Reflection Essay

Martha Hix

Jan. 23, 2002

            This year I have accomplished a great deal in my Honors English class.  I have begun a full online portfolio that has all of my work, and it shows the improvement, in my writing.  Outside of Honors English I have also achieved some goals and accomplishments that I had set.  For example, in keyboarding I have learned to type correctly.  Furthermore, I have set additional objectives and goals to work for next semester.

            Although it has only been a semester, I have already learned a lot in Honors English.  During our propaganda study, I became aware of the kind of propaganda tricks that advertisers try to pull on you to make you buy their products. In my propaganda essay I wrote, “In this ad, which is advertising Skechers shoes, you see popular looking people wearing Skechers shoes. This is snob appeal, and the technique is used almost like peer pressure, to make people think that they will be great like the person who is doing it, if they do (or in this case wear) it too.” This shows how I made the connection between snob appeal and peer pressure, and gave me a greater understanding of the sob appeal technique.  Then, in our debating unit, we learned how to quickly think on our feet, and think of the perfect thing to respond to our opponent.  I found the actual debate fun, and not scary at all, maybe because I like to argue a lot. 

Also Honors English has helped me improve my vocabulary.  My vocabulary has increased greatly, and I enjoy using words like “incredulous” and “irk”, which seem strange and complicated but really they are just a sophisticated way to say “unconvinced” and “bother”.  It is funny to see my friends dumbfounded and confused looks when I use these words.  Also, my website production has improved from making and working on my online portfolio.  One of my goals in the future is to make a personal website, since I have a better understanding of the program.

Before this year I was a little disorganized this.  This year I am working to improve my organizational skills.  For instance, I have a separate binder for old semester papers (I don’t throw them away) and a mini-binder for note cards.  Also this year I have improved my keyboarding skills.  In keyboarding class, I was often tempted to look at the screen, or keyboard, but I concentrated on the book.  I no longer have to “hunt and peck”, I can use proper keyboarding techniques.  When I started my rate was about 20 words per minute, with a few errors, however, now I can type about 50 words a minute with minimal errors.  Thus, by practicing correct typing, I am much quicker and accurate.

            To conclude, just in this short time in Honors English I have accomplished a great deal.  For instance, I can type faster, I am more organized, and I use a greater variety of vocabulary.  I am working on achieving my goals (like joining Youth Group).  I still need to work on not procrastinating, and improving my study habits.  Thus, I will continue to work towards accomplishing my goals for next semester.