ENC 1102 Final Reflection

       I came into this course with a certain formula on how to write. Not necessarily a 5 paragraph essay type of formula, but a analysis formula. Through AP courses in high school, all the courses taught were taught to the test, as long as you learned what was on the test and how to pass the test it didn't matter how well you knew the information. As long as you could pass. This led to little creative space when it came to writing. Everything in AP Language was read this what do they mean, how does that connect to what's happening, and then came a real college class, ENC 1102 and that formula was basically scrapped. However that was a good thing. This course forced me to be creative and actually find my own work. A passage wasn't given to me, instead I had to find my own through research and analyze that. I struggled at times through the class and had to take extra time to understand the assignment. 

       I have never excelled at writing especially in English class and some aspects of my work this year shows that. However one thing I always try to excel at is improving, and I think that as I progressed through the course I managed to improve my writing and my later assignments were more fulfilling than the earlier ones. I enjoyed most going out into the field and doing research and the concept of adding to the conversation. Adding to the conversation forces someone to be creative and find their own spot to contribute. So often do courses require you to be an expert on a subject then report what you found, but this course forced you to become an expert that way you can see the whole picture, figure out what is missing and fill that empty space. 

       I think that my final paper truly exemplifies my best work this semester. I tried my best incorporating visual aids, graphs, statistics, and my own view on the subject. I already had prior knowledge on the subject, and thanks to this course I understand it so much more deeply now. I believe that I truly found a niche in the conversation, all the research I found was of short studies not branching over multiple instances of cutting weight, or really sought to find out why athlete cut weight. Although time did not permit me to secure knowledge on how multiple sessions of cutting weight affect someone, I was able to propose a theory on why cutting weight is so widespread despite the obvious health risks. Adding my own theory to the conversation of athletes cutting weight is why I believe that my final report is my strongest of the year.