I definitely feel like a more confident writer after this semester.  The reason for this is that I learned what I was doing wrong and learned proper ways to write so that I can model my writing accordingly.

I learned how to strengthen my argument by keeping a tight focus and universalizing the topic to be applicable outside of just one text.  I improved my organizational skills by focusing on topic and concluding sentences in each paragraph and making sure that my argument flows without jumping around.  Above all, I learned how to keep my writing clear and concise at the individual sentence level.  This allows me to communicate much better which is the goal of writing.  

While I have always understood the importance of reading in depth and paying attention to detail, I definitely improved my ability to pick up very minute details by reading thoroughly and taking exhaustive notes.  The devil is in the details and by picking up on small things such as word choice, it allowed me to really strengthen my arguments.  I will continue to focus on the details, and not just in my English courses.  

Finally, I learned a lot about justice from this course.  Not only did I learn about its relevance in literature, I also learned about its relevance in life through the Sandel readings among other things.  I believe that this course has taught me how to view many situations through the viewpoints of many different philosophies, adding another dimension to my way of thinking.  

Thankyou,

Matthew Sutherland