Preface: A Change of Habits

"Quality is not an act, it is a habit." This quote by the Greek philosopher Aristotle exemplifies the transformation experienced, in my writing process, throughout my College Composition II course this semester. With each paper, continuous development of essential writing habits took place. In the first paper, which took the form of a personal narrative about digital literacy, a strong recognition of the importance of exigence became part of my mindset. This occured as I learned how to construct a paper around its central theme. The second essay, a profile of an Arrowhead football game, delved into the meticulous aspects of style and word choice. It provided the opportunity to allow my written language to better reflect the tone of the work. Finally, my third essay, a research paper concerning nuclear power proliferation, led into a deeper reflection of how to integrate my previously learned habits into a concise and organized structure. Each of these papers provided a forum, which enabled me to acquire new writing habits as I journeyed through the process of producing works of quality.

My first substantial writing task for this class took the form of a narrative, which revealed a personal encounter with some form of digital literacy. With this goal in mind, the graded draft carried the reader through my experiences with Dr. Randal as he introduced two types of digital literacy in the forms of medical imaging: X-rays and MRIs. The first attempt, to construct a well crafted paper, employed strong imagery, which allowed the reader to place themselves into the situation. Passages such as, "He was approximately 5 feet 6 inches tall, had dark brown eyes, and a receding hair line," painted mental pictures of the characters to my audien...

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...nd keyed the reader onto the main points.

Throughout my College Composition II course, the development of useful writing habits stimulated a fundamental change in my writing organization and style. Each paper tells a story of personal growth in unique aspects of my writing technique. I learned how the process of becoming a better writer depends on one's ability to form good habits and skills while implementing them in a cohesive writing piece: development of a central theme and meticulous editing of syntax with a focus on passive voice as well as word choice. At the same time, I must recognize how each piece of writing can always be improved to better represent my intent while refining my writing methods. Hopefully, these three essays contained within my portfolio illuminate this metamorphosis of habits, which propagated the production of quality works of writing.