Dear Ka Chi,
It has been an extraordinary experience to have English 1B
class with professor Brian Lewis. Through the different reading we have
examined, I now have more knowledge about the place where I study—California.
Under the theme “California Dream”, I understand more about why people from all
over the world choose to come to California. It also reminds me of why I am
here, and motivates me to study harder to strive for my goal. As an
international student from Hong Kong, I have always realized that English is
not my forte and there is always room for improvement. It is one of the most valuable
courses I have took in Foothill College. I have learned a systematic way to
improve my thinking logic; writing skill and some meaningful stories enrich myself.
Close reading is a skill that I have further enhanced in
this class. As the writing in this class is relevant to the different articles
we have gone through in class, the readings take a very important role in helping
me to develop my response in my essays. It can also improve my reading skills;
as I am majoring in Architecture, which requires much reading, reading quickly
while noting down all important points is a skill that can help me immensely.
Close reading helps me to understand the content in a better and quicker way.
Free writing is a useful skill I learned in the class; it is
a new but effective way to develop my thesis and ideas within a short period of
time. In every piece of the free write, I can jot down anything related to
topic that reflects what and how I feel towards the topic. It can also show my
understanding towards the topic, and is a very good guide for me to set up an
outline for the essays.
PIE is the concept that I have learned in this class which helped
me to construct better paragraph. I have heard of it in some other classes, but
I did not pay much attention to it. PIE is a way to construct paragraph. P is
means the point, which usually shown in the topic sentence, which shows reader ideas
of each paragraph. I stand for information, the examples to prove the claim of
the paragraph. This can effectively give support to the point. E means the
explanations of the example and the claim. Through analysis the examples, it
can make the whole logic clear, more persuasive. The sequence of the I and E are
interchangeable, and can be constructed with numerous variations. For example, a
paragraph can be in the form of P I E I E I E, depending on how the writers
want to interact with the readers. A little conclusion made at the end of each
paragraph can make it much clearer to the readers what the paragraph is about. Each
paragraph is mainly constructed by these three components, and this writing
method is very effective in the communication between readers and the writer.
It makes it easier for the readers to follow writers’ logic.
Not proofreading my works had given
me a very heavy lesson in this course. As Professor Lewis mentioned his class:
“Don't let your readers to proofread”, an essay full of mistakes is really
discouraging for readers to continue reading. When readers start to proofread
the essay, they will only focus on the grammar but not the content of the piece.
Thus, proofreading is a vey important process in every writing experience. It
can improve the whole article and give it a much better presentation. It can
also check the essays on paragraph level, ensuring the flow of the paragraphs
and seeing if they make sense or not. I think it is the section that I have
improved the most, but there is still much room for improvement. I really hope
I can master this skill and become a better writer.
From reading the lyrics of the
poems to watching the movie “Crash”, I have understood more about origins and
the development of California multiculturalism. They have given me guidance to
my life. For instance, in the process of writing the first in class essay, I
learned from the readings about those who came here for their dreams. I
understand that there is always a price for success; it is a concept of give
and take, and if we need to become a successful person, it is necessary to
engage ourselves much more than others. It is also necessary to take some risks
at the critical moments. As the old Chinese saying goes, “ A risk represents
the availability of another possibility”. This also makes me understand that there
are common factors in different cultures. Though there are many different
cultures in California, it is not necessary for us to block away those that are
foreign to us, but to open our mind and try to accept others’ strengths.
Though the English 1B class has
added pressure to my studies, it is definitely the class I enjoy most this
quarter. I learned, and I grew. I learned from teachers and classmates and also
from my mistakes. It helped me improved my writing skills, and enhanced my
writing styles. Taking this class has definitely helped my abilities in
English, and contributed much in my pursuit of my California Dream.
Yours sincerely,
Ka Chi
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