Reflection on Diagnostic Essay

After re-reading the diagnostic essay that I had written four months ago, I can say that I was quite embarrassed by the quality of that first essay. Not only was my introduction unclear and all over the place, the body paragraphs did not go well together and as a result the essay lacked a coherent thesis. Looking back at this essay I can see that I needed a lot of improvement in the way I structured my paragraphs. Often times I start out with an idea but by the end of the paragraph I would be referring to a different idea without really connecting the two ideas. Also, from one paragraph to the other, I did not create any smooth transitions, and often they seem like they could be paragraphs from two completely different essays. Another thing I noticed is that I use quite a bit of cliche expressions or ideas in this essay, especially when I seem to run out of things to say. However, I think it showed some effort on my part that I tried to incorporate a quote from a great American philosopher, and that I tried to use current events in my paragraphs as well. Throughout this semester, I do believe that I have made many improvements in my essay writing skills, and I hope that in the future I will become a much better writer.