It’s The Start Of Something New
Reflecting back on English 131.01 I have noticed the many different genres and aspects that were covered in class by professor Lucas. This class showed me how important it is to become a critical thinker and that a piece of writing is never finished but nearly abandoned. The two major pieces of writing that we read were “Swing Time” and “Serafina and the Black Cloak”. While these piecing’s of writing were good, I was mainly drawn to a small excerpt of “Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation”.
My English 131.01 class not only helps me in my everyday things but also in other classes. I am in a First Year Experience class based on technology and by us reading about how smartphones can destroy a generation really helped me think critically not only in English but also in the real world and even in my first year experience class. “The teenage generation has lost their touch with reality and relationships, and stresses that they need to stop and take in what they are doing and where they are” (Twenge). This quote just alone has helped me think more critically about my own life and how much technology I use and I was even able to help other students think more about what they do.
Workshop essays will be a word that will always haunt me. I believe that your worst critics will be your peers. My paper being read out loud in front of the whole class then other students commenting on it was very stressful for me but helped me learn in a big way. I was able to notice mistakes that I looked over and was even given ideas on how to make my paper into a larger piece of writing. Also, I enjoyed having to make our own blog page. I may not be the best writer but just thinking that someone could possibly be looking at what I post on my blog is so amazing. This also made me become a better writer just because I know that my classmates would be seeing and commenting on my writing so I took more time to make it as good as it could be. By doing a workshop essay and posting to my blog I would have to say that I have become a much more confident writer.
The end of my first year of college is approaching and I can proudly say I am a much better writer and critical thinker because of English 131.01. There were times when I thought that I was not going to get through it all but in the end I accomplished all that I set my mind to. All in all, I would love to thank Professor Lucas for pushing me to become the best version of me.
Works Cited
Twenge, Jean M. “Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation”, 2017
Annotated Bibliography
Lewis, Michael. “The Blind Side”, 2006
Professional NFL players have a problem with fear and surprisingly it plays a big role in their lives. It all starts with players on the team Washington Redskins and how one play, even if it is only five seconds can go so wrong. In just five seconds a players career is over. Joe Theismann who is the quarterback of the Washington Redskins gets tackled and is severely injured. All in all, even men who seem to be all tough are scared of being tackled and losing the ability to do what they love.
Richtel, Matt. “Blogs vs. Term Papers”, 2012
Matt Richtel makes a good point in stating how writing blogs are easier than writing papers just because of the length. Most people would rather read a blog rather then a term paper just for the simple fact that it would be more interesting and also again, the length would not be long so whomever the reader is they would not lose interest. High schoolers come to college unprepared on how to write a paper the write way or even how to post a simple blog post. Now, professors are focusing on helping upcoming college students with their papers.
Collins, Billy. “The History Teacher”, 2003
A history teacher tries to protect the innocence of his students. For example, he mentions how the Ice Age was really called the Chilly Age and people just had to wear sweaters. Also, this could be a way the teacher helps the young kids understand history better or even be more interested in it. This History Teacher is fun.
Twenge, Jean M. “Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation”, 2017
Twenge talks about how today’s generation is influenced by nothing but technology. Teenagers, and even adults are glued to their cellphones. He referred to this generation as iGen and stated that yes we may be safer than earlier generations but our minds are going down the drain. We are so consumed with technology that it does all of the thinking for us.
Collins, Billy. “Snow Day”, 2001
Billy Collins talks about what students do when it snows. Everyone goes out to play in the snow. Collins states in stanza 7, “trying to hear what those three girls are plotting, what riot is afoot”. The author makes it sound like something bad might happen but if you read farther into it you notice that he is just talking about a snowball fight.
Kichener, Caroline. “Why So Many Adults Love Young-Adult Literature”, 2017
Professors say that adults read young adult literature to escape from their world. They are interested in fantasy, or love. On the other hand, Zimmerman does not agree. It is said that they read Young-Adult literature to escape to a world different then their own. Adults usually are interested in dark and serious books rather than a fantasy about love. “YA is just another portal into another aspect of our world”.
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