Rena Ren
Writing 39C
Brendan Shapiro
September 27, 2015

Self-Assessment

Hello, my name is Rena. I am currently a sophomore majoring in Business Economics. I was born in a province that is for the fame of delicious spicy cuisine – Sichuan, China. However, I had to give up my favorite cuisine and move to Singapore at the age of six for a better education opportunity. After approximately nine years in Singapore, I came to the United States and began my high school career here. Thereupon, I was deeply attracted to the perfect weather and lifestyle in California.

I have completed both Writing 39A and 39B at UCI. But before college, I learned the most about literature and writing in AP English Literature class during my senior year in high school where we had projects after projects, essays after essays. Through intense trainings in literature, I improved dramatically on analyzing literary materials and transferring them into my own words. I believe my strength in writing is to be able to compose an accurate and sophisticated thesis statement. I usually put the most effort on the thesis because it is the core of any type of essays. My weakness in writing is on the conclusion because I often get confused between the difference of summarizing the essay in the conclusion and the introduction. I also need to improve on my vocabulary in order compose a more professional paper. In writing 39A, we were required to revise our work repetitively after peer review in class and meet ups with the professor during office hours. This helped me form the habit of writing many drafts before the final paper. Writing 39B was extremely intense in the process works such as reading articles related to out essay topic and analyzing the message of the rhetor. Consequently, I must now carry these writing techniques that I learned from 39A and 39B to 39C where I will continue to improve. I am a very interactive student in class; thus, I believe a community-based writing class is very helpful in sharing my own ideas and building new ideas from other students.

In writing 39C, I hope to improve on my vocabulary and to be able to write a better essay. In addition, I look forward to learn about free speech rights in the United States. Freedom of speech has been heavily emphasized in the United States as the first amendment of the constitution, and it is now a common law that every U.S. citizen embodies. We are very fortunate to speak our opinions in public without being pressured by the government or higher authority. Compared to my home country, China, freedom of speech is limited. For example, the government of China has blocked some online sites such as Google, Youtube, Facebook, and even Instagram. Why? Because the Chinese government has no control over publications on these social medias controlled by the States. With only some basic knowledge I possess about the freedom of speech, I hope the book Freedom for the Thought that We Hate will enhance my intellectual opinions.

To become a successful writer, I believe creativity is one of the most important habits of mind because a good writing uses different ideas and perspectives to manipulate its readers to think outside the box. I am determined to focus on creativity this quarter by using difference authors’ ideas and writing techniques of to influence my own.