ENTRANCE ESSAY - A Naive Understanding of What Lied Ahead of ENGLCOM

Reading and writing are two of the most important skills a person needs. Both reading and writing have many components. Writing has different mechanics and reading has different styles. As a person, I have my strengths in both reading and writing, however, I also have weaknesses and have areas for improvement.

My strengths include speed reading, easily understanding the topic at hand, being able to locate details presented and utilizing different reading skills to accommodate the kind of reading needed based on time. Speed reading pertains to the ability to read, perhaps a selection of a story, faster than most people can. Understanding the topic refers to the ability to “pick up” what the author is conveying to us, whether the author states it directly or otherwise. Being able to locate details is the ability to, after reading, recall which part of the selection a certain detail came from. Lastly, the ability to use different reading skills means one is able to read based on numerous factors: time at hand, location, noise, among others. One knows how to read under pressure or amid a noisy crowd.

As for writing, my skills are good capitalization, proper punctuation, decent spelling and subject-verb agreement. I also have the ability to organize thoughts in my head before writing, which may eliminate the need for an outline. In addition, I know how to write different composition, like a story, poem (with a syllable count, rhymes, etc.), essays and letters.

As for my areas for improvement, I need a lot too. First, I need to know to use the hyphen and semi-colon as I’m not really adept to it. I also need to use outlines when writing important papers. Also, I have to avoid cramming too much information and ideas in one sentence. Lastly, I have to stop using shortcuts (like tom or ff:) when writing.

I expect from ENGLCOM to be able to handle my weak points, learn them with skill and apply them when I read or write. By the end of the term, I hope to be an even more proficient writer than what I think I am.

In my opinion, ENGLCOM will help me in my weak points. By writing, I will learn from my mistakes (and hopefully learn to use hyphens and semi-colons) and become more proficient. I noticed from the syllabus that outlining is NEEDED when writing an essay, and that will help in my quest to use outlines more often.