Becoming A Writer: A Personal Analysis

In the short essay, “Becoming a Writer,” penned by Russell Baker, he spoke of a memory from his past that later changed his perception of writing. After reading his piece, I reviewed the response questions listed below the essay to further my understanding of the piece. Almost like looking through a list of prompts as Russell did.

I started writing fiction in elementary school, and never looked back. Tucked away among old report cards and craft projects, my mother still has the multicolored notebook containing my first short story, written when I was in first grade. (It's a treat. I may share it here at some point.) So, when I say that writing in ingrained in me, that it's part of who I am, I mean it.

A semester has passed since I started college and my journey of becoming a better writer. It has been a very important semester for my future college career, and I would not be here without the things I have accomplished. The composition program has really helped me to prepare for what college writing is all about. Now standing here and looking back I could not imagine how it would be without that class. I believe my English, and my writing is better than it has ever been, and all thanks to the composition program.

From writing thoughtful poems to research papers, I have experienced composing a diverse portfolio of literary analysis and criticisms throughout the school year. I started out the year writing minimally. By the end of the year, I noticed I was able to express my ideas and thoughts in a more clear and concise way on paper. Ultimately, each composition allowed me to widen my horizons as a writer and see how I could improve as a writer.

My English Literature major has helped me to achieve an outstanding level of appreciation, enjoyment, and knowledge of both American and British Literature. As a high school AP English student, I struggled through great works like Hamlet and To the Lighthouse. My teacher’s daily lectures (there was no such thing as class discussion) taught me merely to interpret the works as critics had in the past. I did not enjoy the reading or writing process. As a freshman at Loras, I was enrolled in the Critical Writing: Poetry class. For the first time since grade school, my writing ability was praised and the sharing of my ideas was encouraged by an enthusiastic and nurturing professor. Despite the difficulty of poetry, I enjoyed reading it.

How can I become a better writer? Throughout my writing experiences, I have learned I have many weaknesses along with strengths. My experiences with writing has not always been the best, but over time, with lots of practice and instructions from my instructors, I can proudly say that I have gained a better understanding on the layout of essays and papers. As well as understanding how to write correctly my goal as a writer is to learn how to overcome my weaknesses and use my strengths to my highest ability. I have many strengths, weaknesses and goals that I plan to achieve and overcome in my college career.

“ There are your radish seeds everyone.” Said Mr. Susick. The whole class looked around at each other with a blank confused face. It was the first day of junior year in my English class. Mr. Susick started talking about how our first assignment would be to grow radishes. We were all thinking, how in the world does gardening relate to English class. I had heard about this project from previous juniors but none of them said what the real reason was. All Mr. Susick said was that you need to let the project teach itself and get into nature. He left us with one bit of information along with the requirements to start. The main goal of the assignment was to extract your own universal truths. For the first time in English class,

As a writer, I find myself getting lost. Typically, when I go to start writing I hit a brick wall. It’s as if all my thoughts suddenly escape my mind and I draw a blank. It takes me forever to conjure up some form of a thesis and then takes even longer to figure out what I should write to support it in a way that makes sense. Then, attempting to find a way to organize my ideas and put them together in cohesive paragraphs seems like an impossible task in the moment. It is not uncommon for me to get flustered and just throw something down on the paper because I get anxious seeing how much work is left to do. If I end up going back to read it over prior to submission,

In contemplation of becoming a writer, there are certain duties, special skills and talents, as well as certain education to take into consideration. Some of the things you may be expected to do are: plan out ideas, edit to satisfy needs of self and others, and actually write. Depending on what is being written, you

I’m not a notable writer, nor have I really wanted to join the writing industry. However, I have been interested in other people’s writing. From their deep meanings, content, and different formats/styles. It’s a wondrous creation made from within our imagination and experiences. It has inspired me to write too. I’ve been writing most of my life that it has become a necessity. And now from my past experiences with writing, I try my best to improve my skills as a writer for the future.

Would you believe me if I told you that masters of any art still practice the skills that got them to where they are now? This might not come as a surprise to most, but success and perfection is measured in time. Repetition is key when talking about mastering skills. There are many steps that have helped me through my writing process. Thinking planning, and revision are skills that have made me a better writer. These skills are crucial for becoming a better writer because it decides the volume of my work and makes sure the reader understands my intent.

Writing has always been a love – hate relationship of mine. In the past, I have had many writing experiences, both good and bad. I find many things involved with writing both simple and difficult. But in the end, I hope to become a better writer, so it can play an important role in my future.

My post secondary goal after high school is to go to the Vet Tech Institute of Pittsburgh to become a veterinarian technician within a span of eighteen months. I am hoping this Honors English course will help to improve my writing skills, note taking skills, and get me use to the type of things I will experience in college. If I were to improve as a writer it would benefit me by improving my ability to do lab write-ups. If I incorporate my grammar skills into my vocabulary it will also benefit me in seeming to be a more intelligent young adult, which will hopefully cause the teachers to take me more seriously. By becoming a better writer I could become a better student altogether. Becoming a better note taker is a skill I really hope I adapt

My experience with writing has been very up and down because I have a hard time focusing on the topic. I would say that’s something I need to honestly work on because my attitude is if I'm not into it then I'm not doing it simple. Some of my past teachers in high school said that I could write but I honestly don’t know about now. I'll admit that I've gotten lazy in the sense that if I'm not into the work then I'll just pass it with a D or just retake it. I need to get out of that and just suck it up and get it over and done with.

"Sometimes you gotta let something bad happen, or else you wont know how to fix things when they go wrong later."