Reflection for Week 1 to 9

I believe that to master a language, one will have to develop a good foundation skill before proceeding to a more advance level (like writing an academic essay for example). Unfortunately, I do not have a strong English foundation and find difficulty in writing.  However, my English learning journey in this course has been a fulfilling one. 

What I have learnt – I have learnt different forms of English grammar, which were once alienate to me. The understanding in verb tenses and verb forms were extremely helpful. The grammar and essay editing exercises were excellent and has helped me improved in my writing.

Improvement - Before, I had difficulty in structuring my paragraph because I do not know how to link an idea to another idea to its analysis. With the sample structure given, I am able to be more concise in my writing and not to be too ambiguous, thus, giving in-depth in my writing.

What I would like to learn from week 10 to 12 - Due to lack of reading, my vocabulary is not as proficient as required in the university level. I hope to be able to improve in my choice of words while writing. It would be good if we could touch on writing with tone because one of my module essay will be assessed on structure, content, (persuasive) tone and clarity of message.

Weakness & Suggestion - There is a lot of weaknesses in my writing such as grammar and choice of words (vocabulary) used. At times, also find it difficult to start on my first sentence. The essay structure given has helped me a lot in what I should write for my first sentence. A suggestion is to expose us with more sample readings. The peer editing is a good exercise. It helps us to realize mistakes that are overlooked in our own essay. Another suggestion is to emphasize on mind mapping the content first before writing. Yes, I just realised this a few days ago (not sure why) as to why I find it very difficult to come out with an idea and supporting details for writing. 

Feedback comments - I have made all the changes in my essay. The comments given were clear and I understood the suggestion. However, my confidence in making the changes is average. This is because some of the comments given were vague. For example, a comment on ‘What is your thesis’ is not helpful because in my opinion, the last statement is my thesis. However, the audio feedback given, explained on how my thesis statement should be edited. It also gives an in-depth explanation to why my essay should be edited in that way. Therefore, I highly recommend the audio feedback.  

The Learning Experience

            Upon receiving the admission letter from university, I frantically jumped for joy. I could not contain my excitement. It was definitely one of the best news that I have ever received. However, that news lasted only for a short while. I had the worse first week of school where I had learnt that it was not just about getting into your dream course, but also to sustain yourself and getting the best out of the four years ahead. Sadly, no one warned me about it. No mercy was given to the high amount of workload and overnighting in studio. This is what I called, ‘Architorture’. Despite all the hairsplitting assignments, I had grown to appreciate the nature of my course and fellow coursemates. Luckily for me, the culture shock was toned down by friends that shared the same resentment. We overcame it together and motivated each other. I must say that the friendship and trust that my cohort has established would probably be the strongest as compared to other courses due to the long overnights in our studio. ‘Architorture’ definitely pushes one to be resilient towards hardship, and prepares myself for future challenges. Moreover, since architecture keeps on evolving, I guess my learning journey will never stop even until my graduation.

Hello everyone!

I am excited to start this fresh new semester with burning enthusiasm and positivity! :D

(I really hope this feeling will last till finals :P)

Syahidah