UNIVERSITY OF EL SALVADOR 

 WESTERN MULTISCIPLINARY CAMPUS 

FOREING LANGUAGE DEPARTMENT 

COMPOSITION II

TEACHER :

DARLENE MATA MARROQUÍN 



STUDENTS:



SANDRA GABRIELA MARTìNEZ



ESTEFANI CLARISA PEÑATE



EVELIN GABRIELA ARANA    

Date: 24th, 2016 

INTRODUCTION 

This blog contains self-information and details referring to the knowledge and achievements gotten through the first semester- 2016 in the subject of English Composition II. Doubtless, this work represents a mixture of all the classes, presentations, videos, and assignments regarding to the topics studied in this subject. So that means a complete idea or analysis about what we have truly learnt over the semester.

 OBJECTIVES OF THE PORTFOLIO

GENERAL OBJECTIVE:

Identify the necessity of composition at the moment of writing in the life as a teacher and person.

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES

Apply all the topics that we had been studied in the semester at the moment of doing the D-folio.

Demonstrate the most important thing that we done at the moment of doing the D-folio.

INDEX

• Introduction
• Objectives of the portfolio
• Classes copied in class
• Presentations of classes in the group of Facebook
• Choose one video recorded during the semester
• Extra material delivered in classes  
• Challenges During the semester
• Journals
• An assessment on how well you achieved the writing goals you set for yourself at the beginning of the semester
• Talk about your best paragraph and essay writing
• Assess your performance during the semester
• Reflection regarding what you have learned about yourself as a writer this semester and how your assumptions and understandings of writing and reading have changed as a result of your work in this course.
• What would you suggest in order to improve the development of the course?  

Classes copied in class

Presentations of classes in the group of 

Facebook

Here are two of the presentations that we liked the most:

The first one is about comparison and contrast paragraphs. We had a ball learning about that topic using this power point presentation because it is very understandable. Also, it helped to make the class more interesting and dynamic because of the funny and entertained way to explain the topic.

The second one is about persuasive paragraph in which we could learn not only how to create it but also how to persuade the reader. Even though it is complicated to write an attractive persuasive paragraph, we have learn a lot from it.

Choose one video recorded during the 

semester

Extra material delivered in classes

Sandra Gabriela Mazariego Martinez

• Challenges During The Semester

At the very beginning, it was very difficult for me to start writing paragraphs because I did not know all the procedure to follow when creating them. Then, I got confused in the transition from paragraphs to essays, for those last have a procedure more difficult than the one followed when writing paragraphs. Even though those were my biggest challenges, now I feel more confident to say that I can write paragraphs and essays.

• Journals     

This was the best journal entry I wrote this semester because it was the answer to the letter that the teacher wrote for me in order to give me some advice, suggestions, and personal thoughts referring to my performance in the subject of English Composition II. It was really awesome to share personal ideas with the teacher, for it creates better bounds between students and teachers. For sure, it was marvelous to use a journal to express all of our ideas.

• An assessment on how well you achieved the writing goals you set for yourself at the beginning of the semester.

I am sure I have improved my writing skills, but I guess I need to learn new vocabulary that helps me to continue improving my writing. I can give myself an 8 because I really believe that there are more acknowledgement I need to achieve in order to get my writing goals completely.

• Talk about your best paragraph and essay (feelings and emotions)

This is the best paragraph I could create this semester. It is a contrast paragraph, and I felt extremely confident of writing it because I have learnt a lot about it. I am sure that this is the type of paragraph I like the most. In addition, that learning made me get a 9.5 which was the prove of my achievements. Truly, it is the one that have made me feel able to continue writing.

This is the best persuasive essay for me because it is the first one I have written in my life. It caused me headache when writing it, for I did not have any idea of how to do it. I decided to talk about capital punishment in there which let me express a lot of thoughts. At the end, I could get a great result and assessment on it. Forsooth, I want to improve it and keep writing persuasive essays. it really made my day.

• Assess your performance during this semester

I am completely sure I have learnt a lot during this semester, especially in English Composition II. However, I feel I lack of vocabulary, and I need to improve my oral and writing skills. I can give myself an 8 because I know I can do a better job than the one I have done. Certainly, that is my purpose for the next semester.

• Reflection regarding what you have learned about yourself as a writer this semester and how your assumptions and understandings of writing and reading have changed as a result of your work in this course

I have learned a lot this semester; for example, I have learned to be less shy and more confident. Also, I have learned to act for a little movie and to compose funny songs. I feel pretty enthusiastic because I have set many goals in this subject. Thank God, it exists the subject of English Composition, for it is the subject that has made me improve the four macro skills without any complication. Finally, I can say that I have become a careful writer and reader after my performance in this course.

• What would you suggest in order to improve the development of the course?

I consider this course has a good environment and development, but maybe it lacks of enthusiastic students that want to be involved in compositions. As I know my classmates, I can confirm that some of them feel lost and not part of the group, and they would need more attention. However,  I know that not all of us behave in the same way, so it is extremely difficult to know how to be closer to each student. Doubtless, I suggest to keep going in the way we did this semester; movies, songs, and any kind of composition should be always part of this subject.

Estefani Clarisa Peñate 

• Challengues:

I had many challenges this semester because all the topics were very complex at the moment of practicing, we had studied in Composition I about all the rules how to write in a correct way; for example, the comma splice, mixed construction, and others rules: nevertheless, now we had to join down and think not to do that kind of mistakes when we were writing the paragraphs and essays.

One thing that was very hard to me was to get up early because we had classes on Wednesdays at 6:45 and I would like to be in time, but I think I never came in time; I was on time or late. Also other challenge was to wait for the classes of composition on Thursday because was only one hour and I did not have classes before composition.

To write paragraph was hard for me because I had to think very well the correct word to write. It is my weakness. I hope to fix it.

• Journals (choose 2 – express your feelings and emotions)

This was the worst journal I had because I got 6.8. I don't know why I had had that grade but I thought that I would have good grade, yet when I saw my grade;  I was so disappointed of me. I said this grade I do not like so in the next journal I would work better and I did it

This was my best journal in this semester; I had 9.3 and I was so happy because I work hard in that kind of activities; furthermore, i felt magnificent also I have learned with bad things and good things.

• An assessment on how well you achieved the writing goals you set for yourself at the beginning of the semester;

I did many things to achieve my writing goals; for example, I write all my mistakes on the notebook to learn that I made a mistake.

I proposed to read two times the classes of composition and I did it the tree first weeks, but after I did not; I would do it the other semester and I know I can do it.

I said that I had to put in practice all the rules of grammar that I learned in composition I and I did it. And very well.

• Talk about your best paragraph and essay writing (feelings and emotions)

This was my best paragraph; it was comparison paragraph and I had 9.5. I was so enthusiastic for that grade and I loved it so much and I know that I am good in that kind of paragraph.

This was my best essay and it was the first one; I had 7.8 and it was good but I wanted it to be better. I read all the observations that teacher said and now I know my mistakes especially in the references. And the connectors. I learned and for that I am here.

• Assess your performance during the semester:

I think that I grew up as a student this semester because I learned different types of paragraph and when the teacher taught all the different types of it was new for me. I thought that only exist one kind of paragraph and now I know that are many. The most important is that now I can write it;

Also I learned how to be a sociable person because I had a good time with many classmate and that was awesome; therefore, I made a movie; it was a different kind of activity and I loved it because it is normal only have classes but to do a movie was the best; now I know how to be an actress. That kind of activity make us grow up as a student.

One thing that I think I need to grow up is that I need to be more organized because most of the time I did the homework at night and that was not good; moreover, I was sleepy.

The essays was a difficult because you have to write 5 paragraph yet I could do it and was the best thing I had never done before.one thing that I know that I need to work is to write a thesis statement because you had to know well the thing that you want to say and try to capture the attention of the reader; it is not easy. In conclusion all the things that I did this semester helped me to understand that we can make mistakes but that is the point. Because if I know that I made a mistake; I am going to try to fix it because does not matter if you only know the mistakes and only that you have to be better every day. That is the life

• Reflection regarding what you have learned about yourself as a writer this semester and how your assumptions and understandings of writing and reading have changed as a result of your work in this course:

I learned many things about me as a writer in this semester; for example, this semester was only about writing paragraph and essays; it was hard and a mix of feeling, but I learned how to do it. And right now I know that I am good to write a comparison and contrast paragraph, yet I have many weakness as a writer; I need to practice more and look that I can do whatever I want if I fight for it.

• What would you suggest in order to improve the development of the course? 

One thing that I would like that the course do is to practice more the essay because I was confused at the moment of writing my first essay. The environment was good, yet sometimes I felt lost. I would like that the classes out more equal with all the students. I liked all the activities that the teacher did because she helped us to be more efficient and more productive. 

Gabriela Arana García

• Challenges

I started this course thinking that this subject was going to be similar to English Composition I, the class I took last semester, but I experienced a change from that class to this one. Even though they are linked to each other, they are different somehow. It was challenging for me because the subject made me enhance the skills I had already acquired, but in a different way. Writing is not an easy task once we have known the rules and the long process we have to follow. Sometimes, the idea of giving up to some assignments crossed my mind. Then, I tried to make a last effort, and I proved myself that challenges cannot be achieved without effort. At the beginning I was landing in the unknown world of writing, and it became sort of tough; however, I accepted the incoming experience, and I could make it.

• Journals

Gabriela Arana García

May 17th, 2016

Fourth journal entry

My favorite person

              My favorite person is my mother; the angel that God put in my way. My mother is the greatest person in my life. She has been in every single moment of my life not only in the best ones but also in the worst ones. Sometimes, I do not agree with her in many opinions, but she always respects my decisions, and I respect hers. My mother has a hard personality aparently, but on the inside she is very sensitive and vulnerable. Right as people see her, they think that she looks like a very serious woman, but actually when they meet her deeply, she is the sweetest woman in the world. She has cared of me every moment of my life. When I get home, she is always ready with lunch for me, and she serves me. If I need a favor, she never doubts about doing it. When I am sick, she always cares of me even if she has to keep herself awake the whole night. I do not know what would I do without her. She is my biggest blessing in life, and I love her so much that I could give my life for hers. My mother is a strong, courageous, and an incredible woman. She is my hero.

May 31st, 2016

Sixth journal entry

Illusion or real love?

                 Most of the time, people tend to believe that they have fallen in love  when they find interesting every single detail of other person. But, the real fact is that they are delighted by the illusion of the person. When somebody is just in love of the illusion, this person usually admires all the attributes ignoring the faults of the person. Being in love goes beyond the appereance; being in love is a matter of knowing the other person very deeply. Stablishing a real friendship is always the best way to know someone very well before making the decisión of being in a relationship. Despite this, people usually want to rush their feelings without being truly prepared. That is why most of the relationships or marriages finish in breaks up and divorces. A real friendship does not only consist of knowing the likes and dislikes of the partner; it consists of sincere values, time, effort, sacrifice and acceptance. So next time, we feel like falling in love we should pay attention, and try to hold our horses to find real love.

• An assessment on how well i achieved the writing goals we set for ourselves at the beginning of the semester.

·         I began the subject with previous knowledge that I had to aply in this course. Despite the fact that I had the basis to begin this adventure, we as a class had to set new goals for this class because it was a new journey. I consider that I achieved most of the goals set for this course. Writting effective paragraphs and limiting topics for compositions was the first set goals, and I have seen them  reached because I have observed the good results I got. Another goal was setting and following effective outlines and actually this goal was effectively reached because I got well developed paragraphs thank to the well organized outlines. On the other hand, we are still in the process of writing essays, and we are going to grade the level we got in this objective at the end of the semester and evaluations.

•     Talk about your best paragraph and essay writing.

·         The best paragraph I wrote is the one I named “Valle de San Blas (memory from my childhood)”. I wrote this paragraph when we were learning how to write illustrative paragraphs, and actually this place crossed my mind as soon as I could understand what an illustrative paragraph was about. I decided to focus my writing on that because I really enjoyed when my parents took me there, and I felt very pleased of making a great job with that paragraph. Everything there was a real experience that still remember even though it happened when I was just a child. Fortunately, I got a ten on that composition, and it made me feel very lofty when I received such a good news. Now, I am still working on essays, but I have not gotten an essay that makes me feel proud. This makes me feel a little disappointed, so I have to work on that until I make it. I hope to finally make it.

•    Assess your performance during the semester.

·         In my opinion, I started this course with a very enthusiastic attitude, and in fact, my development had shown that I was in the same rhythm with the contents taught in class. I could observe that my compositions were sprouting to an amelioration. As I could be writing and writing, my ideas were streaming easier than at the begining. This was pleasurable in my experience as a writer, but then I felt out of whack when essays were introduced, I felt myself insecure about writing essays because I had no a clear idea of how to develop them. I am still working on that, and I hope I can succeed on it. Everything conveys a great effort, so I keep my expectations on it.

•    Reflection regarding what i have learned about myself as a writer this semester and how assumptions and understandings of writing and reading have changed as a result of my work in this course.

·         As I have said before, I had an idea of how this course was going to be, but I discovered in myself the skill of writing. At the very beginnig I had  many ideas in my mind, and by following the process of learning inside the classroom I could realize that writing is a complex task. But, I only could understand this when I had to put in practice the acquired knowledge. Moreover, I could be aware of the kind of compositions I am more into, and I feel free to release my thoughts when I am writing about real events in my life. This course has made me realize the kind of writer I could be if I decide to jump into the opportunity of a new project in my life. Practice makes perfect, and a good example of this is the growth I have noticed since I enrolled in this class.

•    What would you suggest in order to improve the development of the course?

·    This course was useful because it benefited me by teaching me how to write correctly. There was a very enjoyable class every time I entered to it, and I have no naggings from any single class. The teacher knew how to guide us in each topic to develop, and in fact the results are reflected in how our compositions have improved class by class. However, not everything is perfect and there is just one aspect I consider would help to improve this course in the future. We spent all the time learning how to write a paragraph, and at the end of the course we could not encompass the essay writings as I would have liked. I feel an empty space when talking about essays, and I believe that it is going to impact sooner or later. Besides that, every was great.