ENG4UE
TERM 1
WRITING GOALS
Philip Roth
“The road to hell is paved with works-in-progress”
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Throughout the two weeks, I will note down any new topic I found interesting in my notebook. Once I have chosen an idea, I will begin the entire writing process including research, writing drafts, revising, editing, and finally proofreading.
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To improve my grammar accuracy, I will complete daily quizzes on websites like Khan Academy which also provide lessons to watch and learn. In each of the 500 word papers I write bi-weekly, I will attempt to include newly learned rules and devices to practice my learning.
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To expand on my vocabulary, I must first learn the words through reading books, articles, or any form of media. After learning the words, I will attempt to incorporate them as much as possible in my daily life in order to remember instead of memorizing.
BECOMING A BETTER WRITER…
Over the past few weeks, I have made steady progress toward enhancing my writing skills by actively working on the three goals I set for myself. Overall, my efforts have been a success and show great improvements in terms of my writing capabilities. Here’s a summary of my progress and any adjustments needed moving forward:
(1) Write More
Goal: Write a 500 word research pieces every two weeks, and complete the entire revision process.
Evidence: Research Papers
My progress towards achieving my writing goals has largely been affected by setbacks. Since October 7, I have dedicated time in order to complete a research paper per every two weeks. One of the most significant problems I faced was that even when I have intriguing topics in mind, unexpected life events would derail my writing plans. When I initially set this goal, I assumed that writing a 500 word essay would be a straightforward task, especially considering its relatively short length. However, I soon realized that with how busy my schedule is, finding the time to complete these time-consuming essays was rather difficult.
When writing these papers, I didn’t specifically track them in any way except keeping in mind how many papers I’ve done in my head. However, I made sure that I finished at least one essay in the time frame I mentioned in the goal. Nonetheless, I successfully met the requirements for this goal as I wrote one paper within the first two weeks and I am currently in the process of revising another paper for the second half of the month.
This goal hasn’t exactly helped me stay focus on anything, even the paper themselves. I think a big part of that is due to my lack of motivation and how time consuming this process is. Regardless, an improvement I recognized was that when writing the second paper, the process was much faster than when compared to the first. Thus, I believe that I will keep the same goal moving forward to term two as this process is speeding up my writing speed and creative thinking. Moreover, improving my writing skills in this format is extremely helpful, especially with university interviews coming up where I will be completing similar word count papers in a limited time.
Overall, I would give myself a “G” level of progression since I am still on track of this goal, but I need to ensure that this continues. In particular, many university applications are due soon, making the limited time I have even more limited.
(2) Improve Grammar
Goal: Learn grammar rules and incorporate them into writing pieces.
Evidence: Research Papers
I have successfully met this goal and plan to continue improving upon my grammar skills as the semester progresses. A huge reason as to me staying on top of this goal was due to the fact that I have the SAT exam coming up and studying grammar was crucial to me.
I managed to track my progress through the Khan Academy SAT English practice course and attempted to incorporate details I learned into my research papers. For example, prior to setting this goal, I had no idea what the purpose of the em dash was. However, after learning the use of the dash on Khan Academy and later clarifying with Ms. Oliver, in the edited version of my research paper, I replaced many commas and adjusted the structure of sentences to include it.
Even though my main purpose for this goal was to study grammar for the SAT exam, I believe that this is still a valid goal to have continuing into the next term. Additionally, having this goal tracked through Khan Academy made me motivated to complete each activity on the website. I would say that this goal for sure helped me stay focused and on track as it gave me the motivation to continue studying.
In conclusion, I would give myself a “E” level as I have been progressing through this goal effectively and higher than my own expectations when I first made it.
(3) Expand Vocabulary
Goal: Incorporate newly learned words from vocabulary log into writing pieces.
Evidence: Research Papers
Reflecting on my goal to expand my vocabulary by incorporating newly learned words into my writing, I must admit that I have not successfully completed this objective so far. Although I’ve maintained a vocabulary log (mentioned in the reading goals section) and identified several new words, I haven’t had the chance to effectively integrate them into any writing pieces as I intended to.
In recent writing pieces I mainly utilized vocabulary that I already was familiar with, not showcasing any of the development progress I made in terms of expanding my vocabulary. However, in the research paper I plan to complete by the end of this week, I plan to incorporate many words in my vocabulary log while still maintaining relevancy to the topic.
Ultimately, I have not yet achieved my goal yet, but I am committed and on the correct path to reaching the goal. Thus I will give myself a “S” level for being on track but not there yet.
Research papers PROCESS
TERM 2
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Throughout the two weeks, I will note down any new topic I found interesting in my notebook. Once I have chosen an idea, I will begin the entire writing process including research, writing drafts, revising, editing, and finally proofreading.
-
To improve my grammar accuracy, I will complete daily quizzes on websites like Khan Academy which also provide lessons to watch and learn. In each of the 500 word papers I write bi-weekly, I will attempt to include newly learned rules and devices to practice my learning.
-
To expand on my vocabulary, I must first learn the words through reading books, articles, or any form of media. After learning the words, I will attempt to incorporate them as much as possible in my daily life in order to remember instead of memorizing.
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To further improve my writing skills, I want to learn at least two new formats of writing by the end of the semester. For example, I plan to learn how to write three different types of poems (Haiku, Free Verse, Acrostic, and possibly more). This way I can expand the diversity of my writing capabilities.
*New (4)
WRITING GOALS
C.S. LEWIS
“YOU CAN MAKE ANYTHING BY WRITING”
IMPROVING AS A WRITER…
Over the course of the semester, I have made consistent progress in enhancing my writing skills by actively pursuing the three goals I set for myself. Overall, my efforts have been successful, reflecting significant improvements in my writing capabilities. Here’s a summary of my progress since the midterm:
(1) Write More
Goal: Write a 500 word research pieces every two weeks, and complete the entire revision process.
Evidence: Research Papers
Since Term 1, my progress with the goal of writing 500-word research pieces every two weeks has been what I would call “decent”. Athough I ultimately fell short of fully meeting the original goal, I did complete majority of the writing pieces required for this goal. Over the past couple of months, I managed to write 3 pieces, which, while less than planned, still represents meaningful progress in my writing journey. Looking back, I’ve come to realize how much I’ve grown—not just in terms of writing skill, but in how I approach and adapt to challenges.
One of the key improvements I’ve noticed is how much smoother and more efficient my writing process has become. When I started this goal, writing even 500 words felt like a daunting task, especially with my busy schedule. But by the time I was working on my third and fourth pieces, the process felt more natural. I wasn’t second-guessing every sentence, and I learned to better focus on my main ideas while speeding up my revision process. This progress alone has been incredibly rewarding and has given me more confidence in tackling writing tasks under time constraints. (This will hopefully help me on the exam!)
However, the setbacks I faced in Term 1 continued to challenge me. Balancing my workload with unexpected life events made sticking to a strict two-week schedule unrealistic. While I didn’t fully meet my goal, the act of consistently writing, even at a slower pace, has still been beneficial. Each piece helped me strengthen my ability to organize ideas, research effectively, and articulate my thoughts in a concise way. It was merely unfortunate that I had 25+ university supplemental applications to write, but in all fairness, I was at least still writing!
This experience has taught me that it’s okay to adjust my goals when needed. What matters most is the growth I’ve achieved and the steps I’ve taken to improve. Writing those 3 pieces since Term 1 has not only built my skills but has also shown me the value of persistence, even when progress isn’t perfect.
Overall, while I didn’t hit the target, I feel proud of what I’ve accomplished. I believe I deserve a “G” level progression for this goal as I didn’t meet my expectations, but did reach close.
(2) Improve Grammar
Goal: Learn grammar rules and incorporate them into writing pieces.
Evidence: Research Papers
Throughout the rest of the semester since the midterm, I believe I have seen significant improvement in my grammatical skills. In December, I voluntarily took an online English tutoring class with a friend and learned many new punctuation applications and different ways to format writing tasks.
One area where I’ve noticed significant growth is my ability to write with precision and purpose. For instance, I now feel much more confident using punctuation marks like semicolons and colons to improve sentence flow and connect related ideas. These skills have added a level of sophistication to my writing that I didn’t have at the start of the term. Additionally, the tutoring sessions emphasized proper use of modifiers and eliminating unnecessary repetition, both of which have made my writing more concise.
Another improvement has been my consistency in applying grammar rules across all my writing tasks. Earlier in the term, I tended to focus only on grammar during specific assignments, such as any submitted work. However, I’ve made a conscious effort to apply what I’ve learned to all forms of writing, including emails, reflections, and casual writing. This has helped solidify my understanding of grammar and made these rules feel second nature.
I’ve reflected on my own progress through my research papers and I planned to incorporate any skill learned directly into work. This allowed me to transfer my knowledge into application while receiving feedback from peers and family on how I can improve my writing skills.
In conclusion, I think that I have improved drastically since term 1 and would give myself an “E” level for progression as I exceeded my expectations.
(3) Expand Vocabulary
Goal: Incorporate newly learned words from vocabulary log into writing pieces.
Evidence: Research Papers
During the midterm portfolio, I reflected on my inability to utilize new words learned in my work. However, since then, I’ve worked steadily on improving my incorporation of these words into mainly my research papers.
As seen in many of my research papers, I dedicated to utilize at least 2-3 words from my term 2 vocabulary log in the reading goals section in my work. This helped me reinforce my understanding of the newly learned vocab, and confirm that I do indeed know what the word means by applying it to differing contexts.
I think that this is a massive step forward for me since the midterm as I have managed to achieve the goal, which I didn’t meet at the midterm. Therefore, I beleive that I deserve at least a “G” level improvement for this goal.
(4) Learn Writing Mediums
Goal: Learn and write at least two different writing mediums.
Evidence: Poems
In the second half of this semester, I focused on broadening my writing skills by exploring and practicing at least two different writing mediums. My primary focus was on peotry, as it allowed me to experiment with structure and concise expression, two issues that I struggled with in the first half. Writing poetry was an entirely new challenge for me, as it required thinking differently about word choice and imagery compared to traditional essays or research papers. I completed two different types of poems this semester, each telling a unique story.
I originally intended to write at least two different writing mediums, however, I ended up running short on time nearing the end of the semester and failed to meet this goal. I ended up with Haikus, a Sonnnet, Ode and Ballad poems, which I was slightly disappointed with as I was truly looking forward to writing a short story or something alike. Regardless, I do believe that I developed a sufficient amount of skill from working on poetry in terms of metaphors and symbolisms.
For this goal in learning how to write these poems, I messaged an old mentor of mine who is a story write from Ireland. He taught me valuable skills regarding how to write poems in many different formats and helped me increase my vocabulary. His help is what truly contributed to my growth in this goal.
I often found myself utilizing more of these figures of speech in my writing in and outside of class, and was genuinely surprised at my tendency to run to these tools. While I feel somewhat satisfied of the progress I’ve made with this goal, I ultimately failed to achieve what I had originally set forth on the midterm, and subsequently I feel like I deserve a “S” level progression as I failed to meet expectations. There is for sure room for improvement in the future and I do plan to explore my ability to write stories.