In the beginning of the year, my class was told to complete the self-assessment assignment which reflects our perspectives on writing, studying, and learning.

Self-Assessment Assignment

Check which applies to you:

_√_ Most of the time, I don’t enjoy studying.

__ I usually do things at the last minute.

__ I don’t enjoy my classes.

__ I don’t know what I want to study.

_√_ I have trouble concentrating on my work because I’m thinking about other things.

__ It’s important to my parents, not to myself, that I’m here at UCI.

_√_ I’m not as smart as the other students here.

_√_ I find that so many other activities/interests take up my time in place of studying.

__ I’m not as successful here as I was in high school.

__ My instructors do not make the course material very interesting.

_√_ I stay up late most school nights.

__ Everything is so large and impersonal. I feel anonymous.

__ I am a slow reader. I hardly ever get my reading completed.

__ I have trouble with English; it’s not my first language.

__ I am uncomfortable admitting to anyone that I need help improving my study skills.

__ I don’t know how to use computers and/or the libraries.

__ I am too embarrassed/uncomfortable to ask questions in class.

Below are questions asked to be answered in our self-assessment essay:

• What is your literary narrative? Where are you as a writer? Do you enjoy reading?
• What do you hope this course will teach you? What are your goals in this class? What do you intend to do to meet them?
• What are some things you can bring to this course that no one else can?
• If you could research anything, any interest, passion, or cause—what would you like to learn more about?

Self-Assessment Essay

           In order to describe who I am as a writer, I’d like to tell you about a time when I moved to America to learn English and pursue academics from China. I was born here in California but moved back to China to learn Chinese. As a result, Chinese was my first language and learning English was not an issue until my parents decided to move to America in 2007 to continue the rest of my education. I barely understood what everyone here was saying, let alone writing fluently in English. It wasn’t until two years later I could finally speak, listen and write English fluently. I believe writing is a continual process of improvising and learning. It has always been my weaker subject but I am always open to learn new ways of writing through processes of revision and editing. Unfortunately, I do not enjoy reading as I find myself constantly getting distracted by other things I am interested in. I do make sure I get my readings done on time but it just takes me longer time to do.

           The theme of this course, global woman, really interests me and I am very excited to conduct research and analysis to learn further about this topic. As being a woman myself, I am very concerned about issues such as woman rights, exploitations and image. With the help of this course, I’d like give myself more insights to these problems. By taking writing 39B, I had the chance to progress my writing skills in analyzing literatures and utilizing these skills to convey my own message by composing my literal work through writing the rhetoric-in-practice essay. This quarter, my goal of taking Writing 39C is to ultimately improve my writing skills in researching and analyzing a certain issue. I plan on improving myself as a writer by actively engaging in class and revising my essays as much as possible. Having perfect attendance and turning in assignments on time are crucial to maintaining effective communication and development. I also plan on attending as many office hours as I can, as they will give me valuable insights on your opinions on my ideas and analysis.

          I believe I can bring my own unique ideas and perspectives to this class that no one else can. Although as a class we all examine the same topic, distinctive individual ideas are important to creating a diversified research environment. If I had the opportunity to research any topic, I would explore the exploitation of illegal drugs as it is one of the most controversial issues in our society today.