During the course of this semester; The variety of writing styles and essays I was assigned in the communication skills course encouraged the development of my writing skills and gave me greater confidence in my abilities. My writing, research and presentation skills improved through practice, determination and the understanding gained during this course. With each and every writing assignment, I learned new, innovative approaches and skills, which improved my abilities to improve my thoughts logically, allowing me to write more clearly and organize my documents more effectively. At the beginning of this semester; even though I already knew the MAP terminology: message, audience, purpose; I never really understood the meaning of MAP. Because of this, my writing lacked clarity, organization, and my writing appeared less topic-focused. As a result, my research papers and essays didn't flow as smoothly from one step to the next. Furthermore, I was not accustomed to the precise procedures used when writing an essay. For example, my previous courses before college, although they required a reference page, did not require me to include adequate citations in my writing. After evaluating the quality of my writing towards the end of the semester, I recognized huge improvements in several areas of my writing. By focusing on the initial stages of my writing, I was able to discern my audience and my message early. As a result, my essays are clear and I stay on topic. In addition to that, using transition sentences effectively also helps my writing flow smoothly. Proper use of transitions makes my writing easy to follow from one topic to the next. I also learned that before writing... in the middle of paper... now I have more about an electronic library than I did in the past, I still have a lot of information to learn. For example, many times I overuse Internet sources rather than looking for different types of research. Over the course of the semester, all the writing and research skills I have developed help me strengthen my self-confidence in many areas and help me achieve my goals for the future. By developing more effective research approaches to finding and citing sources, I went from an inexperienced writer to a confident writer with the proper knowledge to create effective essays to captivate my audience. Having confidence in my ability to use the skills I have learned will help me succeed in college. With more practice and evaluation of my strengths and weaknesses, I can continue to improve and become an excellent communicator in the future.