Writing Reflection

Writing is an art form that takes years to master.  At each new stage of learning (elementary, middle, and high school), students must mushfake their way through writing assignments until they are comfortable with the skills and practices required to effectively complete said assignments.  It is no different when transitioning to college.  I did not realize it at the time, but I too was mushfaking my ability to write at a college level at the beginning of STP.  I may not have been confident in my own capabilities, however, I approached ERH 101 with an open mind that was willing to learn.  Looking back over the four weeks, I think I have learned a substantial amount through the various readings; however, nothing beats good old fashion practice, which we have had plenty of.  I am quite pleased with how much I have progressed as a writer.

Before STP, I had accepted that writing is not my strong suit.  I stuck to math and science, and I was okay with that.  When I came into STP, I did not expect to become Hemmingway; I just wanted to complete the assignments.  I knew that I had a strong background in writing (only from doing it so much), however, I still felt unprepared.  Most of the writing that I had done in high school was timed, so the papers that I wrote were focused on getting the point across, not ensuring I had a well written, revised essay.  By the time assignments were due, the class was already moving on to a new topic.  Because of the lack of experience in proof reading and revision, I felt that I was behind the eight-ball.  Also, I felt that I had a very poor background in grammar.  The teachers in my elementary school had so much pressure to show progress in the students’ writing abilities, so they did not take the necessary time to make sure their students had the proper foundation they needed.  I picked up most of my experience later in high school by simply doing assignments, much like I have done in STP.  Overall, I felt unprepared for ERH 101, but I was not that nervous because I knew that I could exactly what I did in high school, which was to throw myself into the class and put the necessary effort into an assignment so that I could gain the experience needed to continue in college.

With my writing skills lacking so much, there was plenty of room for improvement at STP.  Over the four weeks here, I believe I have improved my ability to read and analyze complicated literature, the most.  This skill helped me to write the second and third essays much better than I would have otherwise.  However, this was not the only think I learned.  In high school, I grew accustomed to using a platform that created my citations for me, so as you can imagine, I was not very good at citing my sources on my own.  With the help of “Everyday Writer” and LTC Ticen, I was able to improve my citation skills.  One of the other major things that I struggled with before coming to ERH 101, was starting and continuing an essay.  I tended to ponder the topic that I am writing about, endlessly, but after reading “Shitty First Drafts,” I realized that I just needed to start writing.  After getting something on the page, I was able to figure out what my mind wanted to say.  Surprisingly, I believe I am a much better writer than I was at the start of STP.

Despite all that I have learned as a writer, I still struggle with certain elements of writing.  I think the biggest thing that I still struggle with, is structuring my essays.  I have so many ideas in my head, which tend to conflict with each other when I actually put them on the paper.  To fix this, I need to focus on one idea at a time, develop that idea, and then ensure that there is a proper transition into my next idea.  On top of having conflicting ideas, I also have major problems at the sentence level.  As I said before, I did not receive a strong foundation in grammar and sentence structure.  Every time I use a comma, I am not confident that I am using it correctly (yes…this includes this sentence).  Also, I question my word choice and flow for almost every sentence that I write.  The good thing is that all these issues are easily fixable.  I suppose that I need to take a deeper look into “Everyday Writer.”

I have thoroughly enjoyed ERH 101, but do I find writing enjoyable now? No, I still do not enjoy writing as much as math and science, however, I am very glad that I decided to take ERH 101 at STP because I have learned some valuable information that I will be able to carry with me through the rest of my life at VMI and beyond.

 

 

Helped received:

None