Self Review

This semester has been a fascinating journey that has helped me gain confidence in how I write my ideas. Throughout the semester, I have developed from a student who did not know how to address his thoughts properly into a capable student who can organize them clearly. The Synthesis Essay and Translation II have greatly helped me come to this realization, as these two assessments challenged my thinking. 

As the semester progressed from Phase 1 into Phase 2, I have become much better at staying organized. At the beginning of the semester, I started my schoolwork on the day it was due. I completed whatever the assessment asked of me without further thought. This not only caused me to perform poorly on the first self-assessment, but also forced me to complete it after the due time, as I ran out of time. Now, I consistently set aside time for my schoolwork, which helps me structure my ideas. I have work on the days I don’t have school, so I had to learn how to manage my time effectively quickly. This has helped me stay on track with my classwork and assessments. This resulted in a stronger draft for my research paper, and I received a good grade for the time I invested into the assessment. 

For my Synthesis Essay, I did a good job of conveying my argument with a clear, arguable Thesis. For my thesis statement, I wrote, “This paper argues that the government should provide more funding for ESL classes because they provide job opportunities for immigrants, help them build new personal connections, and help them gain access to higher education.” (Synthesis Essay). Additionally, I presented my analysis and conclusion effectively, with clear, direct points. I also used fitting quotations from programs working with immigrants to argue better why the government should fund ESL classes. 

For my Translation II, I used the best imagery I could find. I did find an image that would have better captured my Synthesis Essay in my Translation II, but I chose not to use it because it was fully AI-generated. I didn’t want to lose points for using AI, so I used authentic images. Now, I see that I should have used the AI-generated image, as it conveys my Synthesis much better than what I made. 

My proofreading skills need work, as I missed mistakes in my Synthesis Essay that I should have caught. For instance, I used a quote that said, “English is the lingua franca in many international corporations and academic institutions, and it has been discussed whether and to what extent highly skilled migrants require knowledge of the national languages of other host countries” (Fobker and Imani, 2017). I shouldn’t have used this quote because it doesn’t relate to my thesis effectively. This shows that I often rely on good-sounding textual evidence without spending time revising how effectively the quote supports my argument. This is evident in my Synthesis Essay, where Ms. Rao noticed issues with the verb tense: I kept using “According to an article” instead of a rhetorical verb. Additionally, my work-cited page for my Synthesis Essay is incorrectly formatted because I found the proper format too tedious and decided to format it in a way I assumed was correct. I now understand that I have to review the rubric more than once before I hand in my work, as I have lost a lot of easy points I should have earned. 

Professor Jonathan’s class was also helpful for my Synthesis Essay. Professor Jonathan set aside some of his class time to help us with our Essays. What’s more, during his class, we discussed the idea of Standard Language. While I haven’t used any of his classwork in my essay, the discussions in his class about Standard Language have influenced my Synthesis Essay. Our class discussions have helped me see that language plays a crucial role in shaping how people treat those around them. 

For the future, my goal is to improve my writing. I want to focus on incorporating more impactful evidence to develop a more definite tone that does not shift throughout my paper. I want to learn how to identify adequate textual evidence. I will do so by dedicating more time to learning and practicing assessing which information best supports my argument. In my Synthesis Essay, I made claims that weren’t connected to quotations, such as “This will lead to more language barriers and more starving immigrants.” Therefore, for my future writing, I aim to spend more time ensuring that all my claims are supported by citations that connect to my main argument. Moreover, I aim to read the articles I plan to use for my arguments carefully, as I tend to focus on their quotes rather than on what the articles discuss.

Overall, while I have grown as a writer this semester, I know that I have a lot of room for improvement. I have become better at conveying my main point, but I need to be more adept at proofreading and learn to assess textual evidence properly. By creating a plan to address these challenges, I am confident that I will come out of this as a much stronger writer.

Work cited 

1 – Fobker, Stefanie, and Daniela Imani. “Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies.” Taylor & Francis, www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/1369183X.2017.1354028. Accessed 9 Nov. 2025.