Critical Reflection on essay writing

Through the process of essay writing, I have learnt important skills to improve my content and language in my essay. Although there is improvement, more can be done to enhance my learning in order to become a more proficient writer.

Before the course, I found it difficult to express my thoughts and ideas in the essay due to poor planning of content and structure so the ideas could not flow logically. However, the various lessons on essay planning have allowed me to understand the importance of writing a clear thesis statement to emphasise my main point of argument, having a topic sentence in each paragraph to support my thesis statement as well as using connectors to link the ideas logically. Moreover, learning how to find resources and evidence to support my thoughts and using citations and references in APA style to credit the authors’ ideas have equipped me with the ability to evaluate critically the credibility of sources and prevent plagiarism. All the valuable knowledge has helped me to develop a more informative and cohesive essay.

However, due to my weak foundation in grammar and vocabulary, it is still a challenge to vary my sentence structure and choice of words. Although this course has provided me with many resources and practice which allowed me to identify my weaknesses, more time is needed for me to master the use of language as grammar and vocabulary can only be improved through long term learning and practice. Therefore, I will continue to utilise the resources and do more grammar practices even after the course in order to progress further.

In conclusion, this course has definitely allowed me to recognise my weaknesses in essay writing and has guided me towards improvement. I believe that the skills and knowledge learnt will not be forgotten but will be enhanced as I continue to utilise the knowledge in academic writing.