Free Essay On Self Reflection

Writing a good essay is not as easy as many people think it is. It takes good judgment and good choice of word in order to present ideas in a logical manner that can be clearly understood by everybody. But before someone gets to the level of being considered an excellent writer, one has to undergo a lot. It begins with studying mistakes that have been made in previous pieces of writing and then working hard in order to improve and avoid making the same mistakes over and over again. I was there, my work was characterized by very many mistakes that made it look like it had not been given the attention and keenness that it so desired. I needed to do something quickly or else my grades could be going down. I had to begin with my grammar and then organization of my work, choosing words correctly and putting them at the right place. This is one of the major steps I had to take in order to see myself as a good linguist. In regard to the essays I have written on safety, it is evident that there is great improvement from the first one to the second one as is clearly seen is so many ways.
In regard to their content, first the titles are different. In the first essay, the topic is “safety” while in the second essay; the title is “Importance of safety”. The two titles are clearly different in that, in the first essay, it is a one word title while the second one is three worded. I arrived at the change because with time and with a lot of study, I realized that a one worded title is too plain besides being limited. A good essay deserves to have a catchy title that will create an impression of to the reader. A good topic also needs to give the reader an insight of what the essay is all about. I came to learn that a plain title like in the case of the first one is too broad in a sense that a reader can easily be put off because he or she does not know what to expect from the essay in the first place and therefore will put down that essay never to look at it again. I therefore chose to change the title and make it more appealing and catchy to whoever could have a look at it. It also needed to be specific on the issue that it was to handle if at all I was to be relevant. Initially, I faced the difficulty of coming up with a very good title but through wide reading and research in the library; I learnt that a title is as important as the essay itself and therefore had to improve on this very important part of an essay.
One thing that normally stands out in a written essay is the introduction. The introduction in many ways throws the reader into what the content of the essay is going to be. It is important that the introduction remains captivating in order to catch the attention of the reader in an interesting way so that the reader will feel like wanting to read an essay up to the end. If the introduction is not clear and is boring, there are very chances that the reader will put the essay down and go on to do other things and not show much interest. In my two essays, it is evident that in as much as they are talking about one and the same thing, the introduction to each one of them is very different. In the first essay, I wrote an open ended introduction. It is also shallow because from the very second sentence, it states what the essay will be tackling something that should be incorporated in the thesis statement. Besides, the introduction of the first essay is characterized by grammar mistakes that I had not realized before. Coming on to the second essay, it is evident that the introduction is a lot better than in the first essay. It is interesting and even goes further to explain what safety is before getting to the content of what is supposed to be discussed. The grammar is equally improved and it is also very clear and elaborate. I really had to change my introduction if I was to be relevant and interesting. I have learnt that a good, concise and interesting introduction makes an essay interesting and this is what I really wanted to give my essay and luckily enough I believe I achieved exactly that.
Another thing that seems quite different from the two essays is the thesis statement. I have come to learn the importance of a clear and well written thesis statement because it forms the back bone of a creative piece of writing. It clearly states what the essay is going to talk about and therefore carries much of the weight of the essay. With a look at the two essays I have written, it is clear that the thesis statements are totally different in their content and the way they are structured. In the first essay for instance, it is hard to even pick out the thesis statement because it just tackles one aspect of the safety issue that is seen to be covered by the whole book. But going onto the second essay, the thesis statement covers almost every aspect of the safety issue in the text. It talks of the characters, the dangers that they face and how they react to these dangers. This means that it is all inclusive. With consultations with classmates by looking at how they presented their thesis statements I came to learn that a good thesis statement has to be focused on the central issues of the essay. I therefore had to change it having these thoughts in my mind.
Going further on, there is a huge difference in grammar usage in both essays. If one is to judge whether an essay is good or bad, one has to look at how grammar has been used in that essay. If the grammar is good, then the essay will definitely be good and the reader can clearly easily understand it. But if the grammar is bad, the reader might get confused and even lose interest in reading the essay up to the end. I must admit that my grammar in the first essay is poorer because I used a lot of words wrongly therefore leading to some form of confusion. For instance, from the very first sentence of the first paragraph, the word “once” has been wrongly used instead of the word “ones” equally in the sixth sentence of the second paragraph; the word “psychology” has been use instead of the word “psychologically”. A lot changed in the second essay because I really had to do something because such mistakes clearly showed that I have a problem in my written English. With time, I have learnt that if I read my work over and over again, chances are that I will note the mistakes that I commit and rectify them and this is exactly what I did. I also gave one of my classmates the essay to proof read for me just to be sure that I got a second opinion of which I believe helped a lot. With the changes that I made in such incidents of grammatical errors, the second essay came out clearer and easy to understand.
When I generally analyze the two essays, there are very many differences that I notice that make the second essay far much better than the first essay. For example, the way in which the essays flow from the beginning to the end. And also, the analysis of the book itself including the characters, their actions and everything about the book, is a clear that the second essay has a lot to offer because of the way in which the analysis of the book in regard to the importance of safety is concerned. The way in which the main points have been supported by the sentences that are used is good because through it, it is evident that an idea is supported very well from its beginning up to its conclusion. Whereas in the first essay I try to explain my points well, the second essay is more detailed and seeks to explain points in a better way. An example in time is how I have explained the way I have explained the point about ”lack of heart”, in the second essay, the point has been well explained in a more elaborate manner. I must admit that I was challenged by how an essay from one of my classmates challenged me after reading it. The few lessons that I learnt from that essay are what made me concentrate on critically analyzing the book and be precise and unto the point.
The conclusions of both essays are very different in the manner in which I presented them. Not that either of them is bad, but the fact is that the second essay has a conclusion that even relates to us, not necessarily only the book. The second essay talks about how we can broaden our minds into understanding how safety surpasses the self and encompasses others that we live with. It goes beyond just the book but to the world we live in. I did change this part because I felt that every text that we read has a moral lesson that we should pick as we go about our daily living. This is the reason why I chose to relate safety as used in the book to safety in the life beyond the book. The importance of doing this is therefore clear, that, apart from my attempts read and become knowledgeable, I have to apply what I learn from class in my day today life. It also makes my reader aware that there is more to just reading a book.
It is therefore evident that I have grown from one level to another in regard to my capabilities in reading and writing. From the moment I joined the class, I can confess that I have improved a lot in terms of how my written work has improved. The inadequacy that I had is slowly melting away as I become more confident in how I present my ideas logically for others to understand them when they read the essays that I write. This is not only evident in my written work but also my personality because I have now become more confident of myself. It has even gone beyond the classroom because this is replicated almost in everything that I do.