How To Be An Effective Writer

Upon entering Columbia College, writing was one of my weaker areas. It was very important that I gained the necessary knowledge and confidence to become a better writer. I didn’t know how to express myself and felt as though my writing was not my interest. As a result of taking English 101, I have gained a better understanding on how to properly research and build a satisfactory paper. Every paper that was assigned seemed like a struggle to complete. Before entering this class, I did not know the meaning of a thesis or why it was important, however, I obtained this skill quickly. I noticed that every paper has an argument and the thesis helps clarify the rebuttal. Now, I have a new outlook on writing. It’s a way to express my thoughts and allow others to see things through my eyes. There is no doubt that I still have a long way to go, but I know if I continue to write, I will get better. Just as I developed more skills in class, the various papers assigned helped to better structure the writer in me. In addition, the subject areas were not only interesting, but very informative and made it much easier to write about my experiences.

What is your main writing strategy? Why do you use it? What one other strategy apart from those on the list do you use? Are your strategies dependent on the type of text you are composing?

I see myself as a creative person and one of the ways to express my creativity in the past has been through my writing. Most of my experience with writing has been enjoyable, which led to all my writing assignments for school to be tolerable. I not only see higher level writing as a chance to pass a class and get a good grade, but I also see how it leads me to better express my interests and points of view on whatever I choose to write about.

This portfolio is a great example of how I improved as a writer. This second semester of duel enrollment English has helped me improve not only on becoming a better writer but as well as becoming more mature as a person and has helped me with time management. This portfolio includes the three best pieces that I have written this whole year. I hope you enjoy these pieces as much as I enjoy them.

One of the biggest things people will face is being able to complete their work, rather than find excuses not to. I would hope this is not a dilemma many of us will face, especially since getting our graduate degree requires a lot of dedication. aPy takes time and developing a good writing habit also come along with time. As you alluded to writing a draft may be a good idea, this way you can have that first draft proofread for errors. I remember when I started writing I use to have my paper proofread by the most anal person ever and even though it was frustrate the amount of errors they found it helped improve my writing. Sometimes you may find a professor who is very meticulous about how they want a paper presented and the also can

Typically, after being assigned an essay, my first step used to be sitting in front of the computer and starting to type aimlessly with no specific goal in my mind. This process usually ends up taking hours, and I do not end up accomplishing much at the end. This year, I plan to formulate a new process that will hopefully improve my writing exceptionally. Breaking down the essay writing into pieces will result in quality content. The writing process that I devised incorporates some of the basic elements of writing such as: prewriting, revising, and editing.

My entire life, reading and writing have always been my weaknesses. Coming from a Hispanic household, the way things are said and written does not usually translate the same way to English. As much as I have always tried to push myself and keep improving, I feel like I have reached a point where I need a small push and guidance to take my writing to the next level. From my high school, I learned a lot of writing technics and have some small grammar lectures every now and then. Writing my research papers, preparing speeches, and all the college essays have given me lots of practice with different writing styles and methods. Yet, I still have not found one that I feel the most confident in. This semester, I truly wish to improve the transitions

The three writing principles I would most like to improve are short sentence usage, limit prepositional phrases, and avoid redundancy. I am consistently extending my sentences and combining what could be two sentences or perhaps even three, However, know that I am aware that readers comprehend shorter sentences better I will strive to short the length (Cardon, 2013). However, I will be mindful not to make my writing too broken up.

All my life I have struggled with English due to the fact that I did not learn English till the age of seven, as it was not the first language. Programs like ESL have helped me improve my English tremendously through high school. Over these past two quarters in college, I learned to improve my writing more than ever, as I have learned that there is no limit in writing. I was able to learn many new strategies that will help me write my future papers efficiently. I have also learned my strengths and weakness. Throughout high school, I dreaded writing essays, due to the fact that I was not good at it, but this quarter I have learned the importance of writing. Writing 20 has changed my opinion on that.

What I want to know sixteen weeks from now (That I do not know now)

My writing skills have improved over the past months. I can proudly admit that I am a better writer than I was five months ago. Five months ago I was a terrible writer, I’m not admitting that I am as good as an Arthur now, but I can state that I am more comfortable with my writing skills at this point. I worked hard to get to the point that I'm at with my writing. I can not deny the fact that there is still room for practice and improvement in my writing because I lacks the fundamentals of writing, but I am grateful that my writing skills have improved significantly.

How often do I spend time writing? I spend very little time writing because I lack interest in and would rather text or call when communicating with others. Personally, I probably write only a few times a week which consists of writing notes to my parents if need be. I make use of the technology in which I am given since it’s available and reliable for me to use rather than writing notes. Technology and texting has ruined my writing style and ability to write in a professional manner since I use slang and abbreviations almost every day. My plan and goal is to learn how to properly write at a college level by the end of this semester.

This for me was a very hard question to answer due to the fact that its an opinion, and there are very many types of writing. Different structures, ideas, metaphors, and concepts. You have to remember to ask, whether the writing in itself is good in my point of view or not, has to answer to my specific guidelines which in your case might not be the same. The first and foremost of the many guidelines is how the author set's up the introductory sentence or better yet, the hook. If the author for example, is writing a cook-book, his first sentence should be appealing to the sense of taste. For example, If you are writing on how to bake a chocolate cake, you can sound appealing by saying, it will almost feel like you added a hint of heaven

Great writers usually are not born that way, they have been able to perfect the writing process. While writing does come easier to some more so than others, we all have the opportunity to become great writers. Before you begin drafting your paper, prewriting is the first step that will help assist making the writing process easier, and help you become a better writer. When beginning the writing process, you will need to ask yourself questions about the topic, collect and write down facts and ideas, and then organize and form your main idea to draft your paper or essay.

As an accounting major, my writing is expected to be professional. What my coach would expect from my writing is to be clear and concise. It should not have any grammatical or spelling mistakes. It should also allow my coach to identify the person I am, through my writing. It should also be as accurate as possible and the information should be to the point. Other than that, it should be readable and easy to understand. Last but not least, my writing should be polished.