Extra Credit Blog Post: Your First Semester at Longwood

Engl 165-09 Fall ’25

 

We have done a lot of reflecting this semester, but I firmly believe that when done correctly, reflecting can help you understand where things went wrong and help you correct things moving forward.

So take some time and reflect on your first semester here at Longwood. Nothing ever goes 100% perfect, ever, so think about what went really well for you this semester as well as things that did not:

  1. What went GREAT and why
  2. What went BAD and why
  3. What can you do to change things moving forward

That last question is what most people fail to consider when they write reflections. Go back and look at your own reflections from this semester. Many failed to address “what they would do differently in hind sight. So do not forget to address this. Here is the final part of this: if you do NOT want me to publish the post, at the bottom write DO NOT POST and I will respect your wishes.

Blog 10 AND Respondent Blog 10: What have you learned?

Academic Writing, Engl 165-09 Fall ’25

 

READ CAREFULLY:

For this blog post as well as response post, we will return to having ALL groups respond to the same prompt. Feel free to keep the due dates as listed.

Reflect on how you feel you’ve grown this semester as a writer. How has your confidence grown over the semester? How will you you use your growing skills moving forward? Now that you are aware that each discipline has not only different modes of writing but also differences in things like structure, language, and reference, how will this knowledge help you throughout your college career? How do you see this knowledge helping you moving into your career?

This is an opportunity to do some reflective writing prior to the final, so please take your time and write thoughtfully for this blog post.

BONUS:

Respond to a fellow classmates post and earn credit for a post you missed.

Blog Post 9: Let’s START Your Zines!!

Engl 165-09 Fall ’25

 

For this week’s blog, I want you to actually start your Zine. You should have a topic by now, so it’s time to create. Sometimes the most difficult thing is creating the cover. That is this weeks blog post. Create your first draft of your cover, take a picture, and upload that picture, and insert it into your blog post.

Your post should discuss

  1. What is the topic for your Zine
  2. What do you know about your topic and what research, if any, are you going to include
  3. What steps did you take to create this cover.

Often creating the cover gives us the creative spark needed to get started on the rest of the Zine. DO NOT LEAVE THIS TO THE LAST MINUTE.

I can’t wait to see these first drafts of covers. Remember, it’s just a draft and can take whatever form it needs to take. Just be sure to include a picture, and HAVE FUN!!

Extra Credit Post

Engl 165-09 Fall ’25

 

As I take a look back on my first semester, I feel very grateful as a lot went my way. In terms of the good, I was able to find a great friend group, stay on top of my work, and somehow avoid being a freshman 15. I think that these all went well because I made an effort at them. I was social and introduced myself to a lot of people, planned out time to do my assignments, and watched what I was eating. 

When it comes to things that were bad, although few, I think the biggest problem I had this semester was getting into a structured routine. At home, I had a very strict schedule with going to the gym and school, but I was not as strict when I got to college. One thing I could have done differently is choosing to go to the gym either before I have class, or going at night and hanging out with my friends for an hour less. I fell into a kind of FOMO in that if I skipped out on social outings, I would feel as though I was missing out on a great time. While this was okay one or two times, I fell into a trap of pushing the gym to the side, which left me feeling slightly out of my normal mindset, as the gym is not just something I do for health reasons, but also for leisure reasons.  

As I move into the spring semester, I am going to try and be very deliberate with my time. I want to plan my day from start to finish, including school time, social time, and time for the gym and other personal leisure activities. I think that this will help my overall mental health, and pour over into all areas of my life.



Blog 10

Engl 165-09 Fall ’25

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Over the course of the semester I feel like I have become a better writer. I have learned many different aspects of writing that have helped me not only in this class but in my other classes as well. I remember in the beginning of the semester when I first started by trying to figure out what an annotated bibliography was and how to write one and now, I have written well over ten essays and many more papers in general with relatively no stress. Over the semester my confidence in my writing has grown way more than I ever thought it would. I remember when I would hear that there was a one thousand word essay due and I would start panicking about everything. After learning ways to write properly and manage my time when writing I have realized that I can easily write five hundred words in one day as long as I have the information.

If there is one thing that I have figured out while being in college, it’s that essays are unavoidable. I even had to write an essay for my math class which I never thought I would have to do. In my next three years of college, I plan to use what I have learned from this class in every essay that I have. Most of my essays will probably be within the same discipline so that should make it easier to learn and get better. Research papers are going to be the main focus for me, and it will be necessary to learn how to write them well for my intended career. With everything that I have learned from this class and everything I will learn in the classes to come I believe I’ll be able to write confidently in all of my upcoming classes.

Blog #10

Engl 165-09 Fall ’25, Uncategorized

 

Hello readers,

As this semester has gone by I have improved on my writing I would say. Before this class while still in high school I either had to write one to four paragraphs and they never checked grammar or told me the correct way to outline the paper itself. And would basically give you an automatic 100 percent just for doing the said paper and never showed you a correct way to section the paper to have a smooth transition. At the start of this class I was worried that I would have to try a lot harder than others to catch up to the level of writing required for the class but after the first three weeks I knew I could be able to get the work done at a decent level. I feel that toward the end of this semester I have gotten more confident in my writing between the papers and the blog post along with the responses I have gotten me to think and inspire a lot of the writing I have done over the semester along with other classes i have that i have had to do papers in. Doing the annotated bibliography helped me learn more about my major and what are the responsibilities are and other things you will do in that field. Doing that helped me with how I conducted future research and it helped me to be able to read articles or journals and make a summary of those papers. With the things I have learned in that class I feel that it will be very helpful in my later years of college but also my career too. If I were to ever get into the research aspect of the career it would be very helpful to me. I feel like my writing has changed slowly throughout the semester and I see that as progress.

My first semester at Longwood- Extra Credit

Engl 165-09 Fall ’25

 

My first semester here at Longwood was not how I really expected to be, I thought that it was going to be more chaotic since it was my first time being away from home and family. But after graduation I was so ready to move on with my life and start a new chapter where I could be independent and continue my education. As time went by I felt more comfortable with my classes and the idea of sharing a dorm with 5 other girls was no longer an issue. I learned that the only place where I can actually concentrate was at the library, specially the single rooms with white boards included, it is my go to place for every time I need to study for an exam and get work done. Chemistry was the class that I mostly struggle just because some of the quizzes where a little complicated. Thankfully, attending tutoring and visiting my professor during office hours really helped me and ever since then, I have passed almost all of my quizzes.

I never struggle as much with the rest of my classes as much as I did with chemistry, yet I had a small amount of accidents where I have missed the opportunity to turn in assignments. Ever since then I purchased an agenda. Owning an agenda was one of the greatest things I ever did, not only I have it on a notebook, but I also own an electronic one. both helped me stay on top of everything and prevent missing assignments. I have not missed any class so far which is great because I haven’t had the need to catch up on things, and showing up it helped me staying on top of everything.

I do believe that putting more effort than what I did this semester on my future classes is something I need to work on, just because I have now a sense of what college life is and that each semester is always a new challenge I have to over come, and the only way I can do it is by putting more hours into studying and reaching out to professors more often. I learned that one of the effective way to do better in class is by attending to office hours and doing one on one sessions where I can go over any concerns. My goal is to get comfortable with it and not fear reaching out for extra help.

Blog 10

Engl 165-09 Fall ’25

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As this semester has been wrapping up, I’ve seen that my writing has improved a significant amount in a professional way. When this course started I felt like I did not have a good flow of writing or a good style. I have learned how to write in a more professional way and with a better structure. I have made a big difference in each field and their style. This course has made me feel more prepared for the rest of my college career. I know these skills will follow me through out my time in college. As a future teacher I will also need these important skills.

Extra Credit Blog Post

Engl 165-09 Fall ’25

 

When I look back at my first semester at Longwood, it honestly feels like a lot happened in such a short amount of time. There were moments where I felt really confident and like I was getting the hang of everything, and other moments where I was stressed and trying to keep myself together. But overall, I can definitely say this semester taught me a lot about myself and how I handle being in a new place.

What went good was how comfortable I eventually got on campus and in my classes. At first, I felt a little unsure about everything, but over time I started to understand my routine, what my professors expected, and how to keep up with the workload without losing myself in the process. I also got better at speaking up when I needed help or when something did not make sense, and that honestly helped way more than I thought it would.

But not everything went perfectly. My stress levels were probably the worst part. I let myself get overwhelmed pretty easily, and sometimes I waited too long to start things, which only made it worse. Balancing school, my personal life, and just the adjustment of being in college was not easy. I know some of the pressure I felt came from me trying to handle everything on my own instead of using the resources around me.

Moving forward, I want to do better with my time and actually stick to what I plan instead of pushing things off. I also want to be more patient with myself when things get heavy, because I tend to spiral fast. And honestly, I want to use more of what Longwood offers, whether that is academic help or just taking breaks when I need them.

Even with the ups and downs, I’m proud of myself for getting through my first semester and learning from it.

Angel.

Blog Post 10

Engl 165-09 Fall ’25

 

Honestly, when I look back at this semester, I can actually see how much I have grown as a write; even if I did not notice it while it was happening. At the beginning, I kind of just wrote the way I always do; straight-to-the-point, emotional when I need to be, and in my own voice. But throughout this class, I have learned how to adjust that without losing who I am in my writing. I don’t feel like I have to sound “perfect” or “dumb it down” just to get it right.

My confidence definitely grew too. I used to second-guess myself a lot, especially with academic writing, because it always felt like there were so many things I could mess up. But now I feel like I understand the structure behind different types of writing. I know what teachers actually want, and I know how to make my writing fit their expectations while still keeping it me. That took so much stress off of myself..

The biggest thing I learned is that different disciplines write in completely different ways. Psychology writing isn’t the same as English writing, and English writing isn’t the same as science writing. Once I realized that, everything felt way more easier. Instead of trying to fit everything into one style, I learned how to switch my tone, structure, and references depending on what I am doing.

I know these skills are going to help me as I move deeper into my psych major. I want to help people, and writing clearly and intentionally is something I am always going to need. This class actually made me feel more prepared for that. Overall, I am proud of how far I have come, and I feel more grounded in my own voice than I did at the start of the semester.

Angel.

Blog 10

Engl 165-09 Fall ’25

 

This semester, I have grown as a writer, but at the same time, I have felt like I haven’t in some ways. When we were doing the Annotated Bib, I felt confident and knew what I was doing, and understood the assignment. But when we were doing the SFD, I didn’t really understand the assignment as well as the annotated bib, so I felt like I lost my confidence because I didn’t understand the assignment as well as the other one. Also I was prograssanating becuse I didnt understand so I felt like i was loosing my confidence. I am going to use the skills that I learn and move forward by using them on papers that I write in my career, throughout my life, and when I message someone. Each discipline that we learn, like structure, language, and reference, I will take these disciplines and use them when I teach becuse you need to remember when it is appropriate to use certain words. Like, for example, in first grade, you won’t use big words that adults would know because the students wouldn’t understand what you are talking about. When you are writing a paper, you need to know when it is the right time to use a certain structure. When you need a reference, you need to know how to use it properly so you don’t plagiarize and get in trouble. I believe that I will take all that we learn and use it when I need to write emails, papers, lesson plans, and more as a teacher. I can also take everything that we learned and use it when I am just texting my friends or emailing other people. Some people might take things to heart if you don’t put it in a structure or language they can understand.

Blog Post 10

Engl 165-09 Fall '24

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Over the course of this semester, I’ve grown more as a writer than I expected. When the class first began, I thought of writing as one general skill. You either wrote well, or you didn’t. But this class showed me that writing is made up of many smaller skills like organizing ideas, choosing the right tone, integrating sources smoothly, and revising with purpose. Realizing that each part can be improved on its own has helped me become a more confident writer.

One of the biggest areas of growth for me has been structure. Earlier in the semester, I feel my paragraphs tended to wander or include multiple ideas at once. Now I’m much more aware of clear topic sentences, logical flow, and transitions that help guide the reader. I outline more often, and that alone has made my drafts stronger and easier to revise. I also feel more in control of my tone. I can shift between reflective writing, academic writing, and more professional writing depending on the assignment. This flexibility has boosted my confidence because I no longer feel stuck in one style.

Another major improvement is my comfort with using sources. Before this class, citations felt stressful, and I wasn’t always sure how to integrate evidence smoothly. Now I understand how to introduce sources, explain them, and connect them back to my main point. This is especially important for me since my field relies heavily on research based writing.

Learning that each academic discipline has its own expectations for structure, language, and reference has also been eye opening. It helps me understand why some assignments feel different from others and why professors emphasize different things. Moving forward in college, this awareness will help me adjust my writing depending on the field. Instead of approaching every assignment the same way, I now look at the discipline, the audience, and the purpose before I start writing.

These skills will follow me into my future career as well. Since I plan to work in psychology and help children with mental health challenges, clear communication will be essential. I’ll need to write case notes, reports, and explanations for parents, teachers, and other professionals. Being able to shift tone, write clearly, and organize information logically will directly impact how well others can understand and act on what I write.