A learning outcome where I believe I have done very well this semester is active reading, not only taking the text for what it is and interpreting techniques the writer uses. I also have learned to question the author attempting to bring deeper meaning to the text. In Cadogan’s story of his adolescent and early adult years, personal connection brought light to many of the problems that African American people face. Police brutality was at the forefront of his story. Cadogan had traveled from his hometown of Kingston Jamaica to Louisiana in hopes of getting a college degree and a carrer. He found quickly that people treated him differently, and it wasn’t just because of his accent or his hair, but his skin. He found that white people would avoid him even though he posed no threat. However, when he moved to New York several years after completing college he found that although he was in an area that was majority black similar to Kingston he was still treated poorly by the predominantly white police officer. This shows that systemic racism is very present in our communities all over the nation. Although we might not know it people are being harassed because of the color of their skin and it’s normally not the average civilian, it’s our Law Enforcement.

I feel in order for me to most improve my writing I need to allocate more time to revision of my drafts to get a better final draft. I make good points and I have solid ideas but I feel I could improve on my captive writing abilities and string my claims together. A more fluid final draft would allow me to keep my reader engaged and interested but revision must take place. My time management still needs to be improved, if I get my drafts done sooner I’ll have more time to revise my work. I have a goal of writing one page a day for my papers but after turning in my rough draft I tend to do some procrastinating. If I manage my time better and gain some discipline it would result in a much cleaner final copy.