Young Writer's Program Analysis

In literary education, from childhood to maturity, individuals are taught how to write not to improve themselves as critical thinkers, but to fulfill the requirements given to them in a prompt. Whether to analyze or argue, this form of writing has led to a cease of literary improvement in students today, making many question the effectiveness of writing classes. Mike Bunns, in his article “To Read like a Writer”, explores this topic and stresses the necessity for young readers to critically examine the author’s choices in order to improve their own pieces of work. Bunns effectively argues to his audience of college students that improved comprehension comes from focusing on the rhetorical choices authors decide to make in their compositions by tying personal narratives with repetitive questioning throughout his article.

In my childhood I was not taught the fundamentals of proper writing. Nor was it influenced in my household to dedicate time for writing. My father owned his own business, therefore, I always saw him writing inventory and receipts. As for my mother, I can recall her writing down messages from phone calls. At school I found little to no growth in my writing. When I did face a task that required legible writing I would seek help from my friend Sandra. This class is by far the first English course I have taken were I could truly say lectures are broken down enough for me to develop satisfactory growth. I am still a developing writer, but I have made a lot of progress because of influences of my own desire to learn, Professor Anna C. Morrison, and

Prior to attending Mrs. William’s English Comp 1 class, I felt marginally confident about my writing, however, I knew I needed improvement. You visually perceive, I’ve been out of school for proximately thirty-three years and honestly, not knowing what to expect these questions arose, “Can I genuinely write”? “What type of writing will be required”? “How well will I do”? When I stepped into the classroom and gazed about the room, I felt out of my element. The students were much younger and more keenly intellective than recollections but, I was here for a reason and that was to improve my writing. During my childhood, reading was a passion of mine, reading often and reading more books than I can recollect. As I reflect, reading a great deal

From an early age I have been passionate about reading. Like seriously, when I was five years old I was upset that I didn’t get the newest Little Mermaid book for Christmas. However, I have never had an interest in writing. Unfortunately, as I plan to go to graduate school to obtain my Ph.D, I really cannot avoid it. Over the years, my lack of enthusiasm about writing has caused me to view most English classes as a chore, something I needed to do in order to advance to what I really wanted to do with my life. With the risk of sounding like a suck-up, this is one of the first English classes I have valued because I have felt like I improved some aspect of my writing in each essay.

As long as I can remember, writing has always played a major part in my life. In the eighth grade at North Middle School I had Mrs. Parent as an English teacher. Not only did she have beautiful handwriting, which inspired me to mimic her writing style, but she had a natural love for teaching and assuring that I wrote about what came natural to me. When I got to Lima Senior High School, I was placed in accelerated English with Mrs. Stepleton. Although she didn’t have the best handwriting, she pushed me with every assignment. We read: A Tale of Two Cites, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Great Gatsby, and the Catcher and the Rye. All of which are voted on every top 100 best novel list I have ever seen. Not only did she push me to read these

When I entered your classroom on the first day of school this year, I was confident that what I had learned in previous years was sufficient enough to call myself an experienced and competent writer. However, I discovered throughout the semester that this confidence hindered my ability to improve in the beginning. The first few days of analyzing essays and literary works was something I had never experienced before, opening up my eyes to a side of literature and the English language that I previously did not pay any attention to. After we finished writing our very first in-class essay, I was extremely surprised to see that the score I earned was a 6. But when I look back on that very first essay, I am even more surprised to see what I could improve using the knowledge and strategies I learned in AP Junior English.

When I began this writing course, I was asked what I hoped to accomplish. I even wrote a reflective essay as a journal entry on the topic. Looking back at the essay and reading it again, I am struck by how much I have learned in such a brief time span. My initial concerns were surrounded in a perceived fear of academia. I was insecure in my ability to convey thoughts in a structured academic format. I still take time to consider these concerns. However, this course boosted my confidence in my ability to learn to write academically, and effectively.

“Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardor and diligence.” On the first day of school when I walked into this classroom, little did I how great of an impact this class would have on my life. Not only did I greatly improve my writing, reading, thinking, and speaking skills, but as a human being overall. Despite all the long, sleepless nights, I am grateful for what this class has provided me. This class has shown me that individuals always have room for improvement, and this improvement can be reached through hard work and dedication. With all the knowledge I received from this class, from individualism to the horrors of indifference, I hope to not let this information stray within my mind, but to share it amongst

As a scared, apprehensive Sophomore, I took my first steps into English 111. Fears of failure, scary college processors, and intimidation from older classmates swirled through my head. Though not my first college class, I was more nervous of this one than those prior. Before this class I had only taken basic college classes (like ACA and Gym) and felt both excited and nervous to finally be a part of the college side of Early College. For the first time I was going to be with other college students, in a more college like situation. I was horrified to say the least. However, despite my fear, I began to grow and expand in this class. My writing, planning, and perseverance were all tested, and I kept pushing through. I enriched my English knowledge by coming to class engaged, prepared, and showing great determination and responsibility that affirmed my growth in this class. Even through my struggle, I managed to stay at the top of my class, still trying to the best of my ability. Though many times I was exhausted, confused, and heart heavy with defeat, I managed to try again.

I am similar to the novelist Anne Tyler because she once said “If I waited ‘til I felt like writing, I’d never write at all.” This is me all too well because if I also waited until I “felt” like writing I would not ever write either. Writing is not something I do for fun; it is like a chore. In this paper I will discuss what kind of student I am, how strong my formal English writing skills are, any special needs I have, my major, and dream job.

Since my initial writing assignments, it is apparent that my writing has dramatically improved. Initially, virtually all of my writing was largely descriptive. However, irrespective of how the writing was descriptively exciting, my essays lacked a coherent structure and organization. They were like a shapeless cake without layers. They lacked the right coherency that enables a reader to understand a piece of writing in a proper order.

Have you ever had something in your life that has made you ask yourself, “What were you doing with your life before I came? Something that has unknowingly changed your life forever? That’s what writing has done to me. Writing has shaped me to become the person that I am today. I was not always as driven as I am today, but because of my errors in writing, I started to strive to be the best version of myself. I started writing my own stories when I was a freshman in High school; it was mid-February of 2010 and school was going to be over in a month. I was only twelve, and I had no background in writing novels whatsoever. All I knew was, I had tons and tons of ideas that I had to write on paper, and so I began writing. It was a sunny afternoon, you could hear the birds chirping, the wind whistling and the most prominent sound of all was the teacher’s voice echoing

Throughout my high school English class career, I have learned an array of concepts. Beginning with freshman year, I reviewed the basic concepts of writing and how to respond to literature. Then, in sophomore year I discovered how to write in a formal, educated manner. So far in junior year, I have learned different approaches to analyzing literary works. The key topics I have learned in high school English classes are the steps to writing and polishing a paper, how to write formally and common style and grammar mistakes.

Through our life, ignorance is replaces by knowledge, and it is from that knowledge that we gain wisdom. Writing is an art from, one that has been developed and revised for over hundreds of years. History may teach us that we repeat are same mistakes, but that does not change the fact that life’s greatest teacher is experience, and it is experience that shapes a writing style and literacy understanding.

The comforting sound of the click-clack of the keys, the smell of freshly printed words, the crisp feeling of having finished writing a master piece. For some, the art of writing is a frightening feat that has the equivalent appeal of being water-boarded. If you would have told me five years ago that I would be forced to write a five-paged essay with the use of scholarly books as well as peer-reviewed articles, I would have silently wept tears of fear. My writing is something that has taken me years to evolve and continues to be a learning process. From a young age I had always done everything in my power to escape having to write. I felt as if I lacked some magical ability to connect. I feared that my readers would not be able to grasp my message. For some obscure reason I felt that I was not capable of reaching pass the margins of the page and into my reader’s minds. But if this class has taught me anything it is how to push past my own mind and enter a world of ambiguity, obscurity, and creativity.