TSL024 (Fundamentals of Writing)

ASSIGNMENTS & ASESSMENTS

OBE Outline

This assignment was a huge eye-opener. I was never really a structured writer, especially when it comes to essays. Prior to TSL024, I would just brainstorm for a few minutes and just put to pen whatever came in my mind.

However, after learning about the correct structure of essays, it has made my essays more organized. I have also cultivated a new found appreciation for outlines as it really helps with essay writing.

Opinion Based Essay

We were given a few themes to choose from for our essay. I chose the theme literature because as soon as I saw that theme, I had a topic in my mind. I am both and avid reader of comic books and literature.

It was very interesting for me to compare these to mediums and settle the old age debate, "Should comic books be considered literature?"

This assignment definitely taught me more writing techniques and trained me to be more open but critical to new ideas.

Mid-Term Paper

The mid-term paper tested us on summary and synthesis. It was a little tricky and I also had some struggles with time management.

I also found that by the end of the test that for a summary, the word count was still considerably long. I've learned the lesson that I should be more of time and word count when writing.

Alhamdulillah, for the mid terms, I received 14.7/20 marks for the test. Admittedly, I was a little disappointed with my marks but this will be a great motivator for me to ace my finals.

NOTES

I was having a little trouble understanding how to synthesize an essay so I decided to make notes for the topic. Coincidentally, Miss Farah, my lecturer was having a consultation for synthesis so I decided it would be a great time to enhance my knowledge.

According to Miss Farah's advice, I crafted my own synthesis table and masterfully synthesized an essay for the first time!

I'm really happy with that decision because it helped me understand the topic clearly.

OVERALL THOUGHTS

Where to start? If I had to choose, Writing has definitely grown to be my favourite subject. At first, I had a little love-hate relationship with this subject because to be honest, I have always preferred creative writing to academic writing. However, the more I learned this subject, the more I understood it and enjoyed it.

I consider myself a somewhat stubborn, opinionated person. I used to believe that structured writing was boring and limited creativity. Now, after TSL024, I realized the importance of having structure and organization when writing an essay. It ensures that your writing appears organized and well thought out. This course really made me rethink my perspective of what writing is and how it is correctly done.

I did have some trouble trying to summarize and synthesize essays at first but with the help of Miss Farah and my classmates, I now know how to do it! Speaking of Miss Farah. there are no words to describe how grateful I am to her. I love her teaching style . On top of that, I really enjoy the stories she'll sometimes tell during class breaks. If I were to be an educator one day, I could only dream to be as dedicated as her. She is always there for us if we have any questions. She even opened up consultations until late hours into the night. Thank you so much, Miss Farah.

All in all, I had an amzing experience taking thng TSL024 and cannot wait to learn more in Semester 2!