Dear Reader,

Thank you for taking the time to check out my comprehensive writing and thinking growth throughout my ENG 170 course this Spring! I am glad to say that my curiosity had already been large before I first went into this class and it has only continued to grow!

Within my writing process, I had already been a curious person while before I began this course. Altogether, I learned how to sort my curiosity together to make more meaningful connections so that my readers can understand historical worldwide injustices and how the related themes manifest themselves in today’s world. From learning about the painful practice of foot binding practiced in China for almost a millennium during Brief Assignment I to the inescapable fate of commoners during medieval Europe, I now understand that is important to determine why these injustices happened, as well as the effects these practices had on their societies as a whole.

From doing research, I am certainly not organized, like in many other general senses (as mentioned below). However, while I still need to become more organized, I at least managed to not only learn about several useful databases the campus gives me access to, but also how to become a better reader and thinker. My kind professor taught me how it is important not only to find sources I will use, but also to take down every quote, annotation etc. I need from a selected writing that I will be citing in an essay. The annotated bibliography and prepared quotations my professor assigned leading up to my cultural analysis essay certainly helped me to note for myself beforehand how I would be using my found sources. Without the annotated bibliography, and my essay proposal, I would have just been scrolling through my books and online sources without knowing what I was really writing about in reference to the Scottish Witch Hunts.

My confidence has certainly increased when it comes to exercising whatever freedom I have when doing a particular assignment. If I am able to tackle a current or historical topic using whichever themes and perspectives I desire, as with my Cultural Analysis Essay, this does not only allow me to create a more compelling statement in my essay, but it also helps me expand my already large interest in history. If I hadn’t taken more time to dive into my research leading up to this essay, I might have failed to learn for myself how the famous witch hunts that took place in the British Isles and the American colonies had actually already been rampant throughout central and northern Europe before King James VI began them in Scotland.

Naturally, there are many parts of writing I still need to grow in! If I continue to make my best efforts each time I am doing writing in all of my upcoming classes, whether they are centered on English reading and literature or not, I will only get better and better throughout this journey called life! The main hardship I came across when I was both doing research for various assignments in this course and planning out my assignments, was being heavily disorganized with regards to structuring what I wanted to write or knowing what sources I would decide to use. This was the case with both major projects; while I had a general sense of what I was covering (the Scottish witch hunt and related themes of oppression), I never made the effort to plan out for myself which online sources (or images) I would use and how to concretely connect them to do the assignments well.

As I mention above, I am now aware about several databases and various book sections within the Sojourner Truth Library on the New Paltz campus. I am confident that if I have been well-informed about what I am supposed to write about, and I also have been given enough starting points to gain necessary knowledge for my research or intended writing, then I will be prepared to write well. This will be the case for my future college courses and any upcoming professional contexts. Indeed, I have certainly already had a bit of fun being myself and adding in funny statements to assignments where this is allowed but not asked for. Upon request, I can share some funny things I wrote in German to my professor’s amusement for my projects when I was taking beginner German classes these last two semesters, alongside the translation!

 

Sincerely,

Alistair Sneh