Formal writing is no easy task, nor is it something that can be learned in one class. It is a learning process that must be practiced, critiqued, and studied time and time again to be perfected. As stated by my wife, a master’s level graduate student, even she continues to have difficulty constructing grammatically correct compositions when writing formal papers. Throughout this semester, I feel as though I have struggled to meet the standards required by the course, due to the vast amount of time since I last took an English course. Until this class, I had not written a paper in eight years. Formal writing is complex and must be applied frequently in order for a person to maintain the skills needed to be an effective writer. After taking this course, I feel confident in my skills and abilities as an entry level writer. Although my grades did not increase throughout the duration of the course, my level of understanding and knowledge about formal writing did.
The first paper written in this course asked the writer to describe specific instances throughout their life where they felt like they had altered the atmosphere around them. At first, I was very overwhelmed by this topic and had no idea
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My feedback on this assignment was very troubling and contradicting in my opinion so I am unsure how I feel about the assignment overall. Rudeness was a great topic of research and I found it very interesting to investigate. There is no doubt it is an emerging area of concern in our society. This assignment challenged me to incorporate my own thoughts with those of others who have done investigative research in the field while also integrating personal life experiences into the paper. This assignment was an interesting learning experience, however in my chosen field of study, electrical technology, I do not believe research writing is a skill I will be using
Learning to read and write are both considered to be fundamental human skills, that we begin to learn from the day we start school. As time advances, as do our minds, and we are expected to evolve in our reading and writing skills. Finishing high school is a large milestone for the lives of young adults; however, there is so much to learn in order to reach the next big milestone. To be a writer in college can challenge our preconceived thoughts on how we write. Although some skills remain unchanged, high school graduates are faced with overcoming new ways of doing a skill that seems so simple that it is practically innate. The definition of writing skills for college students is much different than high school. However, considering we have come so far it is time to go over the information we already know and challenge ourselves with ideas that we are yet to learn more about.
English Composition II has unexpectedly improved my writing into an academic level. As I studied various English reading and writing courses, this class “English Composition II” did not immediately caught my eye. However as I researched about the concepts of this class, the decision to make was not so difficult since I was lacking in critical thinking and the interpretation of works. Also as a Business Major, it made sense that the subject of English would be of interest to me and as a career requirement. During the first weeks, I thought that I would be fully prepared for this course after taking an accelerated course in English during the spring semester. However, after attending class for about a month, I certainly did not expect to learn an entirely new process of writing
I used to hate writing a lot. Especially when I was in Academic English classes. I don’t like how they forced us to use the five paragraph essay. Therefore, when you told us we should ditch the five-paragraph format in the beginning, I was like “I knew that’s not right!” At first I don’t understand some of the assignments that you gave to us. However, soon I realized that they all built up towards the final critical essay.
Throughout this semester I have written several essays and journals using techniques both important and unfamiliar to me. This class helped me use these techniques and steps that are involved in creating and formalizing an essay. The writing process of an essay includes information gathering, creating ideas, and writing it on paper to create a cohesive and organized paper. In complete certainty I can say I lack many of the skills necessary to create such a paper, but during this course I have learned some writing methods which I believe have improved my essays. The essays and journals in this portfolio reveal both my strengths and weaknesses in my writing and how I have both continued to make the same errors and improved in other areas.
Several people have trouble writing college level essays and believe that they are unable to improve their writing skills. In “the Inspired Writer vs. The Real Writer,” Sarah Allen argues how no one is born naturally good at writing. Sarah Allen also states how even professional writers have trouble with the task of writing. Others, such as Lennie Irvin, agree. In Irvin’s article “What is ‘Academic’ Writing?” states how there are misconceptions about writing. Furthermore, Mike Bunn’s article “How to Read Like a Writer” shows ways on how one can improve their writing skills. Allen, Bunn, and Irvin are correct to say how no one is born naturally good writers. Now that we know this, we should find ways to help improve our writing skills, and
As I look back into my high school years, I thought I wrote papers well. But then coming into a college environment, my papers were mediocre. By overlooking at my past papers, I found that they were unorganized, sloppy and had bad use of diction. From now on, I will use the tools I learned in English 1100-40 as a foundation for the future papers I intend on writing in college. Following the criteria of organizing ideas so that they flow, impacting the reader with diction and also by being creative, will help become an ideal writer. Following the criteria of staying motivated in short and long term goals, taking responsibility for actions and finally the ability to study well will help me develop into a supreme student.
As a second language learner I have never expected myself to be a perfect writer throughout the semester. Even If English was my first language still, I would not be a perfect writer. It is not about first or second language, it is about how well I understand the learning objectives. Then organizing and writing with my own ideas and putting them in my paper. I am going to be honest, I am not good at English subject and English subject is my strongest weakness than the other subjects. In this paper I will discuss and analyze my own writing, reflecting on the ways that my writing has improved throughout the semester.
The art of writing is a complex and difficult process. Proper writing requires careful planning, revision, and proofreading. Throughout the past semester, the quality of my writing has evolved significantly. At first, I struggled with the separation of different types of paragraphs, and I found writing them laborious. Constant practice, however, has eliminated many of my original difficulties, and helped to inspire confidence in my skills. As a collegiate writer, my strength lies in my clear understanding of the fundamentals of writing, while my primary weakness is proofreading my own work.
In “Expectations for College Writing,” the author highlights general expectations of academic writing in the United States and presents advice to aid students’ performance in social and academic writing. The author warns his readers about employers’ and instructors’ expectations regarding students’ writing capabilities. In addition, the author provides recommendations to enhance their necessary skills. According to the author, to effectively convey messages students have to write with authority, understand their audience, and organize their ideas.
The writing process is a subject that makes many people nervous. As well as some feel they write, there is always room for improvement. When I initially began this course I was definitely intimidated by the amount of essays we were scheduled to write. Although I have worked hard to improve my writing skills, I still struggle with grammatical errors. In knowing that my writing still had weak spots I felt overwhelmed with the fear of not being able to perform as well as others, and created a sense of shame within myself. During the last eight weeks my writing has evolved beautifully. Before taking English 122, my writing was in dire need of
I improved on many aspects of my writing throughout the duration of this class, but there are still some things I need to refine. Over the course my writing skills have gotten better due to the instructor’s feedback, peer reviews, and just me learning. I enjoyed peer reviews because sometimes it is easier to relate to someone my own age. The overall structure and flow of my essays have improved, as well as the use of word choice and quotations. Throughout this course, I was able to apply critical thinking and reading skills to different texts, compose essays with appropriate content development and organization, use correct style by practicing the steps of the writing process, and reflect on my own development as a writer. However, I still need to work on demonstrating correctness, including punctuation, mechanics, and
This semester in English 102, the curriculum requires students to adapt their writing to the college level. This level of writing is necessary to create a backbone for students as they progress and grow their writing skills in higher level classes. The course’s primary focus throughout the semester was the adapting of rhetoric strategies into papers as well as writing a comparison, a position paper, critical analysis, and finally a visual argument paper. These papers -though all very different in style- help establish the basic guidelines of writing papers for not only this class but for future English and other classes. Even though I am a Management Information Systems major and writing is not a part of the curriculum, being able to write clear and coherent pieces are necessary for a developing a strong writing style whether it be for resumes or professional works. The two strengths that
Writing is an important part of everyone’s life, whether we use it in school, in the workplace, as a hobby or in personal communication. It is important to have this skill because it helps us as writers to express feelings and thoughts to other people in a reasonably permanent form. Formal writing forms like essays, research papers, and articles stimulates critically thinking. This helps the writer to learn how to interpret the world around him/her in a meaningful way. In college, professors motivate students to write in a formal, coherent manner, without losing their own voice in the process. Improving your writing skills is important, in every English class that’s the main teaching point; to help students improve their writing skills. Throughout my college experience I have acknowledge that
A week ago I almost gave up again. Saturday was spent on my in-law’s porch with a coffee and Baileys stewing over my frustration in losing my 14th scholarship contest. I sat out there, posing myself like an author; leaning on the arm of the chair with my chin rested on curled fingers, holding my pen like a cigarette, hoping to channel King or Orwell. I started this project, writing scholarship essays, at the beginning of the year honestly believing if I just wrote enough essays statistically I would win something. Two authors, Kristina Ellis and Marianna Ragins, won $500,000 and $400,000 respectively while they were still in high school. Their books gave me the jumpstart to try writing as a way to pay for school, and the idea grew into considering
Writing is an excellent practice because the benefits gained are essential to an individual’s success in a job, or just conveying their ideas through words. Within the semester we have written three major papers, and have rewritten two of those papers. In each paper I discovered new ways to get information, and have gained more experience in sculpting a paper. Obtaining this new knowledge of how to present my ideas in different writing styles will help me expand my range in how I can write, and essentially allow me to be better prepared for upcoming jobs following my college education. I can safely say that with the papers from this semester and their mistakes that dealt with minor grammar errors, awkward sentence structures, and oversimplifying