Testimonials – Writing I

1. ” I love prof. Belmihoub. Literally the best professors I have yet, really understanding, helpful and friendly. His classes are so calm and relaxing. I learned a
  lot of helpful materials, and this knowledge I use in my other classes. Every assignment was provided with clear instructions and if you have any questions he was always
  here to help you with it, besides that he can give you extra information for future assignments or even career. If I could I would take his class every semester, hopefully
  everyone appreciates him the way he deserves.”
2. “I think my writing really grew this semester. I learned how to be more specific and flesh out my ideas. I learned to have a specific audience in mind when writing and I never knew how much that could make my writing flourish. Not only the audience, but the purpose of my writing. I used to just write and never give these things much thought but now they are the driving force behind my writing. There were times where I was stuck and did not know how to explain a point any further but when I take a step back and remember why I am writing this piece and for who, it became much easier to keep going. I’ve become a more organized writer by being able to plan out my key points and having multiple drafts with feedback. I also was able to pay close attention to detail and learn how to format my work correctly. I also learned how to find credible sources for my argumentative paper and how to synthesize those claims into one cohesive essay. I think that this semester was really great and the feedback I got on my writing was super helpful and will stick with me in the years to come. Professor Belmihoub has pushed me to put out my best writing by giving feedback that allowed my writing to be taken to a higher level and make more sense. He always makes himself available and gives a lot of room for creativity during the assignments which make each writing unique.”
3. “In this semester, I learned new writing techniques and how to be a better writer. I found the textbooks that we had to read for summary/response helpful because it gave useful tips that we can use when we’re writing. I learned the importance of the drafts and audience in writing. Also, the group conference and individual conference were helpful because we could get direct feedback for our writings. I want to use all the methods I learned in this class and use it for my future writing. Through analysis and argumentative assignments, I learned how to paraphrase, synthesize, and summarize instead of using quotes all the time. I also learned the paramedic method and sentence structure, which is important to improve my writing to a higher level. Even though the argumentative assignment took longer than other assignments, all the methods that we practiced during class were very helpful. I think this class is good for the transition from high school to college because we go over from the basics and how we can improve as a professional writer. The class is easygoing and the professor is very caring and understanding and gives nice feedback.”
4. “This semester has taught me a lot about myself and how to be a better writer. First I realized the importance of drafts. Talking in the group conferences and individual conferences also helped me realize some errors I needed to fix to become a good writer; errors I would not have been able to point out myself. I remember when I was first working on my analysis assignment I was so set on doing it based on my previous major and I was forcing myself to write about something I was not passionate about. However, once I realized that I was actually interested in marketing, I was able to research about my topic and learn that I feel more passionate about this major. So I am thankful for that aspect of the analysis assignment. I also believed that learning how to synthesize improved my analytic skills because that was something I had a lot of trouble with before. The argumentative assignment was really eye opening for me as well. Instead of just focusing on the purpose, I realized I had to also acknowledge my audience and what I want them to take away from my writing. Overall I am very grateful I took this class. I transferred many of the skills I learned from this class and have applied it to my other subjects and I know I can utilize these skills for years to come.”
5. “Throughout this semester, I came across different fields of writing I did not expect myself to encounter before entering Baruch. Particularly with the argumentative paper, the assignment allowed me to delve into crafting a cohesive and well-developed argument based on the challenges I have faced within my specific topic. Moreover, the writing process the professor introduced us to is something I thought was exceptionally noteworthy and would highly encourage other English professors, especially for first-year students, to implement into their curriculums. Professor Belmihoub is very welcoming and treated all of his students with care and respect first and foremost. From group discussions to individual conferences, his insight and level of authenticity in writing speaks high volumes and as a student, I was able to identify gaps in my writing that he hinted to improve on. I do not believe there was a single time he came in unprepared and the structure of the course website kept the flow of the class viable. Through the writing processes and the three major assignments, I believe my writing found new heights it did not reach before and I am pretty excited to see where my writing leads me. From talking about myself to arguing about something I believe in, the writing process set the tone for what I am going to expect and the numerous paths I can go about in perfecting my craft. The analysis assignment was very useful as it helped me brush up on skills I have worked on in the past, especially in constructing an analytical annotated bibliography. Not only did this improve my familiarity with APA format, but it threaded professionalism into my writing process efficiently.”
6. “This semester has made me grow as a writer in many different aspects. The importance of planning has been a beneficial tool that helped me plan out my ideas in a structured and organized way. Some challenges that I had to face was making my sentences more concise. Before I had the habit of repeating sentences and just paraphrasing in a different way. In this class I learned to take my writing to a higher level. In the future I can confidently say that all 3 essays will be applied for my future profession. The freedom in essay topics allowed me to write about things I am passionate about and reflections of who I am. Our first essay connected back to my experiences with obtaining financial literacy. I was never able to really articulate my thoughts around that lesson. Although with the literacy essay I tapped into my story by cultivating my experience into an educational piece so others can model what I have done. Professor Belmihoub did great with allowing students to write about what they are passionate about. He understands that it makes a student’s overall writing quality better since it is a topic of interest. Not only does he let students let you write with passion but also guides you in your creative process. The support he gives by discussing in individual and group conferences was so helpful in assuring I was on the right track with my writing. The times that I was stuck on finding ways to bring my writing to a higher level, Professor Belmihoub guided me through concepts and strategies without giving it all away.”
7. ‘This semester opened an entirely new world of writing for me. This was probably the first time where I created essays that weren’t necessarily argumentative. I positively benefited from learning how to show as opposed to tell. Learning how to connect to the readers on a personal level was one of the greatest crafts that I’ve attained in this short span of 3 months. I have learned how to bring purpose to my writing while making clear to the audience what that purpose is. Becoming unbiased and giving equal information for my claim and the opposition’s claim has proven to be very useful because I’ve recognized that it is an unfair technique and robs the reader of formulating their own opinion. If one is to persuade an audience, it should not be due to the promotion of one idea and the negligence of another. Instead the writer should supply the beauty and the beast of each claim. Professor Belmihoub was an outstanding mentor and teacher. He has taught me the benefits and importance of early drafting. This is an efficient tool that when used optimally divides the bulk of work into smaller sub sections.’
8. “I learned about the importance of drafting this semester. I was never a big fan of drafting for my writing, but throughout this semester, I got more used to drafting and I was able to see first-hand some benefits of drafts. I also learned how to find relevant and trusted sources on sites such as google scholar and the Baruch library.”
9. “Writing the analysis and the outline ahead of time really helped me speed up my writing process. It also helps have a clearer way of thinking about my topic. It is more of a difficult and disorganized process, when I just think of things to add to my paper off the top of my mind.”
10. “This semester has taught me the importance of peer editing on drafts. I felt like my final works benefited from the writing process of this class. I learned to be more conscious of having a rhetorical situation and audience when writing. A challenge I faced was overcoming procrastination in doing my assignments. I feel that the set due dates for drafts and conferences helped me. I also learned to try to work on my essay on multiple days even if I only make small edits or additions… I learned about Stasis theory in this unit which has expanded what type of claims I could use for a thesis. I also learned about the Paramedic method and COCA as well as using Purdue Owl often for citation and formatting information. I will likely use these for future writing assignments. “
11. “This class has changed me in many ways and improved my skills on academic areas. I remember that I was very scared and nervous at the first day of the class. When I saw many students that are so confident in expressing themselves, that [sic] was something I don’t have and wish to have. Lucky [sic], professor Kamal Belmihoub is very patient in talk to me in individual conferences and in class. This really helped in gaining more confidence toward myself. I really like the way hw [sic] this class goes, by having first, second and final drafts, we can have more time to organize the ideas and essays. I learned many things from this course such as writing synthesis that organize [sic] the ideas and turns it into an argumentative essay.”
12. “Our professor was more like a friend other than like a professor, we were able to share a lot of stuff with him that we wouldn’t really feel comfortable sharing to other professors. Moreover, he was really enthusiastic with our work, he would constantly check on our work and make comments and help us fix on our writing. I’ve never met a teacher that does so much more extra things after school for their student other than grading papers, etc. Anyways, I really did enjoy my first semester at Baruch with the classmates that I was able to have. Without these group of people, this would’ve been a really tough year. With this class I was able to learn that writing is a process, by finishing one paper in one day is not efficient and it would lower the quality of your work. You would have do it step by step.”