CRITICAL THINKING

Strengths, Weaknesses, and Challenges

The assignment above, "Story to Younger Self" required individuals to create a poem to their younger selves in a slideshow, emphasizing diction and creativity.

The other assignment above, "Moving Stories Day 1" required individuals to read 3 short texts that talked about other people's stories. Using the three stories, the individuals were tasked to create detailed responses to the questions they were provided with.

Throughout ENG 101, I have continued to develop my reading, writing, and thinking skills. At the beginning of the year, I was assigned my first big writing assignment, to write a poem to my younger self. This proved to be difficult for me as a writer, given my limited prior experience in poetic expression, much less with incorporating creativity and reflective elements. Nevertheless, I committed countless hours, pushing myself beyond what I felt was unattainable. The outcome of my dedication proved to be not only well worth it but also pleasantly surprising, revealing that I had many strengths as a writer that I was unaware of. Although I realize that my process in poetic composition may not be as strong as I hope it to be, I discovered that my strength as a writer lies in the meticulous choice of words, compensating for my shortcomings in poetry. An example of this lies in the phrases incorporated into my poems such as "The pinnacle of your transition into adulthood" and the inclusion of words like "blissful" and "melancholy." These deliberate word choices helped elevate my poems' details to the next level and breathed life into the entire presentation which is something that I have been extremely proud of given my lack of prior experience in writing poetry. 

Similarly, my reading skills exhibit a strength for swiftly grasping fundamental concepts within texts. While I acknowledge my strength at interpreting basic ideas within minutes, I confront challenges when it comes to comprehending the broader context of readings and articulating that comprehension in a detailed response. My answers often lack depth and fail to convey a more comprehensive understanding of the text. For instance, in the Moving Stories Day 1 assignment, I realized that my responses had lackluster descriptions such as "This story is important to our community because it highlights the issue at hand surrounding us" and "This story is important to me because I often face challenges in my story." These vague statements express broad statements which often fall short of capturing the broader idea of the specific story. Moving forward, I am more committed than ever to improving my reading comprehension skills which will allow me to provide more detailed and specific responses as a writer. Along with this, my strengths in quickly interpreting text and choice of words will continue to aid me in elevating my responses.