Metacognition
So far, so good this semester. The most important things I have learned academic writing, communication, and reading. It is no doubt that communication is one of the most vital skills that make one successful academically and in life. Through the interaction with my classmates, I have been able to enhance my communication skills. In addition, I can now communicate fluently and using the correct language, and this has been beneficial to me since I have been able to get along well with my classmates, family, and friends. More importantly, I am now conversant with several writings, and I can produce well-written documents. The ability to produce well-written documents is one of my core-competencies that I am proud of, and this will help me more so in my employment and entrepreneurship journey. One of the writings that I am competent in is writing a good resume. Soon I will be off school and begin my employment journey, and the ability to write a good resume will help me in securing a better job. Besides, I have been able to equip myself with reading skills. I can audibly and effectively read any written material. I must acknowledge that the various types of writing that I have learned have been a bit challenging. Writings like a resume, reports, and outlines require one to follow a standard format, and adapting to the various formats was challenging to me, but later I adapted.
Paragraph structure is one term that I have found to be very significant in my academic journey. For academic writing to be presentable in the eyes of the readers, it must be properly developed, and one of the developments is having well-structured paragraphs. Paragraphs form the building blocks in any writing. For a paragraph to be properly structured, it must contain three elements; topic sentence, supporting sentences, and a concluding sentence. A topic sentence is the first sentence of any paragraph, and it presents the main idea that is elaborated in the whole paragraph. A topic sentence gives the reader a reason to continue reading the entire paragraph, and therefore the writer should develop a strong topic sentence that would make the reader curious to follow the whole paragraph. Generally, the topic sentence makes the paragraph readable. The next element after the topic sentence is the supporting sentences. Supporting sentences elaborate more on the topic sentence, and they break down the main point of the paragraph in order to give the reader a deeper meaning. The writer summarizes the argument of the paragraph with a concluding sentence. A concluding sentence sums up the material presented in the paragraph, and it also makes the written work more appealing. Besides, a topic sentence may provide a transition to the subsequent paragraph. A specific example was the one that involved the NCAA draft whereby I was to develop a draft from an outline, and this example taught me it is always good to develop an outline of any writing before beginning the writing the document. I had challenges developing the topic sentences, but after consulting from my classmates, I was able to overcome the challenge.
The assignment that I am revising is an article summary of a case study involving two various types of students, that is, the first-generation students and the students whose parents had earned a degree in their endeavor to earn a degree. The students were required to access the challenges experienced by the two different groups of students as they strive to access and complete college education. I chose to revise the assignment in order to correct several errors and add more content. First-generation students do not find it easy in colleges due to financial constraints, and several of them may not complete their college education. In addition, some of the first-generation college students have family responsibilities, and they usually have divided attention between family and academics. Others may face challenges form their traditions whereby they are required to provide for their families and forego studies, and this gives them a lot of pressure while in colleges.