We have finally come to the end of a very long and strange semester. In addition to the end of the semester, it is the conclusion of our first year at Carolina. What a whirlwind it has been! I’ve learned so much from all of my classes, become involved in many organizations on campus, and met so many amazing new friends. In this English 105 class, I have really learned the importance of writing in a breadth of several different genres. This class has taught me how to effectively edit my own work and encouragingly proof my peers’ work also. Paul Blom has done an incredible job of focusing on important skills that we will need whether we pursue healthcare, law, education, or any other career.
From week 1, we dove deep into the Natural Sciences. Our unit 1 project focused on the culmination of our popular health science article. I had the opportunity to research and learn about the effects of e-cigarettes among the younger generation of this day and age. From the numerous workshops to understanding how to find scholarly sources, these resources I will use for years to come when doing research in a lab. Then we quickly switched gears and began our social science unit. From observing different subcultures on campus, I can say without a doubt that we all took some valuable knowledge away from this project and saw our peers interacting in different ways that they were each passionate about. As we transitioned into online learning near the end of March, we began to wrap up unit 2 and jump into unit 3. Although it has been tough to stay connected with everyone in this class, continuing to meet synchronously has definitely helped us do that to a certain extent. The class continued as normal with in-class workshops helping us to grow in our own writing strengths and weaknesses. During this final unit, we dug deep into our own chosen short stories and analyzed the themes and events that led us to our own takeaways of the author’s writing.
This final week in English 105 has been filled with a review of the differences in observation among the natural sciences, social sciences, and the humanities as a whole. From objectivity vs. subjectivity to experimental data vs. complex nuanced open-ended questions and interviews, this semester has really taught us all how to write for the professions in many different ways. On Tuesday, we did our final workshop on our video essays for unit project 3. After the workshop, we also spent a few minutes going over the basics of business writing and creative writing. On the last day of class, on Thursday, we focused on the summation of what each of us had gained from the class. We took a quick look at all of our goals or concerns about our own writing that we had written down on a notecard on the first day of class. From being worried about our writing style to being concerned about the wordiness of our papers, we were all able to equip ourselves with skills in the future that will accomplish anything in any genre that we might need to write in.
Many of the final takeaways from the course surrounded the importance of peer editing and just being confident in your own writing. As we wrap up this final week of my second semester at UNC, all I can say is that it has been a wonderful first year at Carolina. I can’t wait to see where my writing will go in the next few years. Thank you to everyone in this class that edited my work or gave me suggestions on ways to improve because it has definitely made me a better writer and changed the way that I look at peer feedback from now on.
References
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