In high school, I hated being forced to write papers about uninteresting topics, especially in AP Literature (the worst class ever). I didn’t enjoy these classes, but instead I liked writing that allowed for more freedom about something personal to me. When I began college, I was comforted with the fact that I wouldn’t have to take anymore English classes because I had already had passed exams that counted towards credit for ENC1101 and ENC1102. I realized that I was mistaken when I discovered I had to take ENC2135 for a requirement at FSU. Walking into class at the beginning of the semester, I had expected it would be similar to every other English class I have taken. However, I was worried when I saw the word “research” in the title of the class. I absolutely hated research papers. I had done several research papers for duel enrollment history in which I had quickly grown tired of.  The small class size and the really relaxed instructor, Mat Wenzel, for ENC2135 made me feel comfortable each time I came to class. The only way the class could’ve been improved upon is if I had taken in later in the day. Waking up early got really tiring for me. Admittedly, I enjoyed writing these papers more than doing my chemistry homework because it was way easier.

One of the most challenging aspects of this class for me was the complexity of the prompts. Previously, I was accustomed to having a research question like “What’s the difference between German and Italian Unification?” or “Describe the character development of the main character.” In ENC2135, it was confusing to me as to how to integrate research elements, genre elements, while including a text. The papers we wrote in my class also made me feel like my writing was disorganized because they didn’t have a required paragraph structure. This issue was relevant in my confusion for project 2. Although now I better understand, I didn’t know how to integrate factual information with my own personal experiences. Meeting with Mat at the conferences, even for my project 1, was helpful and I had a clearer idea as to what was expected for the project. Even the reflections and logs had no required format which is something I was not used to from high school.

On the other hand, I feel like this type of writing has better prepared me for any future papers I have to write. I think the papers that students are forced to write in high school ae unrealistic as to what employers or future professors are looking for. Having a required introduction, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion is sometimes not what the prompt calls for.

              Another aspect of the class that was concerning was the word count of the two projects. Although I have written papers of that length, I feared that I would run out of things to say. Luckily, this wasn’t the case. I found that for my first project, I was passionate about talking about my high school cross-country team and went over the word count. I really enjoyed remembering when my teammates and I would participate in races together and the relationship I had with my coach. For my project 2, I had the same fear but did manage to write enough words. After writing the academic research I was confused as to what to do next. Mat informed me to focus on my text and to go in depth analyzing it. I was familiar with analyzing because that is all we did in my AICE Global Perspectives class in high school, so I was able to reach 2500 words.

              An aspect of the class that also concerned me was the amount of presenting and participation. I am very shy, and I was frightened every time I had to present something, even if it was only three times. At the beginning of the semester I switched out of another class because the professor told the class we would be participating in a lot of group activities and discussion. So, you can imagine my panic when Mat said something along the lines of, “If you’re scared of presenting, this is not the class for you”. However, I knew this was a required class so there wasn’t much I could do. I realize that being able to speak out loud to others and public speaking is an important skill to have, especially in college. Although I hated doing it, I feel like being forced to stand up at the front and speak was a small stepping stone for me to become better at public speaking in the future.