Self-reflexive Essay
Learning allows people and even students to understand information and acquire skills and knowledge. It empowers and adds value to the life of an individual. This discussion is a personal essay focusing on what I have learned about grammar, correctness and writing in Understanding English Grammar course.
This course has been instrumental in shaping my skills and knowledge in grammar. I must appreciate the fact that, the course has been of great value to the development of my grammar. Many people have a problem with their grammar and most often, they make minor mistakes in their spoken and written communications. This course has not only helped me in understanding grammar well it has also given me confidence by elevating my self-esteem as a student.
Grammar encompasses various aspects that a student must understand to be in a position to write well and speak well. Through the course, I have learned a lot of concepts which include but not limited to spelling, numbers, adjectives, verbs, using adjectives and verbs, articles, prepositions, pronouns, relative pronouns, count and non count nouns, subject verb agreement, verb tenses, irregular verbs and many others.
In our writing, we often make some spelling mistakes that make our work to have different meaning. Therefore, through this course, I have been able to encounter different words that have similar pronunciations but spelt differently. Furthermore, I have also learned about how to write the right spellings of different words through exposure of various words. This has sharpened my knowledge in words and I can no longer make these mistakes. Another problem faced by many people I included and which I am privileged to note that I learned is about subject – verb agreement. I was able to understand how to write grammatical sentences that encompassed irregular plurals. For instance I learned that words such as media, data and phenomena are irregular plurals and are followed by plural verbs such as were, have and are. Furthermore, I unraveled the trick with collective nouns in sentences usually confused as plurals but are singular such as in the sentence; the committees want a resolution and the committee wants a resolution.
I also got the limelight on passive and active vices. More often, we use passive voices in our researches and writing. This is not a bad idea but it should not be overused. Passive voice puts more emphasis on the thing or that, which is receiving the action as opposed to emphasizing the doer of the action. Good sentences require use of active voice when writing. Precision and correct language is also one important concept that I have learned from this course. Correctness of language means using or choosing the right words to refer to certain aspects. For example, physicists should not use mass when they mean weight. These are two words, which confuse people most of the time. Understanding their use is key to enhancing communication.
The other thing I gained from this course was on the sentence construction and the length of a sentence. Run on or fused sentences cause confusion in understanding the message. These sentences are supposed to be separated into two or three sentences. They are too long and this affects the flow of thoughts and deters effective understanding.
Having good writing skills is essential in enhancing one’s communication. Many people find it hard to write because; they have not mastered the skills. This course has been very essential in enhancing my writing skills. Before pursuing this course, I thought that I was not a good writer. These feelings and perceptions affected my communication skills. However, this course has reignited my dreams and desires in writing. I can vehemently and elegantly state that I am now a good writer. My success in writing is manifest through my excellent performance in English language and other subjects. I have learned the art of expressing ideas, thoughts and arguments through a pen and a paper. I leaned many aspects concerning writing, some of the aspects and concepts that built and sharpened my skills were in the areas of easy writing. This enabled me to be creative and understand the various aspects concerning the flow of any write up. From this basis, I was able to learn different skills in writing such as letter writing, memo writing, report writing and book writing. I also got an opportunity to understand the importance of editing and how to edit ones write up to ensure that the final piece of work is excellent. To come up with a good piece, various grammars inbuilt tools in the Word help to correct or check on passive voice and other minor mistakes. Such mistakes can be checked after going through the writing thoroughly. Proofreading is also essential in any writing. This allows the writer to spot some minor errors that may have gone unidentified in the piece. In proofreading, it is important to proofread from the hard copy and to read aloud. Giving someone else to read the paper is also important, as this will help to correct some of the mistakes.
The course, I must say has been interesting and valuable. My grammar and writing skills are not the same again. It is through this course that I am able to express myself well orally and through written speech. I therefore, give credit to the tutor of this course because I feel that I am not the same person. My writing and general communication has improved beyond my expectations and I believe that with these skills I will certainly achieve my goals. Students should take this good course seriously for their own benefit in future.
Reference
Wyant, D. (2010). Grammar and writing mechanics review Retrieved from: http://ssw.unc.edu/files/web/pdf/ammar_Review_Part_2- _10_Most_Common_Problems.pdf
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