Reflection

Throughout the 9 weeks of ES1102, I have learned a great deal about writing essays. Apart from being able to pen down my thoughts more accurately, I am now able to do so in a more systematic and organised manner. In addition, I have also learned to avoid unnecessary mistakes like tenses, punctuations and sentence structure of the essay. It is now a must to have a clear thesis statement followed by relevant evidence with appropriate citations to back up our argument. A good set of writing method has therefore been drilled into the back of our minds. We were also taught to identify the important information in an essay through our summary lessons, of which I feel is of great importance since we are always bombarded with chunks of information in our studies and learning to sift out the important bits is essential.
In the upcoming lessons, it would be good if we were given more tips on writing argumentative essays and learning how to substantiate our claims in a much more convincing manner. The reason is because most of us need to write essays for our own modules and we have to convince people that our claims are valid. With good persuasion skills in writing, it would be much easier for us to tackle such essays.

In general, I still lack in my ability to focus on the main points while writing my essays. I tend to get carried away with the other less important details and as a result my main points may lack depth. In order to improve on it, I would have to be clear about what I want to focus on at the start of the writing and remain consistent throughout.
The feedbacks provided in the reader response and summary were beneficial in helping me improve on the essay. It makes me think about what I can improve on without giving me the correct answer from the start. I was able to make all the necessary changes given by my tutor.
There were stark contrast between the first piece of writing that I have done compared to the one that was done most recently. In general there were improvements in the areas of content, structure and language. That being said, there is of course room for improvements in my writing and I am confident that by the end of this module, my writing in general will definitely be enhanced. In my opinion, I feel that the methods of employing both the written and verbal feedbacks are very useful. It makes it easier for us to understand exactly the areas that can still be improved. The audio comments help to clarify any doubts that we may have of the written comments. I will definitely opt for both feedback methods in my other courses.

Reflective writing (Edited)

At the start, I found National Service to be a waste of time and a rite of passage for most males in Singapore. However after completing my term, I found it to be rather enriching and beneficial.

The army had imparted me with plenty of life skills and no doubt moulded me into a better individual. There were much to be learnt from mixing with friends and superiors from various background.  I was particularly impressed by the meticulous mindset that all of them had towards work. In the army, we believe that 'Devil is in the detail', which means that small things in plans and schemes that are often overlooked can cause serious problems later on. Hence I have developed a more cautious attitude towards any work given to me. 

The valuable skill that I have taken out of army will definitely come to play for my stay here in NUS. We are surrounded by details everyday, such as the design on the wall of your faculty or even the print on your bottle. By paying attention to details, we not only make lesser mistakes in our work but also learn to be more appreciative of life's smallest pleasure that often go unnoticed.