English 1B: Intro to Literature - Jordan Curtis
This course has greatly improved my grammar, punctuation and other skills when it comes to writing. Before I took this course, I always had problems placing commas, semicolons and other similar punctuation marks; I still do at times. But, the MindTap assignments have greatly improved my usage of these and it has increased the effectiveness of my writing exponentially. Not only has MindTap bettered my usage of punctuation, it has also helped me understand other complexities of writing and composition, such as: the listing/positioning of objects in literature, bibliography (MLA & APA), better word choice, etc. With these improved skills I was able to breeze through the assigned essays, barring one that had a few setbacks.
I was lucky that I did not encounter many obstacles over the semester. My biggest challenge was grasping the concept of the second essay, which was a literary analysis paper. A literary analysis is different from a normal essay. In a normal essay, the writer states a thesis, uses strong evidence to support the thesis, followed by a conclusion which restates the thesis and evidence while avoiding adding any new information. A literary analysis differs because the writer must still have a thesis and evidence, but the writer must also show what that thesis means. They have to display what the author was trying to convey or show by having that theme/idea present in the writing. To overcome this, I had to dedicate time to researching how to make effective analysis that goes beyond the surface level of the text. Once I learned how to do this, it helped greatly in writing the second essay.
Reading the early sections of "The Bedford Introduction to Literature" helped me to understand concepts of writing in a deeper level. I was familiar with concepts such as flashbacks, "in medias res", plot and conflict, but the anthology broadened my mind as to the nuances that could be achieved by effective writing using these concepts. It has overall improved aspects of my writing, especially when dealing with characterization and storytelling. Not only has the anthology helped, but "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith was also a great aid. While I was able to learn about such concepts in the anthology, I was able to see them used in Betty Smith's excellent novel that focuses on imagination, hope and learning to grieve.
I was lucky that I did not encounter many obstacles over the semester. My biggest challenge was grasping the concept of the second essay, which was a literary analysis paper. A literary analysis is different from a normal essay. In a normal essay, the writer states a thesis, uses strong evidence to support the thesis, followed by a conclusion which restates the thesis and evidence while avoiding adding any new information. A literary analysis differs because the writer must still have a thesis and evidence, but the writer must also show what that thesis means. They have to display what the author was trying to convey or show by having that theme/idea present in the writing. To overcome this, I had to dedicate time to researching how to make effective analysis that goes beyond the surface level of the text. Once I learned how to do this, it helped greatly in writing the second essay.
Reading the early sections of "The Bedford Introduction to Literature" helped me to understand concepts of writing in a deeper level. I was familiar with concepts such as flashbacks, "in medias res", plot and conflict, but the anthology broadened my mind as to the nuances that could be achieved by effective writing using these concepts. It has overall improved aspects of my writing, especially when dealing with characterization and storytelling. Not only has the anthology helped, but "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith was also a great aid. While I was able to learn about such concepts in the anthology, I was able to see them used in Betty Smith's excellent novel that focuses on imagination, hope and learning to grieve.
