English is a mandatory subject for students in Myanmar; from elementary level to college students. Even though I had studied English since primary standards, and I was required starting to write the essays in English in middle school. But, the only way I learnt how to write them was through memorizing. I could get high marks for just memorizing the sentences, and just ignoring how to write them. In the end, I gained nothing about writing, and it made me feel bad as I am growing up. 

Since English is not my primary and secondary languages, I did not read in English except from the textbook. I do remember how I am afraid of short questions in the exams, and it made me to memorize all the text paragraphs in return. But, I have never been told that it was not the correct way to study a foreign language. I spent my days on boring staffs just to get good results in exams, which was just to fulfill my parents’ expectations. 

After high school, I was interested in outside world, and I wanted to speak English well. I joined an English class in order to write and speak fluently. However, I realized I only know about basic grammar and nothing more. I started to think about studying abroad, and although China was a better option than the U.S. as it is close to my country, and I was born in a Chinese family. But, I know if I went to China, I would still learn nothing because it is in my comfort zone. I decided to take challenge which made me to choose the City College of New York to start my university life. 

I used to write lots of essays in both Burmese and Chinese, but the main problem is that those I practiced were all about a description paper, for example, a rainy day, my favorite season. The topics were nothing to do with critical thinking, and English essays are required me to have that skill. Another struggle is vocabulary and the use of words when I write. I love reading and writing just not in English, but now I do wants to communicate with other people. So, I am trying to understand the culture, the way of thinking and so on through reading news and books in English. 

In this English course, I have learnt about rhetorical analysis which made me understand how I can use strategies to reach the goals in writing. I know about how to write based on different audiences. The research paper played an important role for me in this course, firstly, I am not afraid of to write 2,000 paper, and it practiced my critical thinking skill. I understand that if I want to write an effective essay, I need my thoughts to be straight, and write them clearly and understandable for the audiences. I believe that writing is such a skill that worth me to work on it, and sometimes writhing is so important in communication when you cannot express your feelings or thoughts through speaking.