1st Quarter Reflection

          

             The first quarter is coming to an end, but it still seems like the beginning of the school year started yesterday. This year so far in US History with Mrs. Lawson, we have covered a few topics that I have benefited and learned a lot from. We learned a lot about empathy and sympathy this quarter, and that taught me how to look at things in a different perspective. Now that I understand the difference between empathy and sympathy, I can put myself into other peoples shoes and understand their situations better. Being able to empathize with people is a valuable skill that I have learned these past few weeks that is going to benefit me the rest of my life.

              At the beginning of the quarter Mrs. Lawson made a point to make sure that we understand how to cite, paraphrase, and hyperlink our work. At Randolph, we have focused on making sure that when we use sources that we give them the credit they deserve. Now that we are in US history and are actually using complex sources, we really have to be prepared to be able to correctly cite and paraphrase our work. I feel like I have been properly prepared for this and now it is one of my strengths. I don't think I will have any issues with this topic this year because our previous teachers have been making sure we were prepared for this our whole career at Randolph, and now that Mrs. Lawson has taught us even more about it, there is no way that I will come across any problems with this during the rest of the school year.

             During the rest of the year I have a few areas that I want to grow in. One of the areas I want to grow in is my essay writing. I have always been able to put together a solid essay, but I've never really blown anyone away with my work. This year I want to work on being able to write a strong essay and have the facts to back up my argument. My main issue is that I make a good argument, but I don't back it up with any info. Being able to write and impressive essay is something that I would like to be able to do by the end of the year.