The Value Of My Writing

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.

While writing might seem like a simple task, it can be a daunting task for a lot of people. Sometimes it can be hard to express the ideas in your mind in the words of a paper. This results in a disconnect with what a writer may actually think. A great writer is one that can transform his thoughts into words perfectly. This is a craft that takes many years to perfect, which is why writing is troublesome for a lot of us. Many students also have had bad experiences with writing. Maybe they had a teacher that didn’t try to support them and their writing. They might not have ever gotten the help they needed and may feel that they are in a hole where their writing can’t get better. At this point, they just accept that their writing will never get better.

It is essential to understand that classes taken in grade school do not give students a full understanding of each subject. With the topic of writing, there will always be a new lesson to learn, an aspect to improve, or a differing way to explain. Author Craig Vetter states in Bonehead Writing, “This is your enemy: a perfectly empty sheet of paper. Nothing will ever happen here except what you make happen.” Each story, essay, or response comes from a writer’s experiences. With each attempt at a new piece comes an underlying story of emotions the writer is facing. Each person’s writing is unique and the ideas people have are related to their past experiences and what they believe to be familiar with when deciding which writing style to use. As a high school student, I have learned many things about writing that helped me become the improved writer I am today, but the most essential advice I have received is practice makes perfect. Although there is no actual perfect way of writing, I have discovered that each essay I write, my writing improves. It is easier to spot mistakes, find areas to improve, and ponder elevated word choice to use.

In Dan Berrett’s article, “Students Come to College Thinking They’ve Mastered Writing,” the idea of freshman thinking they are or must be a refined writer is discussed. Students may think this way coming into college, but their teachers do not. While students might feel satisfied and think that they are prepared with their writing skills, professors found that these students did not necessarily meet the expected level (Berrett 1). Many students reported that they would normally write around 25 hours every week. They said that most of those hours of writing was for more formal purposes like passages to make changes in society (Berrett 1). It was found that one reason the new students might feel this way is that their assumptions about writing differed greatly from those of faculty members and their expectations. One big thing that students will not get for a while, is that good writing is not just listed as a bunch of steps one is to follow that automatically make one’s writing good. Good writing requires one to be in different mental states; it requires the understanding of how to write for different audiences and different reasons (Berrett 2). Berrett includes in the article that writing is not just universal and that in order to do very well, writers must use different forms of writing specifically for their purpose (2). It seems as though students think that, before they even take a class, they are supposed to know everything about writing; in reality, they are supposed to learn new skills and enhance others (Berrett 2). Berrett says that many believe the schools these students previously attended with their test focus might cause these feelings about writing (2). Berrett ends his article by saying that students these days do not think that informal writing actually counts as writing, and that students should practice writing for informal purposes because it can help them (2). Even if they feel like it, students are not fully prepared to write in all contexts when they arrive at college.

When presented with the question, “who are you as a writer?”, I was speechless at first. But after thinking about it, I realized who I am as a writer has been influenced by so many different sponsors throughout my life and there was not a short, concrete answer. Brandt mentions that “literacy is sponsored by people, institutions, and circumstances that both make it possible for a person to become literate and shape the way the person actually acquires literacy.” (Brandt 43) My attitude towards writing has been influenced by teachers, both negatively and positively, by my mother, and by academic assignments over the years. My answer to the question can only be answered by a narrative of my writing life. I have convinced myself that I am a terrible writer, and when presented with a writing assignment, I get anxious instantly. I see writing as a burden and a huge obstacle that gets placed in my life. Academic writing is not fun, but something I value due to the fact that we are a grade driven society. When writing, I write to the guidelines in order to receive points for the requested criteria. The reason being, I gave up on expressing my own ideas because I had been shut down by so many teachers throughout my education. I tried to write down what came to my mind and put my own twist on things, but that was not the “right” way to write papers. In order to make both my teachers and my grades happy, I wrote what they wanted to hear, and even then I was not to the level they

To many people, writing is either considered a task, or an activity. There are also different types of writing for people to enjoy. In Josh Keller’s “Studies Explore Wether the Internet Makes Students Better Writer”, Keller describes how the internet has made students far better writers. He also describes how many students have described their dislike for academic writing but prefer their own personal blogging and/or journaling. This essay describes why struggling students often fail to write effectively because they find academic writing hard because they are not able to put their own thoughts and experiences into their essay. The idea of this essay was to describe the problems with students writing and the possible solutions for the problem. Keller mentions that the solution, that is not being pursued, is to combine academic writing with personal writing. He describes how many students write far better in their own personal writing and that these student’s personal writing

Teachers, parents, and friends often tell students exactly what the writing process should entail and how long it should take. However, the older I get, the more I realize that the writing process varies not only from person to person, but also from one writing project to the next. Throughout my years of life, I have written countless papers, ranging from a persuasive speech to an extensive research paper, and each project requires an altered version of my personal writing process. While each individual has his own writing process, there can be many similarities between different writing processes. Finding one’s individual writing process takes trial, error, and repetition. When an individual finally uncovers his unique writing process, better thought, work, and writing is produced.

The relationship that I have with writing is complicated and we don’t always get along. Although we tend to make up even when I get frustrated and want to quit. When being assigned a paper I struggle with what to write. My words seem to never come out the way I would like and I’m always having to start over and over again. It starts to get frustrating after a while. Needless to say writing isn’t one of my favorite things to do but it’s apart of our everyday lives like texting, sending emails, posting on Facebook, Twitter, and so on. I personally have only used texting as my main daily form of writing since I graduated high school. So therefore I would like to refresh my memory of what I learned in high school and widen my use of writing while in this writing course.

Logan Pearsall Smith once said, “Fine writers should split hairs together, and sit side by side, like friendly apes, to pick the fleas from each other’s fur.” All be it an overwhelmingly disgusting image, Smith’s words are true when it comes the art and science of putting pencil to paper. In the classroom, students should be able to be vulnerable, honest, accountable and “real” in their writing so that they may grow to become better writers. It is the responsibility of the teacher to insure a quality learning environment that is conducive to these three factors. Observing the writing process and identifying the experiences within, be them personal, direct or indirect, contribute to how the educator teaches students using best practices.

Writing isn’t for everyone, yet the number of people writing in this exact moment is pretty monstrous if you google it. Writing has basically been there for me since I was born, it was there when they wrote my birth certificate, when i was learning how to write my name, when i wrote my first essay, taking the STAAR tests, practicing for the AP test, to my first writing assignment for college. People are gifted with creating such rich, breathtaking, emotional, and deep work that last for generations and generations (not me), but writing has not always been a friend to me. The process of writing is not just write and your done, no you need to take time and let your ideas gush out (duh you already knew that) but also to edit and revise to make those final drafts. Writing can be a huge pain in the buttocks (ass), but it isn 't that bad. Here are some of my issues and strengths about writing and my take on it.

One of the areas in which we must all strive to improve to the best of our abilities is the potential to effectively articulate thoughts and ideas into our writing pieces. Improving my writing capability has been one of the most gratifying accomplishment because I have always been one to feel insecure about my assets as a writer. This insecurity spawns from self-awareness and knowing that writing can place you in a vulnerable state, as you allow others to perceive you personal notions and mental process. Some the most intimidating experience as a writer was having to write three essays within a short period of time because this type of task can demonstrate one’s genuine ability to both write coherently and rapidly. Due to these timed write,

I have had little experience with both academic and professional writing in my life. In high school, I had received mediocre passing grades in English classes. My professional writing consists of a few emails to colleagues throughout the day as well as disseminating information to my subordinates on a dry-erase board during pre-shift meetings. However, as I continue my education, I am beginning to see my confidence increase as my relationship with writing grows.

I’ve always thought of myself as an above average writer. Why wouldn’t I considering the praise I’d get from teachers, professors, parents and friends alike? Consequently, English became one of my favorite subjects. With little effort put forth I received exemplary marks on all my work and easily earned the approval of my English teachers. However, things began to change upon my arrival at the University of Georgia. I took my first college-level English class during my second semester of freshman year and much of the same held true, but suddenly I had to spend more than one night to create a piece worthy of an A. It was at that time that I realized that I’d completely ignored the writing process in previous years. I didn’t even really see is at a process rather more of a one and done task. I did little to no planning and my first draft was essentially my final draft. However, my ways of thinking about writing in a classroom setting changed upon my enrollment in Advanced Composition. Before, when I pictured an English class I automatically envisioned reading prose or poetry, analyzing it, and writing a paper that backed up a claim surrounding the work, but this class challenged my conventional idea of an English class. Coming into this I thought we were limited to a standard essay, but by broadening our choice of genre and topics I was able to take creative liberties and grow as a writer. Taking this class made me realize the room for

Writing has always been something I dread. It’s weird because I love talking and telling stories, but the moment I have to write it all down on paper, I become frantic. It’s almost as if a horse race just begun in my mind, with hundreds of horses, or words, running through my mind, unable to place them in chronological order. Because I struggle to form satisfying sentence structure, it takes me hours, sometimes even days, to write one paper. It’s not that I think I’m a “bad writer,” I just get discouraged easily. Needless to say, I don’t think highly of my writing skills. When I was little I loved to both read and write. I read just about any book I could get my hands on, and my journal was my go to for my daily adventures. Although it’s

I was 10 years old when I received my first formal essay assignment. This assignment set me on a path of writing fear and has been something I could not fix for nearly 30 years. Formal writing has always been a fear of mine, for a very long time. Over the years, I have been hesitant to attend any college for fear of writing assignments and classes that will be required. In the beginning of this essay, I describe how the fear of formal writing happened, the reasons it has continued to affect my confidence in writing and how I have continued to avoid any type of formal writing for 30 years. In the second part of this essay, I will describe my experiences with different writing applications and training tools used to improve formal writing.