Coming into San Diego State University I wasn’t sure what to expect out of any of my classes, especially my writing class. In high school I had taken AP composition and language which helped me improve as a writer but even a college level high school course is not the same as an actual college class. Before college and throughout high school I didn’t think of myself as a great writer, I have always been very average at writing. At the start of the year I wasn’t a very strong writer but RWS 200 is a huge reason how I overcame challenges and became a better writer. I wasn’t really sure what to expect out of a “Rhetoric and Writing Studies 200” class because we didn’t have anything named like this in high school. I assumed it would be like a writing class but I didn’t know what type of writing, what we would be writing about or what we would be studying throughout the semester. Although I went into the class without any expectations I was still surprised when I learned we would be learning about the American Dream in great detail. I was both excited and nervous to learn about the American Dream because I knew it would be an interesting topic but I was worried that it would be a difficult topic to wrap my head around. Overall the course was informative and I enjoyed learning about the American Dream and how it affects me. When I write an essay I go through the same process almost every time. I start by creating an outline of what ideas I want to present in the essay then
I have truly enjoyed writing for most of my life and after this class I will continue to enjoy writing hopefully with more skill. I have always viewed myself as a fairly strong writer and this class has reaffirmed that for me, but it has also shown weaknesses in my writing. As an introduction level class this has been one of my favorites; at some point I will take a higher level, even though it is not required for my major. Even though this class is almost over I am continuing to learn. I also love that this class will help me with literally ever other class in my college career. I am not a particularly strong reader, but as my writing skills improve so do the reading skills. While in this class I have learned a lot about everything from what I can improve, to subjects that interest me, and constructing a successful paper.
I am accustomed to starting my essays by generating ideas. I like to take a sheet a paper and write down everything that comes to mind when I think of a certain subject. Next, I would do an extensive amount of research on the subject to make sure that I know enough about the subject to write a complete paper about it. Now that the research stage is done, I would then commence on writing my rough draft using the
Throughout this course, I was able to assess and evaluate my weaknesses and strengths in writing. This class has truly brought out my ability to write, a skill I did not believe I had. I now know what it takes to become a college-level writer. Also, at the beginning of the course I did not particularly enjoy writing. Now, however, I have a greater respect for
When beginning to write an essay everyone has their own method of doing so. Some may like to brainstorm while others may prefer to go straight into writing about their topic. I personally beginning every essay by collecting ideas about my topic before coordinating them into a type of diagram, next I proceed to do my rough draft before revising over the paper and finally composing my final draft. The point of the writing process is to help break everything down so ideas can be organized and everything can make perfect sense for not just the writer but also the reader.
The first step in your writing process is to just sit and think. If your essay is on an assigned topic, sit and think about what approach you will have to the subject, if it’s possible to take a position on it. If you are allowed to decide on the topic, you can take it in any direction and decide on a purpose. This purpose can be to tell someone how to do something, present information you have collected on your favorite subject, or even entertain the audience who will be reading it. Once who have brainstormed some ideas, examine each
During these past three weeks I have realized that college is going to be very challenging, it is not what I expected it to be like. This class has helped with my reading and writing experience and has contributed to my understanding of expectations for college and goals for my future. It has helped me with preparing and planning my work ahead of time. Dr. Sariscany has helped me with becoming a better writer and helped me prepare for college level work. She has showed me that college is not going to be easy and we should get used to it and put in all our effort and time into everything we turn in.
I have never been an excellent student and perennially struggled with English, Math, and Science growing up. These subjects would cast a pall over my day and school work. Anxiety would well up inside of me which often resulted with me passed out across my desk sleeping through parts of class. When I would return home at day’s end, I rarely completed my homework. When I did try to complete homework, it often ended in tears of frustration or the hurling of a book across the room. Taking this class has helped to quell a portion of that anxiety and frustration. It was a grueling class, seemingly impossible at times, but taking this class has given me the confidence to know that not only can I finish the class if I work hard but can also excel! Writing is something that I will exercise throughout my college curriculum and my life. It will help to convey my ideas to the instructor, peers, bosses, and co-workers. In my college curriculum, it will also show my instructors that I’m learning the information provided and how to apply that knowledge appropriately. It will allow me to complete assignments, discussions, and reports, and I will also apply writing in basic communication when necessary.
People have many ways that they write. Some do a process of doing drafts so they can look through, edit and make the paper better. Others will just write a paper and turn it in. My process consist of starting with making a thesis. Then from the thesis I create the topic sentences for the topic at hand. The best way to write the essay in a good format and have good detail in the writing I would write a paragraph a day. By doing that process it allows me to get what is needed out on the paper so none of the paragraphs are mixing content and making the paragraphs less structured. This process not only makes writing essays less stressful while also getting the paper done quickly.
I have been practicing on how to improve my writing over the past few weeks, which has taught me a great deal about writing. My teacher would like me to evaluate and explain my strengths and weaknesses in my own writing. This evaluation is in between my two essays. One on my own and another with my teacher's help. I have strengths and weakness in my introduction, body paragraphs ,and my conclusion.
Throughout high school, I was regularly told that writing was not my strongest skill. My teachers would constantly “shoot down” my writing because it was never “good enough,” except I never understood what that truly meant. However, this class helped me realize that my writing has “potential for greatness,” but it just requires some more time, thought, and clarification.
When signing up for this course I first saw it more as just a mandatory class and honestly pointless, for the fact that I could be in a course wrapped around my major. I know I am not the best writer but I do feel that I am decent, I felt I could just get by. Before I registered for the course I was compelled to figure out why the course and WRIT 300 are actually required. In my findings I found “The University Writing Program (UWP) promotes a campus-wide culture of writing, supporting excellence in writing to help you achieve success in academic, professional and civic spheres” (UWP pg.1) . This really helped me to understand the importance of writing at the how much I could get improve from this class.
Finally, every writer has their own struggles and own ways when it comes to writing an essay. For example, I have trouble starting my essays, I prefer writing in a quiet area, and I prefer writing an outline before beginning my
During this semester, I have learned a great deal about my own writing, and writing in general. One of the main takeaways from this course for me was how to break down the intricate process of writing papers. In addition, I developed viable skills regarding going into more in-depth detail during each step of the writing process. I enjoyed having the freedom to write about a topic that I was able to choose. This allowed me to research and write about something that actually interested me immensely. Having to work with one topic for the entire semester taught me how to find reliable resources and how to pick out the essential research from each article.
Writing is way that we can express ourselves, it is a way to interface ideas and thoughts and to prove a point. Throughout my writing experience or process I have struggled with writing especially using details or really expressing myself my work. In this course Facts & Fiction: Portraits in World Art I expect to gain more knowledge on how to write a perfect essay, story, letter, and assignment. I expect to learn new genres and rhetorical situations. I also think my writing will improve academically and I will develop my skills in writing. Also taking my writing to a different point of view, level, and writing something different rather than the usual. I look forward to getting feedback from my peers and learning their thoughts on my writing and how they can help me improve.
It is my belief that through this class and the tools provided, that my growth as a writer has grown through leaps and bounds I would never have assumed possible. It is not so much the skill I refer to, although I would think skill has gone up in some levels as well, but more so the appreciation for the craft of writing itself. Intially, at the start of this class my sole goal was to further my understanding and appreciation of the writer's and books that I so love to read. Through further evaluation within the first week, a few other goals came to mind, of which were, making writing a habit, finishing what I start, stop second guess my writing skills and making effective use of detail and description. Through the use of the many articles, various reading materials, whether poems or short stories, and especially through the workshop, I feel I was able to really push myself to accomplishing these goals. I have thus far learned how important it is not to be skilled at writing per say, but to have the will to write, that poetry is as much about it's sound as it is about it's subject, just how important character development is, how the narration and point of view of a story is essential to the way the story is told, and just how much of a difference peer's critiques can make to your writing.