How I improved My Critical Reading And Writing Skills
This essay outlines my goals when I began Higher Education in University of East London, goals achieved and the shortfalls. This essay further explores the feedback I received from other modules, the reason for the comments and how I can improve on the areas that need attention. In so doing, in this essay, I highlight improvements I can make in the areas that need attention and ensure that I submit a stronger piece of work in the future. In this essays I define Higher Education as University of East London, module as ED1000 and course as critical reading and writing.
It has been essential to analyse my goals when I began Higher Education, the ones I have achieved and where the shortfalls are. In this essays it has been important to analyse my strengths and weaknesses ad areas that need developments.
Higher education through Critical reading and writing ED1000 has assisted me to become aware of my strengths and weaknesses in my writing skills as well as motivated me in numerous ways. The module in conjunction with other modules has assisted me understand ways in which I could improve my writing skills. Through the module, I have gained variety principles and elements essential in writing.
In the earlier days, I remember writing and good communication were skills that I knew was meant for the affluent in the society. Improving my writing and communication skills therefore became my goals once I stepped into East London University to obtain higher Education. The University through ED1000 has helped me improve my writing and communication skills. Upon the completion of the course, I appreciate my level of writing because considering my past experience in the primary level of education I realized I could not be able to write a full sentence without making grammatical errors. Upon completion of ED1000, my desire for writing increased because I was able to appreciate my creative writing, this I realized when I could score an encouraging grade in the compositions. I am currently able to give a wide range of grammatical construction, properly punctuate my written work, and have a logical organization in my essays.
Having been a student of Critical Reading and Writing Ed1000, I have gained a lot. In this course I have gained knowledge in reading and writing skills as well as critical thinking. Looking at what has happened in this course, I can admittedly say that a lot was covered on speech work and writing skills. The types of techniques that tutors used to capture his audience is definitely useful in the way I am going to handle my life. The course has fostered me to acquire good communication skills, good listening skills, improved organizational skills, and good critical thinking skills and these have been my strengths.
The course has enhanced my effectiveness in essay writing. The course has equipped me with skills of knowing the target audience in all my writings. I am also aware of the appropriate ways of structuring my writings. Through the course, I have found communication principles exciting. The course has assisted me in starting my career after Higher Education.
Additionally, through the course, I have acquired love of learning. This is the ability to master new skills, and curiosity to learn, whether formally or informally. I basically love learning new things either in class or just on my own. The other of my strength is also persistence or industriousness. This is finishing what one starts without giving up in spite of challenges and obstacles that might be encountered in a course of action. I am persistent since I take pleasure in completing tasks and assignments. I never get distracted when in work and always feels satisfied upon the completion of a given task. I truly agree that I possess this strength.
According to Johnson 1994, the audience for a writing is the person or people who will finally read the written material. The author argues that suppose one is sending postcard to a close relative or friend, he or she knows audience personally and so using little jokes, and referring to things that nobody else could understand makes the writing livelier. Some writing forms can be individual letters, and the reason for writing such a letter maybe to transmit information, or for entertainment or all these combined. Suppose one is writing to an organization or institution, one probably would not anything in the institution and the direct audience cannot be identified easily. A formal letter would be more suitable in such circumstances. The author therefore argues that decisions regarding the audience comes before the actual writing, an act that I have never known. Prior to starting the actual writing, one has to have in mind the reader and the purpose of the writing.
Over the past and currently, I have not been able to acquaint myself with the writing forms which are suitable to my writing tasks. I have thus not been able to keep the writing features in mind as a sort of mental checklist whilst writing. In some complex situations, for instance writing a critical essay, I have not been able determine the writing form and style to use. I cannot tell whether to write in a very formal manner, taking editor into consideration, or strike a balance for general readers. This has been a complex task since one has numerous potential audiences in mind. I hope that these cases will be covered in the coming modules. cvbc
According to Johnson 1994, many writers do not seem to keep in mind their purpose when writing, as they mostly appear to ignore the target audience. It has been common, as noted by the author, to find people writing in similar manner to both a close friend and to a government department. Such writers have just one writing style, which they use for all purposes. Keeping targeted audience in writing is a powerful means of increasing the effectiveness of one’s writing. It offers a chance to make the act of communication far more successful than it otherwise might have been. Johnson 1994 argues that suppose one can be friendly without being patronizing, audience will probably enjoy one’s writing. If one can be serious and informative without being too stiff, audience may be persuaded by his or her arguments. I believe that I have not been able to write appropriately addressing target audience. Further to this, there are three main kinds of academic papers. The style and the linguistic forms of these papers are determined by the subject and the academic level. Different categories should be used to consider these papers.
According to Edmundson 2007, in community learning, students can become better team players and hence can improve their personal skills to work independently, collaboratively, and cooperatively. The author further argues that through community learning, student’s learning interest is raised through active engagement with real-world projects. The projects according to the author move students beyond immediate interest and present knowledge into a larger world.
The community learning as emphasized buy the author provides learners with opportunities to start connecting with the outside world and also helps in transforming social work before students go into the community. Through their participation on the community learning, Edmundson 2007 argues that learners will be able to increase their sense of responsibility for communal activities and hence positive contributions to their communities. The learners further become resilient enough to confront and evaluate the changing community in which they serve.
It is through real-world community learning that students are able to solve actual life problems and improve their communication skills, become flexible in adapting to reality, and being creative in knowledge application. I believe that in participating in community learning activities, I will not only improve my communication skills but also promote cross-cultural communication and hence development of awareness and appreciation for different cultural value systems.
I feel there is a need to develop critical reading skills. Critical reading refers to reading with aim of ascertaining the accuracy and reality of claims made by a particular reading material. It does not only involve reading text to comprehend its content but also, evaluating the facts to judge their validity, a skill I wish to have (Wallace & Wray, 2006, p.26). To go about the process, I intend to be a decisive reader to enable me isolate content from its author, facts from explanations and certainty from fiction. This method involves using graphical organizers to link visual and verbal information so as to help students in this group to connect and understand relationships between the learned processes and the real life experiences. This phenomenon is very important because without learners using graphs and charts then they will not get a learning technique which is packed with a lot of detailed information.
Critical reading involves going through the text with the aim of gaining a solid perspective of the author’s concepts, ideas and arguments about the topic, what I cannot achieve currently. It also involves evaluating the text’s content decisively and comprises analyzing various arguments from the read text to ascertain their validity. It is accomplished by analyzing validity of author’s facts, concepts, illustrations and vocabulary, resources and scientific information used to write the material (Wallace & Wray, 2006, p.27). Critical readings skills can assist me avoid wasting time going through various materials before getting relevant information. For instance, before I choose to use any book or other material for my education, I can integrate the phases to assist in selecting the best from alternative books. I wish to have the skills taught in the next module.
Through engagement with the community I intend to develop critical thinking skills. Potter and Perry 2009 argue that critical thinking involves application of rational principles through cautious reasoning. According to the two aforementioned authors, critical thinking is an intellectual way of solving problems through observation, evaluation, reflection as well as proper analysis. Potter and Perry 2009 further argues that critical thinking usually involves the use of cognitive skills which are applied intellectually. It is worth noting that critical thinking brings about creativity and innovation in the sense that a person is supposed to apply extra knowledge and skills apart from the ones learnt in class (Potter & Perry, 2009).
Potter & Perry, 2009 argues that critical thinking is a feature that differentiates between those who executes learnt skills only from a professional nurse who applies both critical thinking and learnt skills to solve a problem. Critical thinking requires precise, accurate, clear as well as logical reasoning. Additionally, according to Potter & Perry 2009, critical thinking involves putting both your feelings and facts together which in turn helps you to intervene to a situation and this can be enhanced by community studies. These skills also help students to apply intellectual standards to evaluate their own thinking as well as other people’s thinking on given problems and situations.
From other modules, I realized that some of my essays and assignments were never organized. I did not follow the good structure of essays as highlighted below. Repeatedly, while I have been confident of the content of their various subjects, I have been frightened by the prospect of integrating that skill into a well-structured essay. I have thus found essay-writing tricky
In the title, comments indicated that all essays should start with title written in full. In given cases, title is simply the set question or statement for discussion. In majority of my essays I had indicated the first question or the leading statement as title of the paper. I have realized that a good title should be the central theme in the essays and not necessarily the first line or the first question of the paper. The other common mistake has been on the number of words in the title. I have realized that a good title should be short and precise.
Proper organization of ideas and points is essential in any essay writing. A few moments should be spent in gathering and logically arranging the ideas, arguments, and examples wherever writer thinks to support and develop the thesis of the essay. The introduction should make the readers know the reason paper, and it should be specific as possible. The thoughts and occurrences should be followed chronologically. When the materials have been assembled, they should be arranged in a given manner. Decision should be made on what should come first, second, third or in conclusion (Langford, 2005).
The other weaker area as noted in other module is the organization of my essays. Whereas an introduction should tell the reader what the entire essays is about, majority of my essays had general or irrelevant introductions. Redman and Maples 2011 argues that the main section or the body of an essay should develop the argument’s key points in an organized progression, majority of my essays had sweeping statements. Redman and Maples 2011 further states that the body of an essay should use evidence form other research studies previous conducted and theoretical arguments to support the points. This has been on the contrary in most of my essays. Formerly I have minimal or no references and thus writing a weak essay or academic paper. Whereas the conclusion ought to reassess the arguments presented in the main body of an essay in order to make a final statement, formerly my essays have had fresh ideas and authors in the conclusion.
According to Trimmer 2006, it is important give attention to issues relating to structure of essays, especially the paragraph arrangement, which represent the evolving steps of argument in well-structure essays. The writers should focus on ways of beginning and ending the essay. The use of quotations and other evidence to support an essay’s points is essential. The writer should examine in details the approaches to the analysis of texts in essays and to consider the kinds of responses which different sorts of essay questions and tasks are seeking (Stock & Brody, 2005). Proper organization of the points and good essay structure helps the reader develop interest.
Logics and simplicity is also significant in essay-writing, a quality that has not been demonstrated in my former essays. Trimmer 2006 argues that in a good essays, the writer needs to simple and clear in his arguments as possible. He further says that the targeted reader should always be in his mind. I have realized to avoid one-sentence paragraphs, using them sparingly to make a strong and summarizing, in contrast to the usual three or four-sentence paragraph. According to Trimmer 2006, overlong paragraphs should also be avoided (Trimmer, 2006 pg 23). The clear arrangement appeals to the reader, giving a sense of structure development in the consideration of the argument, an area I need to improve on.
In some cases, I have found my attempts to communicate that mastery has been frustrated by the inability to write a good essay. It has been difficult to put ideas across interestingly and compellingly so to be rewarded appropriately and so the need for self-improvement. It is necessary to follow the required format for a given essay, arrange the ideas properly, and structure the essays correctly to maximize their readability and acceptance.
A due regard to unity of the plan requires that the writer abstain from glancing at many fascinating topics at the same time, but to restrict the observations as much as possible so that portion of moral evidence, which the writer proposes to be consider. As stated by Redman and Maples 2011, the writer should always favour well-focused forensic essay on a limited topic to an essay that attempts to cover too much ground. The specificity and narrowness of the topic is achieved by forming hypothesis or the objectives of the paper before writing it. It is significant to compose a clearly organized, evidence-based, and essay with the hypothesis to catch the readers’ interest in one’s piece of written work.
I also plan to join various study groups to enhance my communication and enable me learn from other students. Group work is a vital part of a learner’s course, because it reveals one’s ability to discuss, communicate and work together with other students. The idea or the reason behind including a component of group work in student’s course or unit is to prepare them for their future profession, which may perhaps require them to work in an environment that is group-based. Therefore it is not astounding that the aptitude to work efficiently in a group is a much more desired skill.
Generally group discussions are pivotal aspects meant for the discussion and resolving or finding solutions to the different problems or tasks under discussion. During such events I will be expected to unleash my intellectual capacitance regarding the tasks under question. This will also lead to have the understanding of strengths or capabilities that I lack and therefore make me acquire the skills and become a more effective communicator and thus boost my communication skills. Participating in class discussions is also another important learning technique for auditory learners. This technique involves the teacher making the student to participate fully in class by taking the assignments, doing them in time and revising the work in class so that the learner will look like he has participated in class fully. All these processes are important so that the learner gets the full grasp of every work in class.
Each and every group member brings about their own knowledge and skills into the group assignment or project. The more knowledge and skills on hand, the easier a particular task or project becomes because different tasks can be allocated or assigned on the grounds of experience and ability and thus learning. Group work also encourages cooperation and communication. Group members are supposed to co-operate and communicate with each other so that they can effectively bring together the different parts of the task or the project. Good communication ensures that any issues or problems can be dealt with and discussed by a group as opposed to independently. These different advantages of group work have repeatedly been shown to be very important in different classes. By taking part in group work during one’s study, a person gains understanding and insight into the issues and problems that can come up.
In conclusion, the course has equipped me with the life skills that are pertinent in any human being’s social life. It is also important to note that Learning styles refer to the methods that learners use in class to take instructions from the teacher and thus the objectives of learning is said to have been achieved. Learning styles differ from learner to learner , those considered with special learning abilities to have a very critical way of learning in class and those considered normal having their way of making learning to be more interesting and understandable. Being enlightened is of great pertinence especially in reading and writing to make meaning of whatever handled in any piece of work. I wish not only to be a good writer but to have my grade improved in my coming academic year.
References
Edmundson, A. 2007. Globalized E-Learning Cultural Challenges. Gale virtual reference library. Publisher Idea Group Inc (IGI), pg 87-92.
Johnson, R. 1994. Improve Your Writing Skills. Publisher Roy Johnson, pg 67-76.
Murray, S & Johnson L. (1990).Writing for Academic Purposes. New York: Hodder & Stoughton, pg 35-39.
Potter, P. & Perry, A . (2009). Fundamentals of Nursing (7th Ed.), St. Louis: Elsevier Mosby, pp.21-31.
Redman, P, and Maples, W. 2011. Good Essay Writing: A Social Sciences Guide. Published in association with The Open University. SAGE Publisher, pg 45-54.
Trimmer, J. 2006. Teaching and Learning Outside and Inside the Box. Peer Review , Vol. 8, No. 2, Ball State University.
