Reflective Essay: A Writer's Experience

The Norton Field Guide to Writing covers topics about writing and composing. Several of which I was already familiar with. In chapter 2, Bullock and Weinberg express how “Many readers find it helps to annotate as they read…” (16). I have become very familiar with annotating over the years. I often use this writing method to help me understand and summarize text I come across.

Coming into this class, I wasn't sure what to expect. Of course,I expected to be writing a lot but was unsure of the type of writing and the style. I was looking forward to writing challenging pieces that stretching me creatively as a writer. I wanted to explore how to express myself in my writing because it had been a long time since I'd written a creative essay. One of my main hopes for this class was challenging myself to become a better editor of my own papers. I often find it a tedious and laborious process to find and edit the grammatical errors in my papers. However, this is an important skill that I need to develop for my future as a successful writer.

     One of the techniques I am going to use through out college is talking to

"Exercise the writing muscle every day, even if it is only a letter, notes, a title list, a

Everyone changes, no matter the time. It could be a day to day change, month to month, even a year to another year. One may not realize it, but they still change no matter what. It could be from losing weight to thinking a different way about a certain subject. Nevertheless, the writer I was before this class, and the writer that I am now are completely different writers.

Writing 101G is a class that I enjoy, and look forward to attending. I have always loved to write, but as a child I never payed attention to the basics of writing. Now, I feel that I struggle a little to catch up on the basic structure of how to write. I feel that if I had payed more attention, today I would be attempting to get a job as some sort of writer, or editor in some type of fashion magazine. I think this class, and the way Brittany teaches, got me to rethink if I could have a job like that one day. When I feel comfortable with a teacher, I am able to learn, and enjoy what I am learning. During the past month, I noticed that I have learned so much more than I did in a whole year of writing in high school. I know that there will be more progress if I put in all my effort in every paper I write rather than starting it the day before it is due. If I do save it for the last day, I will not be able to recognize what I can change to make my essay better. At this point in the year I notice that I feel that I have a lot to say in my essay, but still need help trying to do exactly what is asked.

William Wordsworth once said, “Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart.” Writing is not just about picking out words that sound good together to form a sentence. I believe the philosophy of writing is to allow people to freely express themselves. Writing gives people a freedom within themselves and grants the room to grow and discover character. I have always loved to write. Before my high school career I would use my free time to write poems and short stories, along with school essays. I have always enjoyed the way the words seem to fall out of your brain and onto the paper. During high school, my essay writing has made a drastic improvement. This first semester in Comp 110 is where I feel my writing has been at its best. I have learned many new things about my writing and writing as a whole. I believe I had the room and time to grow as a writer during Comp 110. My main focus when trying to improve my writing are my strengths and weaknesses. My weaknesses also lead me to set new goals for Comp 210.

In my early childhood, I went to John Bayne Elementary a school where expressing yourself was like screaming to a soundproof window. Even though, there were a couple teachers who actually cared and didn’t come every other friday and have the smell of there brand new check coming later that day. When I was in 6th grade, my teacher Mrs. Middleton was teaching a new concept on writing, a topic i was actually really familiar about. A topic where if i would began to write all of the truth from my lips will unapologetically spill on the paper. This topic was a concept people use the very most to let anger out, to be heard and just because teachers would say we have to match each and every other word with a rhyme people would think that they are rappers. The topic i am expressing is poetry, a lauryn hill type poetry, a maya angleou type poetry. In one of my classes, after a day of just a lesson based upon different types of poems, this would be the first time i would be able to express myself on paper without anyone with a red pen who would come and scratch words off because of “grammatic error”. When all i want to say to that pen was “I ACTUALLY MEANT WHAT YOU ARE TRYING TO ERASE AND FIX!” This day was free writing, words didn’t have to match unless people who wasnt really good at writing, that was a way they can help there poem go into length and meet the right stanza we had to reach. This day was the day poetry became my light in a dark place. But, this was not the day where i

I think back to the very first day of composition one and I remember feeling so nervous that my stomach was in knots. Maybe I was scared because it was my first college class and I hadn’t even walked across the stage at my high school graduation. However, looking back I question why I was so fearful. I could have never dreamt of the knowledge I would be gaining in just a few short months. After completing this class I can confidently say I am prepared for comp two and the rest of my college career. Thought the course of comp one I have mastered the learning objectives that will help me in future college classes including: producing an effective writing process, using correct word choice, and integrating sources by using quotes, paraphrases, and summaries.

To be completely honest my writing is average, maybe below average. I never really took writing seriously and that could be justified by simply reading my essays. Growing up my writing was decent nothing spectacular, until I reached high school I realized my writing sucked. I’m an average writer, I have had many negative and positive experiences with my writing, more negative than positive if you’d ask me.

When thinking about what effective writing is, there is no single answer as to what the definition is. Everyone has their own idea of what the most important aspects of effective writing are. This is why combining multiple people’s ideas into one concrete style allows us to open our mind to other possibilities. In our group, we all had a slightly different ideas of what the most important aspect of effective writing was. Because of this, we were able to combine all three and make a three step process of how a writer should go about generating an effective piece of writing. The three steps are, contemplate, clarify and connect. Good effective writing requires proper preparation to write a clear and concise piece of work which results in the reader's understanding of the point the writer is trying to get across.

Honestly, I started thinking about this question been a long time, until that one day when I was sixth grade, my three pages article published in a school newspaper, it was my first time calling myself as a writer. I’ve always enjoyed writing and creating because I need to express myself and improve my writing skills. Otherwise, my friend and I formed a student club in high school, and I am responsible for writing the introduction, and also I have to write the copy for many activities. That was my second time realized I am a writer. Furthermore, In my senior years of high school, I took AP psychology class, and there has one final project is to analyze one character from the baby book, minimum ten pages. When that moment I finished writing my papers, I was so proud of myself, and I become more sure I am a writer.

Coming straight out of high school and being thrown into a college-level English course can be very frightening; much like a mother leaving her child on the first day of school. Except, this time we are on our own. It is almost like we are blindly being thrown into this big pool without knowing how to swim. We are scared and almost unprepared as much of what we did in high school is nothing compared to of what college professors expect from us.

Writing for me has always been a difficult and daunting task. I always found myself asking, “Why is this required?” “How is this helping me and preparing me for my future?” “What’s the point?” However, at the completion of my writing 122 course I have come to realize how important writing is for my future. Writing is way more complex than I ever thought of it to be. I have had to ditch my old high school habits and establish new techniques that have made writing much more enjoyable and less stressful. Some may think that taking a writing course is not necessary for your future and shouldn’t be considered a “requirement” to graduate. You go through your whole life needing writing skills. No matter what profession. You will learn so many great life skills that will not only help you through this course, but the rest of your college career and life. I went into this course with little confidence in my writing ability, but that gave me motivation and a feeling of purpose for being in this course. Writing should be considered as more than just a requirement due to the fact that it is found in everyday life. The skills you learn in a college level course, such as how to properly go about doing research and annotating articles, will make writing feel less like a dreadful assignment.

When thinking about college, the first thing that may come to mind is college parties, more freedom, new experiences, and opportunities to make more friends. For some, the years spent in college will be some of the best years in life. However, aside from all the fun, college is still school and school work must be done. Essays will be written, books will be read, and sleep will be deprived. These years will definitely be a different ball game than high school, filled with many unexpected surprises. As someone whose parents did not attend college, I hope to facilitate your experience by sharing a few writing and reading strategies as well as general tips. I will explain in detail the writing process and the steps involved, the benefits of annotation, and the importance of time management.