I believe that my writing has developed immensely over the course of this class. I learned about rhetoric, the art of persuasive effective speaking or writing and how to use proper speech and techniques. I am now able to distinguish the different uses of speech and language that I should use in different writing pieces. I am now conscious of using less words or phrases in my writing that are repetitive. We focused on how to properly plan and outline our writing to better organize our thoughts and separate our ideas. An outline is really helpful to have because it is the basis of the writing piece and it sets our writing up for a smoother transition to a first draft. Previous to this course I would write my first draft, read it over and then submit it. I never took the editing process as serious as I do now. This class has shown me the importance of the revision process and different ways on how to revise my work. I believe that the language in my writing, outlining my work, and revising my first draft is how I became a better writer. I have noticed these improvements from my very first submission of my summer writing assignment, to writing assignments one and two, and the Ede's. I have noticed improvements in my overall grade as well as an improvement in my overall writing. I have become a stronger, more conscious and more fluid writer.
An outline is the framework for displaying the main and supporting topic and ideas. It is a way to get out every single idea on paper before writing a first draft to allow more organization. In, Ede writing assignment 9, one of my most detrimental flaws was that I did not make an outline. Dr. Terrizzi's comment on my work highlights the fact that I talk about a topic that was not seen in my draft.
"but I do not recall seeing this is your drafts."
Ede 9 called for a rough draft of a thesis statement for our PSA's. Previous to writing my possible thesis statement I did not look back on my first draft. Due to me not reviewing my rough draft of ideas and creating an outline to organize my ideas into topics I created a thesis statement based off of no previous research. This was detrimental o my writing because I did not remember what my main argument was. If I had created an outline I would not have made the mistake of discussing something that was not in my first draft.
However, I took the initiative to make sure I did not make this same mistake twice. In, WA 1 Draft, I made an outline that would be the basis of my second draft. After making such a detailed outline I was easily able to get all of my thoughts down for ,y second draft and the organization allowed for an easier revision process.
Another flaw that has improved over the course of this class would be the language in my writing . I had the tendency of either using repetitive word or phrases. An example of repetition in my writing would be in my draft for my research portfolio.
The highlighted section demonstrates phrase repetition. The first four sentences all talk about the same thing and can be simplified into one sentence. Dr. Terrizzi focused on helping me to catch those mistakes help my writing become more fluid.
One of the most helpful tactics used to improve my writing throughout first semester was the revision process. The steps in Ede and the mandatory submissions for peer review editing allowed my writing to excel. One of my greatest weaknesses as a writer was that I failed to review and reread my work. Ede 5 is an example of myself neglecting to fix any spelling errors I had,
"I will continue to encourage you to proofread your work to ensure minor typos"
Minor typos in my writing were not the only thing peer editing was good for. Through peer editing I got helpful feed back on how to make my writing more fluid and organized all throughout.
I know that my writing has improved because it really shows in my WA2.
This is just one paragraph of my final piece but I pulled together everything I learned and was rewarded. I created an outline before writing and that helped me organize my thoughts. I was conscious of repeating words or phrases to make sure I was not repetitive. I also took the time to consider every comment that was given to me from our peer review session. On top of that I took this piece to the writing center. I think that this paper is the most organized and constructed paper I have written and it shows my improvements.
I believe that over the course of these past three months my writing has improved tremendously. The organization and flow in my writing has improved because I learned how to create proper outlines for my writing. I am now able to catch and stop myself from using repetitive words or phases. Most importantly, I would never think about submitting a paperer even an email with out reading it over or getting help from a peer. I am a much more confident writer now and I take more pride in my writing because I take the time to think about and apply all of the new information I learned. I believe that this assignment, as my final writing piece in your class, is the perfect depiction of my overall progress and improvement as a developing writer. With that being said, I would like to say thank you for all you have done.I appreciate everything you have done for us and I really hope you enjoyed our class as much as I did.
Credits:
Created with images by Unsplash - "home office workstation office" • Pexels - "post it notes sticky notes note" • Rennett Stowe - "Tapping a Pencil" • Pexels - "blur bokeh book" • Cea. - "Brighter Future"