Reflection Of Personal Writing : My Definition Of Writing

Writing is one of the most important skills that I have learned throughout my years in school. I have learned that no matter how much I love or hate it, writing is a necessity; I might as well try to be good at it. Writing has been in my life for many years. There are many types of writing, educational writing and personal writing are two that I will mention in this essay. I have learned how to allow writing to help me in my daily life. When I began writing I hated it, however, I have learned the many uses of it, and it has become a huge part of my life.

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,

At the start of this course, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I had a goal for myself to improve and learn skills that would make writing less daunting for me. I have learned so many things about my writing that I didn’t think much about before. Another goal I had was to break the cookie-cutter mold that was set upon me throughout high school. During the process of revision, I discovered many things about myself as a writer and techniques that have been effective for me in the writing process.

Over the past four months, I have made great strides as a writer. The area where I have seen the most growth is in my use of the writing process. Prior to my enrollment in this course, I would sit down and write all my papers in one sitting. This class has taught me how to lay out a plan for my papers. I have learned how to effectively brainstorm/research, draft, and revise my writings before I complete them. Also I have learned to not just stop there, instead I am now going back and reflecting on my work after I complete it. This allows me to identify where I prospered and also where my downfalls may have been. With this information, I am able to apply this to future writings of mine; lessons that will stay with me forever.

The only way you can become better at doing something is simply by continuing to work on your craft. Whether it is a hobby, an interest, or a profession, if you don't keep working, then you will remain complacent. A year ago, I thought writing was one of those things where I would just be complacent in. Not because I didn’t wanted to work harder at it, but because I thought of writing as one of those skills that came natural to you, or you did not have it at all. I always wanted my writing to improve but never knew how.

Writing is an important form of communication. It is a personal process that portrays your thoughts and views to someone else. It is not only an important skill to have for school work and certain professions, but daily messages such as emails, texts, and tweets as well. It can have a big impact on how you come across to certain people. Because of this, it is very important for me to practice writing. I believe that this course has improved my writing, which will help me in many ways in the future.

For my first semester on an actual college campus as a sixteen year old high school student, I embarked upon many new things. Making my own schedule, having more accountability for my grades and simply taking the first few steps into adulthood. As I spend more time on campus everything that seems hard and confusing will only become more adaptable with time. Everything gets better with time. I know this because throughout my experience in English Composition 1101 I have seen a proliferation in my writing process and skills.

If I compared the texts I wrote from the start of the year compared to the ones near the end of the year or in this portfolio itself, the difference is drastic. As described in the previous paragraphs I believe that my writing has improved but continued to still need adjustments and improvements made. At home I occasionally write my own pieces of literature, usually a summary of all the interesting things in the week or perhaps about a movie or sports incident. These pieces are usually not polished and are just practice to quick writing, rough pieces of literature. This could also further account to my weakness and dislike of writing creative pieces as all of these are usually quite analytical and critical of events. Meanwhile, as I reader I continue to consistently read books. Although they may not be “challenge” reads, it still counts as reading books and helps me develop my analyzing skills and my ability to decipher main messages. In the foreseeable future, I will definitely continue to read since it provides a perfect getaway for more stressful parts of life. Also reading is just in general an enjoyable experience if the book chosen is suitable for you. Unfortunately, I do not see myself to continue to write a year or two later due to the burnout of LA in school. Every year school makes students write numerous literary pieces and most, in general, are not enjoyable at all.

Coming into San Diego State University I wasn’t sure what to expect out of any of my classes, especially my writing class. In high school I had taken AP composition and language which helped me improve as a writer but even a college level high school course is not the same as an actual college class. Before college and throughout high school I didn’t think of myself as a great writer, I have always been very average at writing. At the start of the year I wasn’t a very strong writer but RWS 200 is a huge reason how I overcame challenges and became a better writer.

Voice in writing is a tricky thing. All of my public education has taught me that to write with any hint of informality is a cardinal sin. Essays are respectable, formal. Kindly leave all that artistic rubbish to the novelists. This is not how I write. I have learned how to insert my unique perspective into my work and voice is a big part of that. My voice is what makes my writing my writing. While I was quite good at analyzing works coming into this class, when it comes to writing for an audience I really did come into my own during the semester. I also learned how to ask better questions and think critically on how I went about writing. Now, with a semester under my belt, I can confidently mesh different sources into my paper, write to an audience rather than at an audience, question my reality, and cultivate a writing process to bring it all together.

The class discussions surrounding the writing process and your feedback concerning adding personality to my writing will be the subject of this week's entry. First, I'd like to address the feedback concerning the personality (or lack thereof) that you've experienced in the writings I have submit thus far. Throughout my academic career, including my experiences in the “ENG 111” course the emphasis as to what constituted excellent writing has always been placed on syntactics, correct adherence to conventions of American English grammar, and putting forth great effort to elevate diction throughout the writing process (even if such diction might detract from the overall voice or tone of the final product). These precepts of writing being ingrained

First, thank you for your honesty and your bravery in posting this. As a few other posts in this course seem to attest, many people are uncomfortable with posting something potentially negative, or even positive, from their lives and their history and would instead either spurn off the idea and topic of the assignment, or acknowledge a lack of interest and create a false narrative. You did neither.

Writing and I have never gotten along. Writing papers looms over my head like dark storm clouds. When children lack writing and reading when they are younger, they tend to struggle with writing essays as adults. I first realized this in the eighth grade when I had to write my first lengthy essay.

A writer is someone who writes in a specific way. Such as Charles Dickens, Ernest Hemingway, Mark Twain, F. Scott Fitzgerald, John Steinbeck, Emily Dickinson and William Shakespeare. All are amazing writers who were taught to understand when to use the 3 appeals and how to use each effectively. Thus making their compositions stronger and marvelous enough to last through generations upon generation.

Before taking this course my writing styles and habits were very different. I was the typical procrastinator because I would wait until the night before a paper was due to start it. This did not allow me enough time to properly proofread everything, which resulted in getting points deducted for simple grammatical errors that could have been avoided if I would have had the time to proofread. My writing styles have many strengths and weaknesses and I have been able to improve my writing because of them. I have learned from my strengths and weaknesses how to become a better writer.