Anthony Bradt
MAJ. Garriott
English 101-18
12 December 2016
The Never-Ending Journey of an Effective Writer
Every writer embarks upon their own journey and, along the way, must identify their own faults to become a successful writer. One of the largest issues a writer can face is often the most obvious issue for their reader, faults within their own writing. Many writers struggle with the concept of self-evaluation because it is hard for a writer to see their shortcomings. Every writer likes to think that what they have written is “good”, which is most likely not the case. If a writer realizes their own faults in their writing, they can be used as building blocks to develop ideas and create a more effective thesis, while at the same time entertaining the reader. Personally, I struggle with creating an argumentative thesis that allows my paper to flourish and establish an effective position for my opinion. In the beginning of the year, I struggled with applying specific sources to my main argument within the paper (which is very prevalent in my earlier works). Because of the writing center and Major Garriott’s feedback, there is a clear change in the structure and theses of my papers and through the use of these resources, I believe I have all the tools necessary to create an effective argument that is informative, appealing, and holds credibility.
Writing an effective thesis is one of the principle tasks in writing an effective paper. In the beginning of the year, I severely struggled to grasp the simple concept that a thesis statement should always argue a point that the writer wants to make. Prior to grasping this, I would write down a list of facts and support them within the paper by providing a list of examples. Not only is that very boring, but it also gives very little substance to the paper itself. It does not set the writer up for a paper filled with effective argumentation and analysis, instead it sets the writer up for a very long-winded list of facts that is unappealing and not effective to your reader. In the very first paper I had ever written in English 101, I used the thesis statement “To be a successful Computer Scientist, all these different aspects of the field are needed to keep the websites and programs millions of people use everyday up and running without fail (Bradt, Anthony. “Discourse Community Essay.”).” Not only is the thesis statement boring, but also it does not present the template for an effective paper. You cannot argue a fact, period. Beyond that it does not list what specific element of the Computer Science field I would be talking about nor present the reader and writer any argument to agree or disagree with. This entire situation displays my own inexperience with complex writing. I would often just state a fact and struggle through the paper spitting out whatever information would come to mind. There was little to no planning for the literary structure of the paper or even what specific elements I wanted to cover within the paper.
Although a lack of structure and planning may have been okay in a high school environment, with a higher-level course, there is no way a paper written in this style could ever achieve the ever so evasive “A.” I knew it was time to seek outside help to grow into a more effective writer. I was able to generate good ideas and concepts, but often missed the opportunity to make good connections within the paper due to the paper’s lack of supporting details and poor structure. The VMI writing center was the pivotal point where I realized this shortcoming.
I remember the hint of discontent in my readers face as they began to look over my paper the first time I entered the writing center. I couldn’t blame her because I look back at the same paper now and wonder what I was thinking. She taught me how to structure a paper, allowing one idea to flow into the next while all keeping aligned with the idea of the thesis statement. She often asked why I would insert a specific line or quote in the paper and I realized I really had no idea why.
From this moment on I had realized my next major fault, the overall structure of my papers had nothing to do with the thesis and therefore led the reader into a “black hole.” In this writers “black hole” there is no direction, purpose, or way to recover. Without some guiding light within your paper, a.k.a the thesis, everything written is pretty much meaningless.
In my second paper focusing on rhetorical analysis, my thesis statement was again a set of facts, but at least it gave some sort of a sense of direction to the reader. The major issue with this paper came from a lack of planning and structure in the paper. For example, I write how Major Wainwright establishes “ethos, logos, and pathos” and, immediately afterward jump into his professional credibility (Bradt, Anthony. “Rhetorical Analysis (Draft #1).”). There is no transition from one idea to the next. Knowing what I do now, I could take the professional work experience that specific professor holds and easily tie it into how a professors real-world experiences can help create an effective computer scientist.
Through the writing center, I also learned to establish my credibility by using the examples within the paper. By tying my examples to the thesis and also providing a little bit of fact within the examples I use, it makes the paper “click” for the reader, drawing them to the main point of your argument.
Although I am able to see just a few of the faults I make regularly in my papers through the help of the writing center and Major Garriott’s comments, I am still far from a completely effective writer. Even the best authors and journalists in the world embark upon the never-ending journey of becoming a successful writer the minute they put the pencil to the paper. No writing is ever perfect, but realizing why your writing is ineffective or just bad overall is a step toward success. Gaining an outside opinion greatly helps to point out a writer’s weaker areas, while providing the writer with the opportunity to better themselves and their works. From my own experience, creating an effective thesis and utilizing every word within your paper to support that thesis is the key to effective writing. It will keep a paper from getting sucked into that literary “black hole” and provide a good foundation to build upon. Consistently making the effort to improve upon my obvious shortcomings this semester has surely put me on the never-ending path to becoming an effective writer.
Works Cited
Bradt, Anthony. “Discourse Community Essay.” ERH-101-18. Fall 2016. Print.
Bradt, Anthony. “Rhetorical Analysis (Draft #1).” ERH-101-18. Fall 2016. Print.
Help Received
Rough draft peer edited by BR Domahoski.
Final draft proofread by BR Robinson.
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