Esl 273 - Reflective Essay

                                          Reflective Essay ESL 273          Radenka Minic

                    Before taking this class I never wrote an essay in English. I was very afraid and

worried at the beginning of the quarter. However, during this quarter in ESL 273 I have learned

so much and I am not afraid of writing essays anymore. Although I still need to work on

improving my writing, I am proud of how much knowledge I have gained for this short time.

Through many class exercises, discussions, reading, and writing the different types of essays, I

have learned and improved to: organize ideas, expend a paragraph developing supporting points,

use different methods of organizations, and paraphrase. Now I am able to write a complete essay

 with an introduction and a conclusion, and provide specific examples to support my ideas.

                  Before taking the ESL 273 I did not know different strategies we can use to write the

introduction or the conclusion. I have learned that there are four different strategies we can use.

Also, we can combine these strategies to get better results, catch the reader’s attention in the

introduction, and to let the reader know that the essay is finished, in the conclusion. In my first

essay, “Effects of War in my Country”, my conclusion was only one sentence long, but now at

the end of the class I am able to write a clear significant conclusion that is long enough to

summarize the essay, predict, suggest or express the opinion.

                   During this class I improved writing of the thesis statements which were my big

problem at the beginning. In “Shacking up with Mom and Dad” the essay we wrote in class my

thesis did not contain the specific effects of adult children living at home. Now I know that the

clear thesis is very important and help us focus and organize our essay. Through this class I

improved this skill and got the “great thesis” comment from my teacher on my last essay “Clean

Slate.” I worked really hard and now I am ready for new challenges in ESL 5. Communication

with my classmates in ESL 273 through the group work, reading each other’s writing and

checking the exercises helped me improve my pronunciation and grammar too. English is not my