Throughout high school writing papers and essays were very difficult for me, almost every assignment I would seek help from others. Whether it was from my fellow students, family members, or teachers, their advice helped me tremendously. My senior year I took a Creative Writing course, which I believe helped me a lot, because I would struggle to write a paragraph, but now I can put a paper together. Coming into college I knew writing was a major skill to conquer, but I still feel like I can improve a lot yet. Furthermore, my critical reading skills need much improvement, I have no problem reading a passage or book; however, I do have trouble with comprehending what I read.
Writing can be a challenge to foreign students, but taking the writing courses and understanding the writing process are very important and stepping stone for further education. During my EN 101A semester, I had worked particularly on the use of the writing process particularly on writing a vibrant thesis statement which offers a concise solution to the issue being addressed. I had struggled to improve my expository writing through working at the writing center. In addition, I had also worked on improving my critical thinking which helped me to develop analytical skills in an effort to add my own thoughts, contemplate a particular topic and analyze important issues. My weakest area in essay development during the semester was identifying a clear thesis statement which was crucial part of the writing process.
There is a thin line for me between a strong and passionate tone. In my eyes a strong tone is when I feel very heavily towards something and a passionate tone is when I feel very deeply about something, and the tone is just how I use those feelings to create a meaning in an essay. By having a strong and concise tone throughout my essay I am able to incorporate some passion into my final essay, by having the small bit of passion I am able to bind a small bit of myself into each paper I write. I 've always been drawn to writing so by having an organized way to tuck myself into it I find that overly exciting. I find that the passionate tone is best incorporated into the final draft and revising stage because then I am able to put meaning where I found there wasn 't enough in my essay.
I usually have an idea in my mind, but I cannot always put those words into a sentence that is grammatically correct. When I put these thoughts into a sentence it does not always flow, and sometimes my paper sounds out of place and repetitive. I tend to write papers how I speak instead of actually grammatically correct. I took the advice of proofreading my paper, as well as, have a friend read it for any grammar mistakes. Another major problem I have as a writer is figuring out how to start my essay in the introduction, especially the ones I had never written before.
Throughout this course, I have struggled with developing an idea I am trying to deliver, and I have also struggled with sentence structure and punctuation; however, I have made some progress in being able to write precise, articulate sentences and organize my thoughts through the paper, I still have to work on improving my writing skills. My greatest weakness in writing is writing deficiencies; I have plenty. Developing the message I am trying to deliver in my writing is very challenging because I struggle figuring out how to add on to my ideas. I am the opposite of being a proficient at this task. Most of the
During my high school years I wasn’t that good of a writer. I thought this composition class was going to be hard since I sometimes thought it was hard in high school. My writing experience was good and sometimes bad. This semester in the composition class I had many writing strengths and weaknesses. These strengths and weaknesses is what helped me learn the errors I was making while writing essays this semester.
Teachers must understand why writing is important and its development before trying to teach it. However, many teachers lack this knowledge (Graham, Gillespie, & McKeown, 2012). Most believe that the desire to write comes from basic writing strategy instruction and student motivation. Though motivation plays an important role in learning, the lack of these basic writing strategies results in low motivation (Lan, Hung & Hsu, 2011). Many believe that students should be motivated to write in order for them to be successful, however, Graham (2006) has found that writing development is shaped by all of these factors: strategies, skills, knowledge, and motivation.
Trimble included a chapter “Openers” which focused on creating interesting and elaborate openers for any type of writing. Creating openers with depth and complexity is a skill I have struggled mastering my entire writing career. I was always taught to start with my introductory paragraph and thesis. It was always difficult to start the essay and once the first paragraph was completed the rest was easier to write. My introductory paragraphs always lacked in complexity which was not a good thing.
Writing is a process I’ve grown to despise. Ever since grade school, I’ve had problems trying to express my ideas on paper. My writing process involves thinking about what’s being asked and trying to reflect my thoughts the best way I can on paper, but my thoughts don’t always come out as clear as I want them to be sometimes leaving a question not fully answered. My writing process isn’t a consistent set in stone process, but since being in ENC 1101 I always follow some of the same parameters such as revising my drafts, grammar usage and considering context and audience. According to Donald M. Murray in The Makers Eye: Revising Your Own Manuscripts “A piece of writing is never finished”.
Writing is a skill that must be mastered through practice; thus, one cannot be proficient at it if he or she does not have enough practice. Despite how hard it is for me to formulate ideas for my essay, every time I sit and concentrate on writing, a multitude of ideas begin to flood my brain. I do not have a tremendous amount of experience in writing because in my country we do not write as much as students do in the United States due to a heavier emphasis on mathematical courses verses English literature. However, what I have come to learn is that writing plays an important role in achieving success in the academic life of a college student.