The Fall Semester Viewing Myself As A Non Writer

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.

Throughout the course of this semester, I have continuously grown as a writer. Prior to taking this course, I had little experience or knowledge when it came to writing. I used to struggle with forming my thoughts into writing, let alone a paper. I was never confident with what I wrote. My writing had no greater purpose other than the assignment. My writing process included: writing my paper, proofreading it, and turning it in. Once the paper left my hands, it also left my mind. Throughout this course we worked with others, visited the writing lab, wrote critiques, and we were able to revise our papers. I believe that all of this is has caused me to grow greatly as a writer.

Over the course of this semester I learned a lot about myself as a writer. This English 101 class has really allowed me to expand my essay structure and ways of thinking. This was my first college writing course and it has given me much more freedom when writing because in high school I felt limited and like what we were writing was not very important. In high school I would write essays to just to fulfill the required word or page count and to a degree I still feel like this but maybe that is why I am an engineering major but in this course I actually was able to express my ideas and for the first time really test the limits of my writing capabilities. I really enjoyed being able to incorporate my voice more in my essays and I believe

I learned that you are not only writing for your own benefit, your writing for your classmates, teachers and peers as well. It helps you gain common knowledge that you may not have known otherwise, as well as teaching us research skills that we will need later in life due to the rise is technology use. I have learned that research is a part of life and you will need it throughout college. Writing has helped me understand things I was unable to comprehend before, and gives me a feeling of capability. As Frederick Douglas, an African American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman, once wrote, “Thus, after a long, tedious effort for years, I finally succeeded in learning how to write” (McQuade and Atwan). At the beginning of the semester, I would have never guessed that I would finish this course on a positive note; however, I finished, and it was not as difficult as I thought it would

This semester has been full of different types of writing styles and writing topics. Throughout the semester of being in College Writing One we wrote a visual critique, critical review, rhetorical analysis, and an argument synthesis essay. All of the types of writings came with the struggles, strengths, and the learning parts to them. Overall writing all those different types of styles and topics I feel like I have become a little bit of a better writer than I was when I walked into the class back in January.

Throughout the course of freshmen year I have developed different skills and opinions on writing. I feel I have created a more mature style of writing and a better understanding of literature. I have changed my view of writing over this semester and acquired a strong liking for it. The importance of writing has become more visible throughout the past few months. Writing is crucial in many aspects of a person’s life. I have grown to be a more powerful and well built writer throughout this course.

With this being my first year in college I expect my skills and relationship with writing to improve drastically this semester. Along with improving my skills I hope to accomplish my goals of being more confident in my writing because I tend to second guess myself. Also I have a habit of worrying that my words wont come out the way I would like them to. I hope to

College writing to me is a new chapter in my life. I am only a junior in high school, which means I have quite a ways to go when it comes to learning and maturing as a person. As I take on this new chapter I expect to see my writing change along with me, for I’ll have new experiences and feelings to put forth in my writing.

As for college so far this year, my writing has improved. English 101 has taught me more about developing my papers than what I previously knew about writing. Revision is an important part when finalizing any of my papers. As I wrap up writing each essay, going back over it to make sure that it all the readers will understand the point of the paper. As this semester comes to an end, I am able to gain insight of structure through the significance of the PIE format, more organized ideas, and rereading sentences with correct use of grammar.

I have never been an excellent student and perennially struggled with English, Math, and Science growing up. These subjects would cast a pall over my day and school work. Anxiety would well up inside of me which often resulted with me passed out across my desk sleeping through parts of class. When I would return home at day’s end, I rarely completed my homework. When I did try to complete homework, it often ended in tears of frustration or the hurling of a book across the room. Taking this class has helped to quell a portion of that anxiety and frustration. It was a grueling class, seemingly impossible at times, but taking this class has given me the confidence to know that not only can I finish the class if I work hard but can also excel! Writing is something that I will exercise throughout my college curriculum and my life. It will help to convey my ideas to the instructor, peers, bosses, and co-workers. In my college curriculum, it will also show my instructors that I’m learning the information provided and how to apply that knowledge appropriately. It will allow me to complete assignments, discussions, and reports, and I will also apply writing in basic communication when necessary.

This semester was my very first semester as a college student. Being the first, it was probably the semester I would learn the most in. I learned the expectations for writing that I will have to live up to for the next four years of my college career. Though my high school teachers were usually demanding because I was in the Honors English section throughout high school, writing in college has still ?raised the bar? for me. Also, in high school, we would have weeks to pick a topic, create a thesis, outline the paper, write the paper, and then revise the paper. In college, the time restraints are not quite as lenient. I?ve had to learn to manage my time and be more productive with what free moments I

Okay, the time had come. I must sign up for a University Writing Program (UWP) class at the University of California, Davis, a requirement I greatly feared. I pushed back signing up for the class until my last a final quarter as a student because I thought to myself, “I am a horrible writer!” Being able to put my thoughts into words onto paper purposed a struggle. Therefore, I organized my classes where I would be able to dedicate a lot of time to my UWP class because I knew I would need it.

When I look back at my writing before having any college experience, I can see that I had a lot to work on. I can say that I was never really a big fan of writing anything much less essays. Even when I was younger, I just did not have a great big interest in writing. This was because I felt that I could not elaborate as well as others. I was not use to having to write anything really, but I now feel that I have a better grasp on the steps that I need to take to get my writing on the level that it needs to be.

Well, my first semester in college is coming to an end and I have learned many things about myself, my learning and most specifically my writing. My writing 101 class was a bit of a culture shock for me. I was surprised by the amount of freedom we had in that class and how much I didn’t actually know about writing. Our class’s instructions were to keep a blog of what we were feeling or thinking while writing each essay over the course of the semester. With each essay and blog post, I learned more and more about my writing style and what I liked to write about.

I honestly can say I have grown as a writer over the years. Since the semester has started I feel like I have accomplished a lot in my writings. As the semester comes to an end I find myself reflecting not only how I have improved as a writer the first semester but also what I have learned. The most important thing I have learned so far is how to