Reflective Essay

Reflective Essay

Looking back on the year, I have improved in a lot of different areas. As I see
my tips to take with me, I realize that I have improved greatly in 4 areas: reading, writing, speaking, and thinking. I have come a long way from the beginning of the year. By the various books, speeches, and papers I wrote, I have learned a lot and become better in those areas as a reader, writer, speaker, and thinker.
In reading, I have improved to be more interested in the book. I have learned
how to stay involved in the book by focusing on the action. I realize I just need to keep reading. The only way I can stay with the book is through doing that and continuing to read. With the analysis of books, I’ve learned to look deeper and see how I can apply it to my life, so I can find another meaning in the book.
I have also improved in writing. Through my first Creative Writing paper (http://tanner.lebo.llwarriors.org/2017/12/20/final-draft-of-choice-writing/) , I
learned many things. I learned how to develop the plot thoroughly. I realized that I need to vary sentence structure in order to make the writing flow better. I used commas correcting when I was writing with dialogue tags. Through this creative writing, I realized that the rough draft does not matter as much. I had worried about the rough draft too much, but now i know I can always change it later.
In speaking, I definitely progressed as a speaker. I hadn’t done any speaking
before so this was a big step for me. The introduction speech helped me not make tick noises when I was talking. After my informative speech, I learned to make more eye contact and engage with the audience, entertaining them and making them be interested. I realized that you need the audience to listen, so I figured out that I had to relate the speech to the audience and not just say random information, but make them listen.
In thinking, I progressed a lot because of the movies and books we watched
and read. In the Hotel Rwanda movie, I learned how to not just watch a movie but see how it applied to my life. This can be seen in my Hotel Rwanda reaction  (http://tanner.lebo.llwarriors.org/2018/01/17/reaction-to-hotel-rwanda-and-disposable-culture/). The same goes for Of Mice and Men (http://tanner.lebo.llwarriors.org/2017/11/08/death-of-a-salesman-reaction/)  and Death of a Salesman (http://tanner.lebo.llwarriors.org/2017/11/01/reaction-to-of-mice-and-men/) . I saw how to analyze the book and relate it to my world and life today, not just reading it for entertainment. I wrote reactions and analysis for those also.
In conclusion, this year has made me better at everything that has to do with
English. I am a better reader and can read successfully to analyze. I can write better and make my stories more entertaining. I can make the sentences flow easier. I am a better public speaker and am no longer afraid of that. I can speak with confidence and engage the audience. I improved in thinking and can now analyze the books I read and the movies I watch. I can read and watch them not just for entertainment, but to learn and apply it to my life.