This summer was an eventful one, but not in your typical beach going, party having, or even sunburned way. This summer was eventful because the amount of discipline and dedication that went into the five-week course for English 1302 and other classes. This was my first time doing online classes here at College of The Mainland, and it was my first summer course. I am proud to say that I had chosen knowledge over fun because I have perfected my time management skills and reached all my personal goals for the semester. This semester has proven that I should not shy away from online classes, and to not undermine my capabilities as a student.

            Writing has always been a favorite subject of mine and when given the opportunity for creativeness I enjoy it much more. What I learned in this English course on writing is being able to find credible sources, and know the difference between primary, secondary, and tertiary. Researching on my own I found the COM Library has a plethora of resources and has sources worthy of a college level paper. In this course I was able to work on perfecting my citations and how to place them in MLA format. Another skill that has been improved on in this course is how to prepare for writing the essay itself; I was able to learn time management and taking the extra step to outline a paper for a much smoother transition for the final draft.

            In this online course there were two essay assignments given: One was an argument essay and the other was a rhetorical analysis. What both assignments have in common was both essays touched on the same epidemic chosen at the beginning of the course. Essay one or project one I had chosen the epidemic: The effects of Childhood obesity leading into adulthood. This assignment helped me improve on my writing skills is the researching for credible sources, as mentioned before. Writing this essay also improved my analyzing skills, and to really think on this matter.

 For essay number two or project number two, the assignment was to write a rhetorical analysis on how an absurdity writer, learned through this course, would view your epidemic. I chose the Irish novelist Samuel Beckett. How this project improved my writing skills was again perfecting my researching skills, but even further by reading and watching multiple works by Beckett. With this essay I was able to improve my citations as I would use the character and not the actual author before. Finally, I had to analysis Beckett’s work so I can presume how he would of thought about childhood obesity leading into adulthood.

This summer semester has proven that it takes serious dedication and knowing how to manage your time efficiently to be able to handle what is usually a sixteen-week course turned into a five week course. With this course I can say that I have overall improved my writing skills, and though I may need to work on a few areas, I now know how to do way more than when I started, and for that I am grateful.