Learning Outcome #5 & #6

        Throughout the course of this semester, I have improved upon both my MLA formatting in papers, and local concerns such as grammatical errors and sentence structure. I was familiar with MLA formatting before this class, but definitely was not an expert. In my first two essays, I made errors on my citation page. In my first essay, I titled my Works Cited page “Literature Cited” instead. Professor Miller corrected me on this format, therefore adding to my knowledge on formatting. In my second essay, I incorrectly cited the names of the authors on my Works Cited page. I cited the authors using their first name before their last name. For example, I cited one author as “Michael C Mann” when the citation should have been “Mann, Michael C.” Professor Miller also corrected me on this error, aiding the development of MLA format in my papers. 

            In my first essay, I also had many more local concerns than I did in my chosen work sample. The biggest local concerns in my first essay were centered around the organization of my paragraphs and topic sentences. Professor Miller made the suggestion to work on this in my next paper, so that’s what I focused on the most. Not all of the information in my paragraphs was centered around my topic sentences, so I made sure to only add relevant information in the paragraphs of my chosen work sample. This also brought my attention to my topic sentences themselves. In my first two papers, my topic sentences weren’t always clear, making it difficult at times for the reader to follow my writing. I have seen my development in this specific local concern over the semester. In my first essay my topic sentences were fuzzy, in my second essay my topic sentences were better but still could use some work, and in my third essay/chosen work sample I made topic sentences a priority. 

            My chosen work sample was not free of local concerns though. My peers suggested to me that I could work on integrating my own analysis and opinion into certain parts of my essay. One example I remember specifically is one of my peers suggesting that I elaborate on the meaning of outdoor activities to me now that we are in a global pandemic. My peers also suggested I reword a few of my sentences because they were hard to follow. I really valued this advice because even those small changes could help me convey my thesis in a stronger way.