The Writing Puzzle
As I bring my third term at Southern New Hampshire University to a close, I have come to realize that writing is akin to working a jigsaw puzzle. When first viewed, there are pieces everywhere; some are upside down or sideways and there is no structure yet. I usually have a vague sense of what the picture appears like in my head; nevertheless, I occasionally remain unsure how to fit the pieces together. Personally, the remarkable areas of learning in this course were the organizational tools, thesis statements, narrative storytelling, and persuasive essays because each taught me the necessary mechanics and tools to complete this composition puzzle in a way that pulls these fundamentals together in a cohesive, easily understood manner.
The first task of working any puzzle is to understand the required elements. Starting without a solid
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The class has facilitated my learning how to keep my audience and purpose at the forefront when creating documentation intended to persuade. As Professor Anderson commented in my feedback, I needed to add more of my own voice and reflection into the essay, simply stating the facts was not enough (Anderson). This was an unfamiliar concept for me as there is no citation requirement in business and pulling facts together to support an argument is how I would previously create a persuasive report. That being said, I believe my persuasive business presentation will be much better in the future as I understand the importance of reflecting on facts, providing background, and detailing the significance of the data. Hence, the instruction on narrative and persuasive writing style is analogous to moving beyond the edges of the puzzle and putting the middle pieces together; while this may require the most time, the picture is just a shell without this level of
In Downs and Wardle’s article, they argue and identify the flaws in teaching writing in college. Demonstrating the misconceptions that academic writing is universal, but rather specialized in each case. Citing studies and opinions from esteemed professionals, Downs & Wardle state their points and illuminate the problem in today’s many colleges.
Providing a specific example immensely heightened my position while my improvements also made an effective use of sentence variety. This kind of writing (a persuasive essay) is relatively easy for me to write because I have strong opinions to express yet I’m happy to recognize the importance of every factor. For example, in this particular essay the prompt was to choose which truth (artistic, religious, or scientific) is the most important in the novel and since I clearly saw the religious and scientific to be stemmed from the artistic, the essay seemed to write itself.
Aristotle defined rhetoric as "the faculty of discovering in any particular case all of the available means of persuasion" (American Rhetoric). Numerous rhetoric principals were utilized in the research presented by the students in English 287. In this review I will categorize the presentation by the way the presenter attempted to persuade the audience to agree with their argument. The rhetorical triangle will be used to classify if an element of a presentation applied to the pathos, ethos, or logos side of the triangle.
In “Writing to Learn: Writing across the Disciplines,” Anne J. Herrington finds different sources stating that writing is to be taken serious. Janet Emig says, "writing represents a unique mode of learning-not merely valuable, not merely special, but unique” (1) meaning that writing is far more essential than we ought to make it seem. Anne Herrington wants educators teaching in economics, history, chemistry or any other subject to guide their students into understanding why progressing their writing skills will be more helpful to them. At the end of the day, it all comes down to the educator; whether he/she wants their students to use writing as a way for students to adapt to different disciplines.
Persuasive essays are seldom effective without the use of literary techniques. In addition, the majority of effective persuasive essays also employ persuasive techniques along with style elements. The balance between the two techniques is crucial to the efficacious of a persuasive essay. An example of an essay that achieves this balance is “Young Hunger”, an essay written by M. F. K. Fisher. The persuasive techniques and style elements of hyperbole, example, imagery, and simile, all contribute to enhancing the effectiveness of “Young Hunger”.
As we worked our way through the semester we moved from the Change Project to the Public Argument. I was able to look back at how one essay was developed into multiple essays. The type of paper I was writing determined how I was able to persuade my audience. The audience of the papers changed throughout the semester making the way I developed my paper also changed. In one essay I used the sources to persuade the readers towards agreeing with me. In the other essay I used my own words and thoughts to grab the reader’s attention and have them agree with my point of view on the issue. While one essay was a more formal audience and another was more informal the both required persuasion and attention grabbers. One audience was grasped by the use of facts while the other was grasped by talking about experiences and explaining how the topic related to the audience. While the paper was different each paper required some type of persuasion.
Below is part of the sample persuasive research essay. Please note: how the introduction introduces the topic and offers a clear forecast of the essay's thesis (the author's position and stated reasons). • how the conclusion restates the thesis and ends with a call to action how each character’s speech is fully developed: each speech has the three "E"s of paragraph organization and development: Exposition, Examples, and Explanation. To illustrate these components, in the paragraph below I've placed the exposition (claim and stated reason and background) in blue, the examples in green, the explanation in purple, and the concluding statement in orange. Note: While Jeanne offers one extended example and explanation in this paragraph, I would encourage you to have at least two examples for each stated reason.
Over the past semester, I have found the most challenging part of this course to simply be the transition from high school composition classes to college. Because writing expectations are so different in college than in high school, even with AP and Dual Enrollment “college level” classes, I first found myself being overwhelmed with the pressure to write the perfect first draft. The pressure came from knowing how much a final draft of a paper contributed to my grade. This left me sitting in front of my computer for hours at a time with thoughts of what I wanted to say racing through my head, but unable to deliver these thoughts into organized, structured sentences. I learned, through writing my persuasive essay, that instead of trying to write the paper start to finish and already in its perfect form, it is easier for me to look at the paper through its different components and focus on them individually, then work to best organize my ideas fluently.
A persuasive essay takes a position on a topic and attempts to prove that position.
I have learned many things throughout the course of the term, including such things as: how to write an essay and how to improve on essays that I have already written, how to locate and composite better research through the use of numerous resources found at the campus library, the internet, and the “Common Sense” textbook, how to cite research, examples, and quotations properly within the contents of my research paper as well as document it accurately according to MLA standards. Through the exploration of the “Subjects and Strategies” textbook, I have learned nine different methods used when writing an effective essay and how the different writing styles affect the overall theme and tone of the essay when used properly. This past semester, I have encountered many difficulties when trying to write these essays, but through the use of the textbooks, the aide of the instructor, and once I was able to classify the different types of essays and styles, I found them possible to overcome.
The ability to write well is not a naturally acquired skill; it is usually learned or culturally transmitted as a set of practices in formal instructional settings or other environments. Writing skills must be practiced and learned through experience. Writing also involves composing, which implies the ability either to tell or retell pieces of information in the form of narratives or description, or to transform information into new texts, as in expository or argumentative writing. Perhaps it is best viewed as a continuum of activities that range from the more mechanical or formal aspects of “writing down” on the one end, to the more complex act of composing on the other end (Omaggio Hadley, 1993). It is undoubtedly the act of
During the course of this semester; the variety of writing styles and essays assigned to me in my communication skills class encouraged the development of my writing skills, as well as provided me with more self-assurance in my abilities. My writing, research, and presentation abilities enhanced through practice, determination, and the understanding I gained during this course. With every single writing assignment, I learned new innovative approaches and skills, which enhanced my abilities to improve my thoughts logically, enabling me to write more clearly, and to organize my papers more effectively. At the beginning of this semester; despite the fact that I already knew the terminology MAP: message, audience, purpose; I never really understood the significance of MAP. For this reason, my writing lacked clarity, organization, and my writings appeared less focused on the topics. As a result my research papers and essays did not flow as smoothly from one passage to the next. Furthermore, I was unaccustomed with the precise procedures used when writing an essay. For instance, my previous classes before college, although requiring a reference page, did not require me to include proper citations in my writings. After evaluating the quality of my writing toward the end of the semester, I recognized vast improvements in several areas of my writing. By concentrating on the beginning stages of my writings, I could distinguish ahead of time my audience and my message. As a result, my essays are clear, and I remain on topic. In addition to that using transition phrases efficiently also helps my writing to flow smoothly. The proper use of transitions makes my writings easy to follow from one topic to the next. I also learned that pre-writing...
As I look back on my schooling I can’t believe how many papers I’ve written throughout my life. Naturally as I’ve grown up, my writing has developed from learning how to write sentences all the way up to the pages of essays that consist of deeper criteria. I know for a fact that I’m a better writer now than I was before. College writing is more challenging and I’ve had to learn how to adjust to it.
Crank, V. (2012). From high school to college: Developing writing skills in the disciplines. WAC
Taking a creative writing class was a good way for me to express my thoughts and feelings onto paper, as well as read my other classmates stories. Reading stories created by other people lead me into their mind brain to experience what type of writer they were, it was an overall exquisite class. I believe that every person has a way of expressing who they are through writing stories of their own, fiction is the best way to express your creative imagination. This class that I took for two years helped me become a better writer and helped me understand the types of writers we have.