https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HcZzCV-S9UkCKrmRIS5IKb7vnjjTDjbMzfohD1fe-ag/edit?usp=sharing

Although initially hesitant to take “Writing 11000” because of the bland nature of the name, I am very pleased that I did. Coming into CCNY, I was incredibly excited to take the freshman “FIQWS” classes. My sister is an alum (class of 2019) and out of all the classes she took at CCNY, her freshman composition class is the one with the most fond memories for her. She would tell me about all the fun and exciting things to expect at CCNY. She was a pre-med student, and is currently engaged to her old classmate from FIQWS. 

Although I can’t confidently say I’ve met my future fiancee in my writing class, I have definitely grown and enjoyed my time this semester. Due to the competitive and “preparatory” nature of my high school, I was taught how to write very well– particularly how to express my ‘voice’ and express what I’m truly trying to get across. Writing 11000 honors has expanded on those skills, and I feel like I’ve learned how to let go of different constraints and barriers that hold back my creative writing, for example the multimodal presentations in my most recent synthesis essay.

Using different creative techniques to portray the same message isn’t something I was aware was possible in my personal writing until this assignment, just as an example of how my writing has grown in one short semester. 

Outside of assignments, I have also enjoyed the classroom dynamic in my Writing 11000 class this semester. From stories about writing theater and working in coffee shops, to pop quizzes about Attack On Titan, Professor Enid Brain has never failed to keep the classroom engaging. Before the semester started I was nervous that I could not see who was instructing my honors writing class, I was hoping they would assign my advisor as she was known to teach classes. However I am glad the program chose Enid to instruct the section. She is a very grounded, knowledgeable professor, who has a lot to teach her students. My favorite part of class is always the first 10-15 minutes, the short block of time when the class settles in and chats over world events, life updates, and the class structure for the day. 

Although there are a lot of good things to say, I do have some constructive criticisms over the class itself. As a commuting, full time student, and full time employee attending CCNY, my time is worth more to me than gold. That being said, out of all my other classes this semester, Writing 11000 work has taken up exponentially more time than the rest. The structure of the assignments with multiple drafts allows for time management, however the quantity of assignments adds up very quickly. For example, at the beginning of the semester, I found myself writing my personal narrative essay, and the translation for the P.N essay at the exact same time. I wasn’t anywhere near done with the first one while having to start and complete the second one. It became a lot to balance and brainstorm for it being my very first semester of college. Lastly, I feel as if my technical writing skills have been fine tuned in this class, particularly in my citations and works cited pages for the synthesis paper. I took a gap year between graduating high school, and starting college, so personally I felt ‘rusty’ in my writing coming back to school. Fortunately this class has been good practice in my skills, a trial by fire of sorts because of the workload, but as I make it to the end of my first semester, I feel proud of the work I put in, and the quality of my assignments.