Senthian Mugisha
Professor Joseph Furlong
English 21002
12 May 2022
Self-Assessment Reflection
During my first semester back in person, I would say I had to academically and socially adapt quickly to the new environment. I was so used to relying on the web when I had difficulties understanding the materials assigned to me, that when it came to being original and doing assignments related to self-interest and experience I flopped. What I’ve done to combat this issue is, go over the material more than once. I would pace myself when reading over the material. Because of this, I would notice my anxiety slow down, and my understanding would deepen.
An essay that resonated with these difficulties was the peer interview essay. Besides the essay requiring to be 3-4 pages long, the most challenging part for me was organizing my thoughts and knowing when and where I should place my interactions. What I’ve done to combat my lack of understanding is, write a rough draft just so I can have a better understanding and idea of what the introduction and body paragraphs would look like. I would then go over my notes and look over my past essays as an example of how I should organize my work. The professor’s requirements and question ideas helped me understand the key elements that are required for the writing process, so I would use that as a reference. I’ve also noticed that I tend to elaborate more than asked for, which sometimes trickles at me here and there. This causes me to go out of topic and lose myself in my writing. So, what I’ve done to improve my analysis and summary is, to make sure I write more effectively; accurately, concise, and creative with my writing.
When it came to writing my personal artifact essay, I was conflicted. It took me a while to come up with an artifact to write about because so many of my cultural artifacts weren’t in America. Before hopping into the essay, I was inspired to write about the agaseke basket which is very important to me and my family. Because it was a basket only used on special occasions, which I didn’t have much to write about. I did have the advantage of including the history and meaning that’s behind the agaseke basket and personal experience which helped out my essay. While it was challenging peacing up a good explanation for my artifact, my knowledge and limited personal experience with the artifact helped me finalize the essay together.
My research essay was surprisingly the best I’ve personally done compared to all the writing I’ve done in all my years. What made the process easier was, before starting the essay, and relating to the timeline of the topic I wanted to talk about. I wanted the subject to be personal, dated, and relatable because it was easier to write. My research, both scholarly and through media wasn’t so hard to find, giving me a variety of information and ideas I can use in my writing. It was long though and did take me longer than expected to finish, but I got through it.
The mini-ethnography essay was really fun to make. Because my research essay: How has COVID impacted the decrease in food production and has this limited security access security? If so have these restrictions affected Unauthorized immigrants in any way? Was heavily based on my mini-ethnography: food insecurity in New York City. Thanks to this I had a more broader and academic perspective before starting my essay. I did have difficulties coming my way when prepping for to interview and starting my essay. My main focus was to recognize the subculture’s advantages and disadvantages when it came to accessing food and how this impacted New York City residents during the pandemic and in our present reality. The field site I went with did relate to past experiences (volunteering) that I’ve done, which didn’t confuse me as much when it came to the rituals, group identity, and behaviors. We relied on digital updates when came to navigating to our destination to drop off the food to the assigned location/companies/people/shelters, that needed it the most. Which was fun. Because of the helpful class reading and discussion I was able to peace out what to expect, take note of, and question when observing the field site/event. By peacing, observing the information, and doing some research, I was able to prep for my interview and at least get an informative essay.
The mini-assignments helped me brainstorm ideas, outline important information and build up a good summary. The small homework submissions helped me improve on analyzing evidence, paraphrasing, and writing a good thesis. The peer-review instructor feedback and the class discussion helped me get used to and incorporate more free writing either when I get stuck or have ideas that can contribute to my future writing. It has also helped me know when to quote, give feedback, and revise my drafts. I’ve also peer-reviewed and edit my classmate’s work, which allowed me to take the time to edit my work instead of rushing through it.
The Course Learning Outcomes allowed me to progress as a writer, by expanding my way of thinking, reading, and writing. I’ve been able to explore the topics that I’m most invested in, but in a different way. When it came to reading and locating the academic journals, magazines, and newspapers I made sure to thoroughly read them. I’ll also make sure that the tone and message of both the author and the reading would improve and support my claims. The thinking and writing were mainly in effect when it came to typing the essay. In this process, I would 99.9% have an idea of what I wanted to write about thanks to the class-based assignments and research. While I did have a good picture my draft wasn’t as organized as it should be. So, I would compose edit, and revise my draft, making sure I include at least an introduction, background information, a knowledgeable argument, and a summary. So, when it comes to a final essay I can fill in the essay with more important information and facts.
