Personal Narrative: To Become A Better Writer

My writing experiences have been minimal. So far I have only learned the basics of writing, like forming sentences and forming sentences to put into paragraphs. I can tell that my writing has improved throughout the years. I hope to improve in writing essays, paragraphs, stories, and speeches so that I have no errors with editing and creating the final product. I predict that I will be a well rounded writer when I graduate from Newman University.

While not a hugely transformative venture, I have found this semester to be a good vehicle for making my writing more accurate to its intended purpose. Prior to taking this class I did have some experience in professional writing for a few of the jobs I've had in the past, but this class organized those thoughts, gave them name, and pointed out where and how to pursue them. Its been an enlightening experience and provided me with tools I hope to use the rest of my life.

I can still remember my heart pounding out of my chest. It was my first time in Writing 1, and my nerves were mostly the result of a friend’s advice. Winter quarter, my friend told me about her struggles in her writing class and she advised me not to take Professor Bernstein for Writing because as she said “he is really tough and a very hard grader.” However, I had no other option but to take writing with Professor Bernstein because all the other writing 1 classes conflicted with my schedule. Nevertheless, nine weeks have past since I first stepped foot in Writing 1, and I can certainly say that I have learned more than I ever expected. Yes, it is true, this class has been a challenge like no other, especially for me, being that English is

My goal for this course was to learn as much as I could and develop my writing skills. My goal was broad and I believe that I have learned a lot in this course and had many opportunities to develop my writing skills. But my learning will not stop with the end of this course. I will continue to learn as much as I can, as often as I can. Written communication if important, not only in academics, but in my life outside of the University. There is always something to learn.

My growth as a writer was evident in my second peer review. In contrast to the first review, I offered comments concerning sentence structure, grammar, parallelism, APA style, and clarity as well (C. Twyman, personal communication, May 2015). It was obvious that my understanding of scholarly writing had improved. I was starting to see how the conventions of writing worked together to form a complete paper, however I was still unsure about my ability to analyze competent scholarly writing. Although my comments had increased in variety, I still found myself unsure about how to give appropriate directives. In communication with Cheryl, I wrote, “maybe reword this” (C. Twyman, personal communication, May 2015). This short but sweet comment

I started my freshman year at Bridgewater as a biology major. I had a full load of mainly biology core courses and a couple general education classes. When I took Effective Writing with Dr. Cook spring semester of my freshman year I realized that I wanted to work with and analyze real life situations. I wrote and researched how a tragedy leads to changes in the way people act and see things in a different perspective. I compared the how the victims of the plane crash of the Uruguayan rugby players, and the Chilean miners who were stuck in a mine reacted to everyday situations. The research and different writing opportunities made me realize that I was in the wrong field of study. After discussing several options with the academic dean, I declared

I switched back and forth between tabs as I waited for something new to appear, so it could entertain my mind. Why was no one online at three in the morning? And why did I still have an incomplete book in front of myself?

I have been reading and writing for as long as I can remember. I always enjoyed reading and writing stories, even when I wasn’t in school. While reading had never been much of a struggle, I always had a hard time writing my thoughts down on paper the way that I wanted. The earliest recollections I have of myself learning to read is when I was about five years old. My mother wasn’t there when I started to learn how to read. She was deployed in Iraq at the time and I would read to her over the phone every time I got the chance. Another memory I have of my road to literacy is when I was in the first grade. Once or twice a week, we would take out our writing notebooks and write about whatever we wanted. I would usually write about what I did

For the past four years, I have been involved with the production of The Rubicon and RubicOnline, St. Paul Academy and Summit School’s monthly hybrid newsmagazine. During my time on staff, I learned how to lead, prioritize deadlines, and overcome obstacles.

The sound of Carmine’s snoring from across the hall forces its way through my closed door and into my room. It wakes me before my alarm this morning. I’m not sure what time he came in last night, but I must have been in a deep sleep. Slowly, I go through the motions of my morning routine. Taking care not to wake Carmine, I finish getting ready and leave him a note to tell him I’ll be at the library all day. Just as I finish checking my assignments and pack my book bag for the library, I hear my phone ping with a new text message.

I have always been passionate about writing. From a young age, I would wake up on Saturdays and run straight to the computer to pour all of my thoughts into whatever story I would imagine that week. It brought me great delight and pleasure to express my thoughts in a way over which I had free reign, creating beings and worlds without limit or restraint of reality. I see writing as my best and most natural form of communication.

For many years, they lived on campus in Margaret Nance because she was a RA and we laughed and talked about the highs and lows about living on campus; Summers used to be a driver for Pepsi and didn't have a clue to what he was doing when he first got the job, but has endurec being here over two decades. Alford worked here part-time while she attended Winthrop and after graduating she had a daughter five days later and decided to become full-time. Entering the building, one is blinded with awards from SCPA given to these great writers for the many great articles they've all written over the past 15 years. All in all, everyone seems content in what they do, but unfortunately, they haven't gotten a raise in nine years (how awful is that)?

Writing sucks! It is one of the things I used to dread about the most in high school. I dislike it when instructors would ask us to write such long essays. I dislike it when I have to participate in writing challenges because teachers would randomly pick a student. Nonetheless, winning in those challenges heightened my self-confidence. I thought I hated writing, but I was somewhat decent and I started to like it a bit more. However, things took a sharp turn when I had two writing classes entering college. I realized I was not a decent writer after all.

What is a writer? A writer is a person who writes stories, books, poems ect. Throughout my early years of school when it came to writing I felt that it was never my strong suit. There are many difficulties people face when writing, some that I have faced was writers block and proper grammar. When an essay or writing assignment was giving it would take me hours to complete due to writer’s block. I had a hard time organizing thoughts and not being able to stay focused this made it difficult to write. That was one major reason but another was grammar, punctuation plays a huge role. When writing Not knowing where to place certain marks and commas also made writing difficult for me to write a proper essay. Writing for me had been a challenge but has gotten better with time.

Writing is something that I find relaxing and freeing. Whether I am overwhelmed with school, giddy about an upcoming trip, or just want to create a story- I always turn to writing. My mind becomes clear of the thoughts that were present before I picked up a pen and paper, and I feel as though I can create more than words… I am capable of creating a piece of art for those around me to read. However, I am feel like I cannot do this without silence and the serenity that is found only when I am alone at night.