I suggest you pick a topic you can use to catch your reader's attention and grasp them into your words and into the argument at hand. I would also suggest going to the writing center as much as possible. i went a few times through out the quarter to get help on my papers and the people their were so nice and a great help in developing my paper so that it could be perfect. Wen I first saw that my theme was going to be sci fi for my research paper I wanted to quit right away, I personally hated everything about that word and was not looking forward to this paper. But after it was all said and done, I enjoyed writing my paper and got a deeper look into something I had no interest in whatsoever. So come in with an open mind and let the words flow.
Dear future English 110 students:
I could not believe I am actually writing my last blog right now. As an international student, I have to admit I was not so looking forward to English class. I still remembered my first English class; I could not believe I have to write blogs everyday! After seeing the daily schedule Ms Chambers handed to me, I thought my winter quarter will be pretty miserable as I have to writing stuff every day. However, I have to admit I found myself improving everyday in my writing skills. I could not say my grammar skills or my structures of the article are improving a lot, but I could definitely found myself having more to write and becoming a faster writer than I used to be. Through the first ten blogs or so, I usually had hard time blogging them because it was such a pain for me to think about what to say and the proper words. But now, I feel really confident doing the blog. As people always say “practice makes perfect”. Blogging may not make you perfect writers; however, makes you more confident writers! Besides the blog, going to Ms Chambers’s office hours and writing center would also help you with your paper and grade. Ms. Chambers grades on the paper, or at least on my paper, but she is always very patient to answer my questions in her office hours. If you follow what she wants you to do, you would do fine in this class.
Good luck to all.
Dear fellow English 110 students,
Do not worry about it when you hear that you will be doing work on sci-fi topics. I personally do not like sci-fi but she gave us a choice about which sci-fi we wanted to watch. This was nice because I could choose something that I could tolerate to do my homework on. I would suggest going to class every day because if you are gone one day you may miss something important like a blog change or perhaps a specific due date. I will admit the blogging every day is a bit tedious but 250 words really is not that much. Luckily, they are not graded on proper grammar and word usage so it is easy to write in stream of conscious. Writing in stream of conscious is much easier because you can just let your thoughts flow without having to worry about did I use a comma correct or does this flow well. I would not hesitate to ask questions about your writing also. Once your paper has been commented on, talk with her to try and better understand what she is trying to say and listen to her suggestions to fix your paper. If you still do not understand, then ask again! Always remember, that she has the final say so listen carefully. Also, when you have to do peer reviews, take it seriously. Take the proofreading, AND your feedback seriously. I did not appreciate proofreading 6 papers during class time, only to have someone’s whose paper I read just throw them away without taking the time to read them. No one likes that asshole. If you go to class and stay on track without waiting until the last minute to get something done, you will do fine in this class. Best of luck.
