Blog Post 10

This semester, I have learned more about writing than I ever did in highschool. My highschool English classes definitely did not prepare me for college. During my senior year I wrote one paper, and it was my college essay. When I got to this class, I was not confident in my writing skills at all. That quickly started to apply to my other classes as I started getting writing assignments in other courses. Even though I wasn’t comfortable with writing, I am glad I had so many more opportunities to write because I learned a lot. The more I wrote, the easier it became. When I first started getting assigned papers, I was intimidated by them and would avoid starting them because I thought it would be too hard. Now that I have had some practice, I know that writing is a skill that I can improve on with practice.

When it comes to the different disciplines in writing, it has been helpful to know the different components that come with them. Like I mentioned before, I have writing assignments in my other classes, so I had to learn how to structure my writing as well as communicate differently depending on the class. Different classes required different citation styles too. This knowledge will be helpful as I move forward in my college career because I have basic knowledge of how to write in each discipline. I also have textbooks that I can keep and look back to for guidance in my writing. If I hadn’t taken this class, I would know almost nothing about different citation styles, paper formatting, or writing. Another important thing I learned in this class that will help me through my college career is the importance of our audience. This idea kind of ties into the different disciplines, because the kind of writing you do depends on who you’re writing it for. In my case, it would be the different classes I write papers for. Moving into my career, I will be expected to know how to write professionally, so having a strong foundation in writing is important.



 

Blog Post 10: What Have I learned?

Throughout all my years of schooling, I feel like I have been able to experience the most growth in confidence as a writer during this first semester of my freshman year. Even though I have never necessarily thought of myself as a bad writer, I have always struggled with having confidence in my writing. However, this aspect has thankfully begun to change, and the majority of that is due to what I have learned in this class.

As we all know, this course entailed A LOT of readings. We read from the selections: Understanding Rhetoric, They Say I Say, and A Writer’s Guide to Academic Writing, each of which provided us with an understanding of a variety of topics. Although I most definitely do not remember every single thing that I read from each of these selections, I do know that what I was able to take away will help me throughout the rest of college and as I move into my desired career.

Each of the readings provided me with an understanding of a unique subject that I did not have prior to this course. For example, in They Say I Say, I gained knowledge on a variety of topics that matter the most when it comes to academic writing. I think the most important part I learned from this selection was how to use my own voice in my writing, as I often tend to drown out my voice with a voice that is not entirely mine. In addition to this, in A Writer’s Guide to Academic Writing, I was able to gain an understanding about reading and writing in several different disciplines. As I found out by reading this selection, each discipline has its own unique modes of writing and characteristics of structure, language, and references. I believe this was particularly helpful because it provided an insight into disciplines that a lot of our majors are included in. By learning this information, we have a new knowledge of how writing is most often organized within our future career and what to expect when we finally reach that career.

Outside of these readings, the thing I feel that has served me the most was learning that writing is difficult for everybody. As I am sure many others also believe, I have always thought that writing is something that either comes naturally or is extremely difficult for people. Despite this belief, I was surprised to learn that sometimes writing is even difficult for those who do it for a living. Learning this had a big impact on me, as it validated the struggles I have faced with writing throughout my years of education.

All this new knowledge has only had a positive effect on my writing.  Therefore, throughout the rest of my college career, I believe that it will serve me in my writing and help me in how I go about my process in whatever writing assignments I will receive from here on out.