Through my time in taking the English 110 course at City College, I have been able to improve my reading and writing skills as well as explore language in a completely different perspective. The course has managed to massively increase proficiency in certain areas as I went through the school semester. This includes being able to examine the viewpoints on how language standards affect language speakers. In addition, I was able to understand and use print and digital technologies to assist in my writing. I also learned how to write opinionated pieces that are backed with proper research and involve the usage of summary, analysis, synthesis, and argumentation. Lastly, I managed to learn how to properly cite sources in my writing. These four learning goals were achieved during this course and I will discuss how exactly I managed to do so.
To start off, during this course, there was a heavy focus on the understanding of language and literacy. In particular, I focused on how language standards affect language speakers whether positive or negative. One of the many ways I accomplished this is by viewing texts such as “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan. “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan discusses both how broken English hindered but also propelled the author’s life. As a child, Amy Tan was ashamed of her mother tongue due to it being embarrassing and weird sounding compared to the standard language in the U.S. However, this shifted as she grew up and learned to have an appreciation for her mother tongue. That broken English was able to shape her writing identity. Now, she embraces her mother tongue as a part of her and uses it to write texts such as this one. This is one of the many texts that I critically read and analyzed this semester. I learned from a primary source on how language standards can directly affect speakers. Being from an immigrant family, I was also able to connect to this text and my family has their own version of broken English. At times I was embarrassed as well, but it is a part of me and my life. This taught me to embrace both my family’s version of English and my own proper English in order to shape my writing style as well. So that when I communicate through writing, I want to communicate both to my family and their broken English as well as the standard language norm, similar to how Amy Tongue does.
Another aspect of reading and writing that I was able to improve upon is the usage of printing and digital technology in cohesion with my writing. One way is by using the resources present at City College to print my work for peer review during class and also communicating through digital messaging platforms with my tutor to improve my writing. Learning to print and use digital communication services is a life skill that I was able to learn that will help me for future writing assignments. Another way I used digital technology to improve my writing is with my Translation 2. Using resources that include the online photoshop platform that is Canva, I was able to create posters to support my synthesis essay and act as a visual argument. I created posters that simplified my message that I incorporated into my synthesis essay and this further strengthened my argument. By learning how to use these digital resources, I was able to improve my writing in a way that I have never done before. Now that I have gained these skills, I will continue to use print and digital technology for further writing assignments.
Furthermore, I learned how to write opinionated pieces during this semester. These pieces are backed by reliable sources and also use skills to summarize, synthesize, analyze, and argumentation. This was mainly done in my synthesis essay. To convey my claim of addressing the boundary and division of immigrant children in the classroom, I researched and used sources such as the U.S Department of Education and National Academics of Sciences to back my argument. By using the evidence from these sources, I synthesized the sources alongside my own analysis, giving fruition to my synthesis essay. One example is my research on the topic of language brokering. I was able to convey the concept of language brokering and then expand upon it by giving my own personal experience in language brokering, connecting source to personal analysis. Attending this course gave me good practice on writing academic papers that involve an opinionated claim and taught me how to properly synthesize.
Finally, attending this course allowed me to learn how to properly cite my sources. Giving proper citations is very important for academic papers and without it can lead to trouble regarding plagiarism and accurate information. There is a standard of professionalism needed in college papers and learning how to use MLA format for citations is a useful skill for the future. An example of using MLA format for my citations is in my synthesis paper. I had properly created a works cited page for my essay and made sure to cite my sources through MLA format. I was able to source the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine properly and that gave me credibility and professionalism that is required in college. Learning this skill is something that will continuously help me as I go through college and write more and more papers.
To sum up, my experience in the English 110 course at City College has been very helpful. I was able to improve on many skills which include examining language standards’ effect on language speakers, how to use printing and digital technology to assist your writing, how to write opinionated pieces with evidence as well as using necessary skills such as synthesis, and learning to properly cite my sources. I really valued my time in this course and I am grateful to my peers, tutors, and professor for allowing me to learn and grow so much from this course. This is my reflection on the English 110 course at CCNY.

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