Reflecting on Growth: A Personal Exploration Through Essay Writing

I started college English in the first semester of my senior year in English Composition I with Elizabeth Hammet. I found that I liked the way she teaches, especially the way she breaks down all of the material to make it more understandable, so I decided to take her course for English Composition II. This course taught me the differences between APA and MLA, which were hard to grasp at first but have helped expand my writing knowledge.  I discovered that this course would help me obtain my bachelor's in History and my future career in law because of how in-depth the writing material was. Throughout this course, I have pushed myself to become a better writer.

The first project, the argumentative solution essay, was definitely my favorite because I learned so much just while researching rape on college campuses. However, that does not mean it was easy. In this essay, I had to write about solutions to the epidemic instead of writing about what enrages me, as I would normally do. While doing this, I improved my argumentative writing and developed more reasoning skills, which will also help me in society. Additionally, this essay taught me how to write in an APA format because my high school teachers never taught me how. It was difficult at first but thankfully Professor Hammet provided the help I needed. 

Project 2 was far more difficult than the first one because I had to pick an absurd fiction writer and analyze what they would think about rape on college campuses. The writer I chose was Franz Kafka. When I started this project I had a hard time finding ways to relate Kafka and his work to rape on college campuses, so this project made me expand my imagination and think outside the box. In the end, I was able to relate Kafka’s The Trail and The Metamorphosis by comparing the emotional effects of sexual assault victims to Kafka’s characters. 

All in all, this course has had great effects on the quality of my writing, a lot of which will help me in my future career. Writing has always been something I enjoy but Professor Hammet has taught me so much. Not only did I learn different writing styles but also how to use my imagination and think outside the box.