Reflection Essay
A wise man by the name of Mortimer Alder once said, “The purpose of learning is growth, and our minds, unlike our bodies,
can continue growing as we continue to live.” We never outgrow the ability to learn, so we should continue to strive to learn
something new daily. During the past semester while taking Composition II, I learned a myriad of things that are going to help
me in my future such as how to properly cite in MLA format, how to not plagiarize, and how to become more organized. Before
this class, I never knew the right way to write MLA format papers or cite. However, during this class I learned what information
needed to be included in the citations as well as the format the citation had to be in. I also learned how to ensure that I was
not plagiarizing. Throughout all my years of school, I have been plagiarizing without even realizing it. I always thought that if I
changed the words around a little bit or simply substituted a known word for a synonym then I had not plagiarized. However, in
Composition II, I learned that what I had been doing was still plagiarism. In order not to plagiarize, one must paraphrase and
give credit where credit is due by including in text citations. In addition to how to cite in MLA format and how to not plagiarize, I
learned how to become more organized. Prior to this class, I had never even heard of pre-writing. However, this simple trick is
very helpful when trying to begin a plan in your mind. Also, I had never physically made an outline to follow while writing a
research paper. I would form a rough outline mentally but would always become scatter brained and forget what else I wanted
to mention. By being organized and having my research paper planned out before I began writing it, it made the writing
process much easier than I was expecting. These skills that I learned over the duration of this class are going to help me as I
pursue other English classes in the future by understanding MLA, but also any other classes or jobs that will require me to
write reports.
can continue growing as we continue to live.” We never outgrow the ability to learn, so we should continue to strive to learn
something new daily. During the past semester while taking Composition II, I learned a myriad of things that are going to help
me in my future such as how to properly cite in MLA format, how to not plagiarize, and how to become more organized. Before
this class, I never knew the right way to write MLA format papers or cite. However, during this class I learned what information
needed to be included in the citations as well as the format the citation had to be in. I also learned how to ensure that I was
not plagiarizing. Throughout all my years of school, I have been plagiarizing without even realizing it. I always thought that if I
changed the words around a little bit or simply substituted a known word for a synonym then I had not plagiarized. However, in
Composition II, I learned that what I had been doing was still plagiarism. In order not to plagiarize, one must paraphrase and
give credit where credit is due by including in text citations. In addition to how to cite in MLA format and how to not plagiarize, I
learned how to become more organized. Prior to this class, I had never even heard of pre-writing. However, this simple trick is
very helpful when trying to begin a plan in your mind. Also, I had never physically made an outline to follow while writing a
research paper. I would form a rough outline mentally but would always become scatter brained and forget what else I wanted
to mention. By being organized and having my research paper planned out before I began writing it, it made the writing
process much easier than I was expecting. These skills that I learned over the duration of this class are going to help me as I
pursue other English classes in the future by understanding MLA, but also any other classes or jobs that will require me to
write reports.