Engl. 326: Self Assessment

I am asked to write what I want to improve in my writing and grammar through this semester. I tried to stay away from using grammar and writing styles I know I have trouble in. But I guess now is a great time to learn something new, to make my writing that much better. One thing I want to improve on is trying to put my thoughts into clear and "to-the-point" sentences. I sometimes confuse my readers. I tend to have run on sentences that seem to have syntax problems or repeats an idea a second time but in a different manner. To be honest I think I just did that but sometimes I cannot catch it because I understand what I'm trying to say but others may not. This vague topic is what I want to improve on although it is difficult to explain.

A second thing I want to improve on is knowing when to use dashes, semi-colons, colons, and periods. I say periods because sometimes I may have run on sentences. I have no idea how to use dashes (except for in words or phrases like "semi-colon", "extra-curricular", etc), semi-colons, and colons. I also wonder if consecutive periods(...) is a real punctuation. And if it is not, I want to know if I can use any other punctuation, with the same "meaning", to replace the consecutive periods (...). For example, I may use the consecutive periods (...) in the short narration of a movie called Limitless, "He looks over, standing on the ledge and thinks if jumpimg is the best choice. The loudness of the furious men trying to beat down his door makes him realize they are going to kill him. He wants to be the person having the power over his fate. Taking one last look down at the hundred floors height, he picks up his left foot off the ledge and prepares to jump... but wait, he stops and realizes the human nature is to survive. Fighting for his survival is better then beating the murderer to his own death".

One last thing I want to improve on is knowing the appropriate time to use a marker of punctuation in my writing. I sometimes have the problem of using too many commas or not enough. I have the problem of not using the correct punctuation also. If you look through the second paragraph I am sure I did not punctuate correctly. I also high-lighted a comma because I was unsure if it is even supposed to be a comma. These are the three main points I want to improve on in my writing overall. I also want to broaden my vocabulary but that does not have to do much with what I am going to learn specifically in class.

"Teaching Standard English" by Christensen

When I first read the first few paragraphs, before going on to the next subtopic, I found myself being able to understand the situation she found herself. Myself being a bilingual individual, I find myself pronouncing words differently then those who have been speaking or only speak english. Going on with the reading I understand that grammer is difficult to have etched in our minds because rules can vary between sentences. Reading about the teacher's student, Fred, it reminded me of a friend, Celene. I never really had trouble with grammer but it may have been due to trying to play it safe, also like the teacher herself. Sometimes I also found myself correcting Celene and other peers. This made people feel inferior to me and unwilling to speak to me as often as they used to. I learned that I shouldn't be strict with peers grammer in a comfortable, non-professional and friendly setting because as long as we understand eachother there is really no need to correct eachother.

Reading on I understand how minorty race groups in public schools can feel like they are unappreciated or feel like schooling is trying to make them as "American" as the major race group. All through most of my high-school I was never encouraged to write or talk about my culture or anything pertaining to my Latin race. I ended up knowing everything about the American culture and forgot about my own knowledge about other topics not pertaining to the American culture. Finally during my senior year in high-school I took a World literature class and read books from other countries and cultures. I felt graditude towards the school for having a class that made students feel like we are a generation of people who really do try to recieve knowlegde about other places then America. I also liked the idea how the author advises other teachers to encourage their students to write while ignoring their grammatical errors. Once the idividual is comfortable with writing the instructor can then help the student understand new and helpful grammer tips and information.

This one simple piece of advice for other teachers and instructors can greatly help students. Students gradually improve and have an easier and more comfortable time in learning. I was glad to here from my teacher, Beth Buyserie, that she will not be making us memorize boring grammer rules but rather do what the author advises. I am looking forward to learning new things and stop being my own grammer cop.