Help Received: None
Word Count: 1529
Anthony Bradt
MAJ Garriott
ERH 101-18
28 November 2016
Literacy Sponsors
Every single writer gathers their own personal literary sponsors throughput their academic career that have, or have had, the ability to influence their writing for the better or worse. For many student and professional writers, literacy sponsors can be the pivotal point in changing the professionalism and quality of ones work by simply pointing out the faults in their writing, or even pointing out the positives within it and letting the writer run with those good ideas or techniques. The beginning of a literacy journey can begin from anywhere and sparking the writer’s interest and providing them with motivation for years to come. In my particular case, my literacy journey began when I was only a young child.
My earliest memory of my literacy journey began when I was about three years old. Probably the biggest role model throughout my life has been my grandfather. He has always pushed me to do the best I possibly can and when that isn’t enough, he always pushed me to be better than what I thought was my best. When I was a child and still today, my grandfather would always sit down around dinnertime and tell the most interesting stories. He would usually tell about his work as a detective in the New York City Police Department and his time in the Army. His ability to captivate everyone at the table, and sometimes even those around us, was absolutely astonishing. Not only were his stories interesting, but also the way he told the stories with his humorous tone made them that much better.
When I was young, he would sit down with me every night and would read half of a story or chapter to me and I would read the other half. At the time, I did not realize that this would spark my interest for reading. I looked forward to spending time with him and reading and developed a love for it. I actually looked forward to reading for fun and reading for school assignments. I remember getting frustrated at times because he would encourage me to read novels way above my level at the time. Most of the books we would read were novels he had read in his own free time and enjoyed, not just simple chapter books assigned to me in school. I would become angry when I couldn’t understand all the words and sometimes even gather the basis of the story. But again, he was always there to help me through them because that is how he learned to read and he wanted to pass a piece of his own literary journey on to me. Because we would read these novels, I went into elementary school ahead of my fellow peers. From then on my literacy flourished. I remember reading at a sixth grade level in the fourth grade and actually enjoyed writing papers. I participated in a writing club and even won a competition for best paper prior to leaving elementary school. I believe that without his guidance and his own love for reading, I would have never developed the literacy skills I possess today and surly could have not made it to the prestigious Virginia Military Institute without him.
As I continued throughout school, writing became easy for me and the quality and effort put into my writing started to steeply decline. The decline in effort led me to lose most of the personality I used to incorporate into my writing. Most of the time I would write directly conforming to a rubric I was given and would not focus on much else. I would write and read what I had to for the assignment just to get it over with. Upon entering the college level courses toward the end of my high school career, I realized the complacency had to stop. I began to have to incorporate that personality that I had lost in my writing throughout the years. When I began to receive much lower grades than I was used to, that was my major turning point. I wanted to succeed academically and as a writer to be better prepared for college, and with the outstanding guidance from one teacher in particular, I knew this would absolutely be possible.
One of the major contributing factors leading me back in the right direction was my 11th grade college English teacher. His AP writing class I took during my junior year again sparked my interest in writing. Previous to his class, most of the writing dealt with topics that couldn’t hold my interest for two seconds. It mostly involved writing based off a short story to answer a set of comprehensive questions in an essay format. In my opinion, this kind of writing could not be more boring. My 11th grade AP class dealt with current events, and writing how they influenced the world today and how they could do the same in the future, something that actually sparked my interest. We also looked very closely at how a writer chose their words to cater to a specific cause or argument they were making. He would also get us actively involved by having us debate the topics we were writing about, which in return improved our writing altogether.
I remember in one specific instance when we could choose a topic to debate about and had to argue why you believed your stance on the topic was wright or wrong. The topic our group had chosen was nuclear proliferation. We were given several class days to develop a stance in the group and gather supporting facts from your writing and news sources and argues against those in your group who opposed you. Of course, everybody’s arguments were very average and uninteresting to the audience. Most of the arguments presented had little substance behind them and were just lists of facts from various sources. We did not know that the teacher did this on purpose. He wanted us to realize, through watching our peers, how bad our arguments were and decide what needed to be improved upon with his guidance. We were given another opportunity to reevaluate our arguments that night and represent them the next day using the techniques the teacher had encouraged us to use. Through that assignment, I learned the importance of making every word within an argument meaningful to your point. A paper or presented topic has to interest your audience, but be factual and reasonable. To this day, when writing something that truly interests me, I recall what my English teacher had taught us and try to make the most of every word I put on paper, utilizing them to better prove my point and interest my audience. Just this one year long class taught me how to be a persuasive writer and to use every piece of information you are given to your own advantage. Without this particular stop in my literacy journey, my writing would be nowhere near what it is now.
As I continue in my learning of literacy today, I realize once again my writing is nowhere near what it could be or needs to be. One of my largest faults as of now is not connecting my paper to the thesis I had written. The stage I am in within my literacy journey right now could very well be another turning point. Just as my grandfather and my 11th grade English teacher taught me how to be a better writer, my English 101 class at VMI is encouraging me to rethink my writing strategies and become a better writer. Hopefully this possible turning point in the beginning of my college career influences my writing in such a way that I am able to be a successful, persuasive, informative writer and I am eager to see where this next step in my literacy journey will lead me.
A writer’s literacy journey can begin from anywhere. The building blocks a reader develops when they are young will usually follow them into future academic endeavors. From my own personal experience, I know every turning point I reach in my literacy journey leads me down a path slowly improving my writing with every assignment. Every writer will have a different story and different people that have influenced him or her throughout the years either positively or negatively. Although assignments and papers in school may seem so meaningless, everything has a purpose, and realizing that purpose shows that spark of development in your literary skills as I have found myself. With every stroke of your pen or key on the keyboard, a writer’s literacy journey is becoming evermore meaningful and successful. A writer should embrace the assignments and use them to your advantage to become the best writer you can be and continue on with your never-ending literacy journey. I hold all of my failures and successes academically very dear to me, especially in writing. I know that all of my literary sponsors have done wonders for my writing and I know I will be all the better for it in the end.
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