My goal this semester was to improve the quality of my writing. I took many steps to complete this goal. First, I asked my teacher for help. She was always willing to help me and to clarify my ideas. Also, I asked other people to proof read my work. I wanted others to read my thoughts to see if everything made sense to them. I think that I succeeded in my goal, and my essays and grades prove it.
Below Level Work
I felt that I struggled while writing my author's diction paragraph. Even though I got a good grade in my claim and evidence, I know it was weak. It was one part and it was not in depth. In my body paragraphs, I got a poor grade and I think this accurately reflects my work. I did not word my thoughts correctly and it did not flow. I barely analyzed my quote by only hitting the surface of things and I did not go in depth at all. In my concluding statement, I unsuccessfully tied my ideas back to my claim. I only restated what I analyzed and did not compare it to authors diction relating to mood. This is a below average work because I had a weak claim and evidence, had little flow throughout my paragraph, did not analyze enough, and did not tie my ideas back to my claim.
Average Work
I think my in-class comparison essay shows improvement, but not anything special. I did well in my introduction by citing the titles of the pieces I was commenting on and their authors. I also had a two part claim which leads the rest of my writing to be more in detailed and in depth. In my body paragraph, I also think that I did well. My ideas tied back to he claim and I formatted my paragraph in the correct way. All of my evidence is relevant and thoughtful and my transitions helped with the flow of my paragraph. However, I did not write a conclusion. I did not wrap my writing up to clarify any last pieces to the reader. A conclusion was much needed in this work because I needed to tie up all the loose ends and reconnect my ideas to my claim. This is average work because many things were good and some were bad.
Above Level Work
The grade of the piece directly reflects the quality of my writing. I did very well writing a claim. I made it a two part claim and dug deep into the stories I was commenting on. In my body paragraphs, I looped things nicely and went into great detail to explain to my reader everything I wanted him/her to know. Also, I fully explained my thoughts and related them back to my claim in my analyses. In my conclusion, I summed up my whole paper into a neat, logical paragraph. This is my best work of the year. By this time, I completely understood how to write a two part, in depth claim, detailed body paragraphs, complete analyses, and a great conclusion.
Final Metacognitive
My end of the semester meta-cognitive sums up my semester in writing. It shows my improvement through the semester and my reflections and grades both show that. I worked hard to progress my writing and it paid off. I would ask my teacher, Mrs. Hooper, to proof read areas that I knew needed help and I would ask my peers to read through other parts of my writing to see if my information flowed. I think peer editing is very important in writing and it definitely helped me. Also, my grades show improvement. They started from poor to average grades and progressed to excellent grades. This semester, I improved my writing.
Final Reflection
Throughout the semester, I saw a major improvement. In the beginning of the semester, my thoughts and ideas did not flow and were not in depth. I also did not write a strong conclusion if I wrote one. I really struggled and would constantly find myself frustrated and flustered. I would rewrite it many times, and still, the words in my paper did not match how they were in my head. I kept practicing and practicing by writing assignments over and over. Things got a little better, but the factor that helped my writing the most was getting help from my peers and my teacher. Hearing their input fixed not only the current problem, but questions I would have in the future and could now answer myself. The input In the end of the semester, my thoughts and ideas became clear and flowed very fluently. The help I got from others really made my whole paper a higher level of writing. My claim and evidence are in depth and, my body paragraphs are on topic and detailed, my analyses are complete and thought out, and my conclusions are to the point and sum things up nicely. This semester, I think that my writing improved greatly.