Paper 4 Self Reflective Essay
Jeffrey Shelton
C LIT 300
12/10/02
Paper #4
Reflective Essay: An Effective Learning Experience
I never have been confident with my writing skills. Although I have received above average grades in past writing courses, I have never been confident in the way I present my ideas on paper. The writing courses based on literary text that I have taken thus far at the college level have seemed to be an extension of high school in that they only have dealt with proper writing structure, such as MLA format. Introduction to Comparative Literature however has analyzed text in a far deeper manner than I have ever been accustomed to. The course has enabled me to see how the structure, themes, style, and mood of a text work as a cohesive whole. I have had the opportunity to use the information gathered on these elements and utilize them to develop my own writing voice. Before taking this course I had never reflected upon my how my own values and criticism have played a role in my critique and analysis of a literary text. Other classes never seem to deal with the form of psychological depth that his course utilizes. I found that the third paper assignment was pivotal in tying together all that was absorbed and learned in the course. By revisiting the text of The God of Small Things as well as response papers, I came to the realization that I place importance on societal and cultural structures and fall in line with the Marxist school of Criticism. Being able to have the chance to take the time and analyze how my mode of critique falls in line with various schools of criticism has been important as I can draw upon Marxist Criticism in papers I write in the future.
Through the process of writing the long critical papers, I have had the ability to gain a greater understanding on what my writing style lacks. I have always gone though life with the motto that “you always learn the most from your failures, not your successes.” This has proven to be true due to my
C LIT 300
12/10/02
Paper #4
Reflective Essay: An Effective Learning Experience
I never have been confident with my writing skills. Although I have received above average grades in past writing courses, I have never been confident in the way I present my ideas on paper. The writing courses based on literary text that I have taken thus far at the college level have seemed to be an extension of high school in that they only have dealt with proper writing structure, such as MLA format. Introduction to Comparative Literature however has analyzed text in a far deeper manner than I have ever been accustomed to. The course has enabled me to see how the structure, themes, style, and mood of a text work as a cohesive whole. I have had the opportunity to use the information gathered on these elements and utilize them to develop my own writing voice. Before taking this course I had never reflected upon my how my own values and criticism have played a role in my critique and analysis of a literary text. Other classes never seem to deal with the form of psychological depth that his course utilizes. I found that the third paper assignment was pivotal in tying together all that was absorbed and learned in the course. By revisiting the text of The God of Small Things as well as response papers, I came to the realization that I place importance on societal and cultural structures and fall in line with the Marxist school of Criticism. Being able to have the chance to take the time and analyze how my mode of critique falls in line with various schools of criticism has been important as I can draw upon Marxist Criticism in papers I write in the future.
Through the process of writing the long critical papers, I have had the ability to gain a greater understanding on what my writing style lacks. I have always gone though life with the motto that “you always learn the most from your failures, not your successes.” This has proven to be true due to my