Writing is the most valuable skill in this class, and being an effective writer is essential. To be honest, I have struggled a lot with writing. I never viewed myself as a good writer because I do a lot of repetition in my sentences, which makes my writing less effective. Another area where I am weak is grammar. When I started the semester, I was totally scared of taking a writing class, since writing has never been my best skill, especially since I arrived in the United States. English is not the language that I speak at home, and sometimes I struggle to write coherent sentences.

During the first week of the semester, things were relatively easier because we started with the Peer Culture Op-Ed, which I think was the easiest assignment for the semester. My favorite  assignment was the Peer Culture Op-Ed because it was easy and there was a partner for every single one of us. The first assignment was about culture, we had to learn more about the background of our partner. Buhari was my partner. He was very useful in describing his culture to me. I described my culture to him as well and tried to give a lot of information so he would get a general idea about it.

As the semester progressed, everything started to get harder. The assignments required more critical thinking, improved writing skills, and more innovation. One of the tougher assignments that we completed was the subculture essay. I really enjoyed this assignment because the professor allowed us to choose what subculture to write about, which made it more personal and interesting. I wrote on Generation Z since I belong to this generation and wanted to know how society views us.

Through this task, I improved my research skills since it required that I use outside sources in supporting my argument. I researched and practiced using various articles to make my arguments authentic and help the reader better comprehend Gen Z. Gen Z has a negative image and is viewed as lazy, technology-obsessed, and needy. I used those stereotypes as a starting point and referenced sources that refuted the  allegations above. Overall, the assignment forced me to be more critical in thinking about how subcultures are perceived and how writing may be used to reinforce or criticize such perceptions. It was a great experience that allowed me to grow as a writer and researcher.

The last assignment was the most difficult one overall, especially because the reading was so difficult. It was hard to read and required a lot of focus. We had to pick a section or idea of “Culture is Ordinary” that we found interesting and deconstruct it. I had to improve my approaches of reading, writing, and editing in an effort to get this assignment done well.

My thesis was: Culture is not static, but a dynamic and ever-changing phenomenon of human society. It is always being shaped by historical processes, social interaction, and individual experience. By making this claim, I wanted to formulate by taking a stand and clearly state a position through my writing. Maintaining that position was important throughout the assignment because I had to hold on to the ideas that resonated with me.

I struggled with this part because I don’t believe I utilized the most powerful quotes to advance my argument. It was difficult to find powerful and useful evidence within the reading, and I developed an understanding of how critical it is to connect the quotes back to the thesis. Although it was the most challenging assignment, I learned much about close reading and the importance of choosing powerful evidence.

I think I have learned a lot this year, I learned how to become a better writer and most importantly a better reader. I have developed in the collaborative and social aspects of writing processes and enhanced strategies for reading. I have used more strategies to make my writing better. Some examples are writing without paying attention to the grammar, re-reading my own writing and asking my peers to check my writing. At the beginning I didn’t care to use AI, but later on I realized AI could be really helpful. I thought AI didn’t give good results because it’s not compared to real people giving you feedback, but one day I used it to check my grammar and I like the results. I started to like AI more. AI has helped me to fix my grammar and make my writing sound and look better. Overall i think i have grown as a writer.