I was anxious during the week of midterms because I would not be able to know the topic before the allotted time. Writing is a challenging process for me because I tend to linger on my essays and overthink what I want to explain to be able to get my ideas across. I also tend to go over the word count. At first, when I opened the document on blackboard, I was bewildered because I did not have that much time to evaluate and effectively plan my paper. Then, I remembered the twelve-point writing process that was explained to the class by Mrs. Isenkul prior to Spring Break. It assisted me by granting me the opportunity to create a well thought out essay within the allotted time. I managed to rectify my problem of writing a clear and organized essay in a brief amount of time, instead of taking an extensive amount of time to write out a thesis statement. I had time to adjust some of my errors within my essay. I felt proud when I finished my paper since I managed to write an essay that I viewed as a prepared essay. When I received my grade from the midterm, I was ecstatic because I managed to obtain an A without needing a person to edit my essay. I also learned that the fewer words I write, the fewer mistakes I make in terms of word choice or subject-verb agreement. Although writing fewer words than I usually write in essays is still a constant challenge, I was able to rectify the problem in my midterm essay.
While I was waiting to return to Old Dominion to finish the rest of my Spring semester, I learned that all of my classes would transition to online and I could not return to my dorm on campus due to the Coronavirus. I was worried because I have never been in any online classes and did not know how to structure my schedule since my classes were not operated by my professors at the time classes normally occurs. I also preferred to meet with my professors in person because I was able to address my problems in person and obtain information on how to solve or write my assignments efficiently. Initially, I thought that implementing classes to be online would be impersonal, but my professors were able to ease my concerns by constantly emailing me. In University 150, Mrs. Isenkul would email me our weekly lesson plan and provide a video that would coincide with it. She would also provide updates daily, and if I had a problem with an assignment given by her, I would get an email immediately. She also was able to edit my essays and provide corrections. Overall, Mrs. Isenkul’s feedback was beneficial for me because it helped me efficiently go through the class.
Overall, University 150 managed to help me improve on my writing by teaching me how to write within the specified word count and form an essay within the allotted time.