English 1102 In a Nutshell

By: Maya Joseph

When the spring 2011 semester began, I was filled with apprehension. I had decided to take the second level of English Composition, English 1102-XX, and was already dreading the inevitable writing assignments. I have never been a big fan of English Composition. In fact, I was the exact opposite. I hated writing at my teacher’s whim; I hated that everything had to be so structured; and most of all, I hated being required to write a specific length. I was more of a free writer, writing things because I wanted to and not because I was told to do so. I had always felt that I could better express myself by just writing what was on my mind; when I could no longer formulate thoughts, my writing was complete. Therefore, being obligated to write a certain length drove me crazy as I had always paid very little attention to length. For this reason, I was convinced that my English 1102 course would drive me crazy. Fortunately, I was wrong and, soon found that my hatred of minimum length requirements stemmed from a lack of knowledge and experience.

At the beginning of the semester, my class was informed that each of us would have to choose a general topic which would serve as the focus for all writing assignments for the semester. Upon receiving this information, I immediately found myself wondering how I would be able to write on one topic for the entire semester. If there were any doubts before, at that moment I was sure that this class would cause both my blood pressure and stress level to rise to unprecedented heights. At that moment, I could already see myself sitting at my computer, mind blank, trying to figure out what else I could write in order to get my paper to reach the bare minimum. Fortunately, by the time the first essay was assigned I was well on my way to being prepared to write multiple essays on my topic.

Before any essays were assigned, the class was also informed that each of us would contribute to a wiki by obtaining a minimum of 15 articles on our chosen topics and providing a brief summary, a statement of credentials, and a citation for each article. While I did not really understand how this would help, I felt that this was an easy assignment. Therefore, I began researching and completed the articles in a timely manner. It was not until the first essay was assigned that I truly understood how this assignment contributed to my ability to effectively expand on the topic.

By contributing to the wiki, I had actually been conducting research on my general topic and expanding my knowledge on the subject. Due to this, I was better able to formulate my thoughts and effectively compose two essays which were not constructed upon redundant statements and generalizations, but consisted of detailed information which better expressed my arguments. While these first two essays had only been required to be a minimum of four pages, a task which I had completed before, I found that writing them came with greater ease. Even though, I had already gained an appreciation for the wiki postings, it was not until the final essay that I really understood how helpful this task was.

The final paper of the semester was a seven to eight page research paper on my previously chosen general topic. In all honesty, this was the most intimidating assignment I had even had to complete. I remember feeling as if there was a limitation on the effectiveness of the wiki. I started to worry that my knowledge of the subject was not enough and that I would be unable to reach my goal. Fortunately, knowledge is seemingly endless; there is always another opinion or more information that can be found. It was at this point that I fully realized that I had always dreaded minimum requirements because I had not been effectively researching. I had been relying solely on my own knowledge on a subject, and not truly using the knowledge of others to my advantage. In realizing this, I was able to write the research paper with greater ease than I initially thought. In fact, the research paper reigned supreme over all other essays I had ever written. The reason being, that the final paper was my greatest accomplishment in writing, and I was proud.

Although I initially feared English 1102, by the end of the semester I established an appreciation for the course. Not only was I able to face and conquer my fear of paper limits, but I was also able to understand the root of this fear: lack of knowledge. Through the assigned wiki postings, I learned that research is the key to effectively presenting a detailed argument, and details are the key to paper length. Now that the course as well as semester has come to an end, I feel that I am better prepared to take on the next level of English courses.

To view my best essay of the semester click the following link: Research Essay
Click the following link for detailed information on the sources used: Annotated Bibliography