Category Archives: Weekly Writing

For weekly writing assignments.

Weekly Writing #15

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Progress in Writing

The difference between my current writing skills compared to my senior year of high school is substantial. Last year, I would not have been able to write the amount I can now. My ability to effectively word dump and outline has grown so much and helped with all aspects of my writing. It’s thanks to the frequent writing I’ve had to do this semester that’s made me so used to writing. With FYS combined with my other classes, I had been writing multiple times a week. What felt like an impossible task before now feels like second nature. As well, I’m much better at understanding how to properly use evidence to support my claims. What I plan to improve upon, however, is focusing time on including counterarguments in my writing. Additionally, I want to work on starting my writing assignments further in advance. I’ve been able to write somewhat decent products when starting only a few days in advance of each deadline. However, if I allowed myself more room and time I’d be more able to create much better work. I’m really grateful for all that I’ve learned this semester. I’m so excited to apply my improvements to the next coming semesters and learn so much more.

Weekly Writing #14

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Pen Pals: a short Review of 84 Charing Cross Road

I was very entertained by the film 84 Charing Cross Road. The story and characters were incredibly charming. The fact that it is based on true events makes it even more captivating. I especially loved the dynamic between the leading characters, Helene and Frank. My one and only complaint, however, is the clarity of their relationship. Rather, I wish the film had done a more committed job of representing a friendship instead of a teased romance. From our in-class discussion, I understand that the real Helene Hanff described their relationship to be solely platonic while still meaningful. It’s typical, yes, for films and fictitious stories to show romances, even if they’re only implied, in order to market themselves better. However, I feel the media should strive to represent truer platonic relationships between men and women. Our heteronormative society has conditioned us to believe men and women can never truly be friends. If the media more frequently portrays these said platonic relationships, then steps toward a less heteronormative, and objectively harmful, societal structure can be better made. 

Weekly Writing #13

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Gratitude

This week and the ability to be home and enjoy my time with loved ones has been wonderful to have. With final assignments piling up, I needed a chance to decompress before needing to grind through everything. Every little thing my family does means so much and helps me in so many ways. I am thankful for the cooking my mother and father do. I’ve missed Korean food so much and it’s made me so happy to come home and finally be able to eat a homemade Korean meal. As well, my dad’s Thanksgiving cooking has made the holiday exactly what it is: a day of family and comfort. Food and gifts in general act as a huge love language for me. I feel so loved and cared for whenever I receive even the littlest of things. 

I know I will feel a lot of stress over the next two weeks after break, which is why I appreciate this week’s purpose of having me focus on family. Though it’ll be rough, I will be able to get this same focussed time after it’s over. Winter break, I know, will feel just as nice, probably even more so. 

Weekly Writing #12

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The Day the Crayons Quit

Things have been starting to really pick up these past few weeks. Final projects, papers, and presentations are all beginning to pile up. Because of that, I very much appreciated this week’s focus on relaxation. I appreciated the chance to simply enjoy epistolary works. I most enjoyed collectively reading the children’s book The Day the Crayons Quit. Anything that has to do with feeding my inner child, I love. It reminded me of why I enjoy my current Elementary Italian I class. Because it’s at the elementary level, we often repeat back simple words our professor teaches just like a kindergarten class. Everyone, including the professor, finds it hilarious yet it’s still very engaging and effective in teaching. The children’s book itself is really special because it gives each crayon its own personality that wasn’t labeled as either a “girl” or “boy” color is also so important. As well, it’s an adorable way to introduce children to colors, imagination, and even examples of expressing your emotions and healthily communicating such emotions with others.

Weekly Writing #11

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Writing Cover Letters

Applying for jobs has, personally, always been very intimidating and confusing. The only experience I have is a job I got through an internship. I didn’t have to actually apply for either since it was with a theatre company I’d done shows with before. They were already familiar with who I was and what my work ethic was like. Thanks to college applications and auditions, resumes aren’t scary for me anymore. However, I frankly didn’t know exactly what a cover letter was until this semester. Someone from the career center briefly explained how my resume and cover letter should look. Still, the thought of writing a cover letter intimidated me. I wouldn’t know the first place to begin. Nor did I entirely understand the point of them. I’d always think, “Why have a cover letter when an employer can just look at your resume?” This week’s discussion, though, not only helped me better understand how to write a cover letter, but also made me realize how important they are in showcasing your personality. A resume alone will never help someone determine whether or not you’re a personality they want to work with. Cover letters sell you, not your credentials. 

Weekly Writing #10

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Presenting Letters of Note

Being someone who gets very nervous doing presentations, I loved experiencing the supportive environment of the class. It felt as though everyone was invested in each individual topic and gave general encouragement toward one another. Additionally, I found all the presentations to be incredibly educating. Many people chose to talk about popular writers I was somewhat familiar with but learned surprising things. Such include learning about Roald Dahl being a British spy through Rowan’s presentation or about John and Abigail Adams’ relationship being more friendship oriented through Sarah’s. 

This course in general has helped slowly rebuild my writing and public speaking skills that I felt I’ve lost throughout high school. I used to be a very good public speaker and surprisingly enjoyed it. Overtime, however, my skills somewhat deteriorated since it wasn’t something my high school teachers had us do very often. I’d love to continue improving my public speaking during the rest of this semester and my future years at Muhlenberg. For starters, I’ve often received the note to avoid saying “um” and “uh” too much. The issue, though, during my presentations, is no matter how calm I feel I still stutter and “um” between my sentences. I wonder if there are any good strategies that could help me from repeating such phrases so often.

Weekly Writing #9

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Letters to a Young Writer

I really enjoyed this past week’s reading of Letters to a Young Writer and the activity done along with it. The division of labor and sharing main takeaways in class felt like a very effective way of collaborative learning. As well, I found the letters I personally read to be very helpful. Before high school, I was very passionate about creative writing but fell out of it in order to focus on other things. I’ve started wanting to get back into creative writing this year, however, and doing this reading even more so re-sparked my love for writing. The reading provided me inspiration and motivation to write more. I was also able to take a lot of advice from the chapters everyone else read. By going down the list of chapters in class and having each assigned person share main points I was able to absorb all the important information. Additionally, I learned how to better effectively summarize and analyze texts through taking overall main points and themes. Though, the reading felt more geared towards creative and professional writing. I wonder how one could apply this advice for writing for school such as in analysis or persuasive writing.

Weekly Writing #8

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Historical Letters: Think, Pair, Sharing

In this class alone, we’ve done several collaborative activities that involve reflecting, questioning, and analyzing with other students. For this week’s assignment, we had to read two selected historically famous letters and think, pair, share with our partner for each then share with the class. What differentiated this activity, for me, was feeling very supported by my partner. When presenting, it was very easy to bounce off the other and speak together. This was really nice for me because I normally get very nervous volunteering to speak in class, but it felt more possible with my partner. Reflecting with a partner also allowed for me to realize things I didn’t notice before or help me understand the letters better. I do wonder, however, in these activities, whether we should be focusing more on analysis or our thoughts based on reading? I didn’t feel I had as many significant things to say compared to other students. It felt as though they had more closely read the letters than I believed we were meant to. 

Weekly Writing #7

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Forged Letters: Reflecting on Can You Ever Forgive Me?

The story of Lee Israel through her memoir, Can You Ever Forgive Me?, stands as both a thought provoking and strangely genuine one. Over and over again, mistake after mistake, we are continually told how unlikable a person Lee Israel is. Her agent even goes as far to say her attitude is what’s costing her career as a writer. Though lying and insulting are definitely unlikable habits, one may question why didn’t she change herself to be more “likable?” It’s quite admirable. In an industry that requires approval from others, she never changed who she was. Contrasting the story’s theme of dishonesty, she always stayed true to herself. Her personal growth, as well, stands to be quite admirable. In her final testimony before being given sentence she states, “I mean, it’s the only time, recently, that I can remember being proud of my work. But it wasn’t really my work, was it? I mean, if I had put in my work, then I would’ve been opening myself up to criticism, and I’m too much of a coward to do that.” Since the start of her career, she had written about other people, never herself. Yet, her deciding to write a memoir shows her newfound ability to finally embrace herself. Lee Israel’s story is not an inspiring one, but an admirable one.

Weekly Writing #6

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Epistolary Fiction

In preparation for our upcoming creative writing assignment, this week’s focus was on fiction written in the epistolary format. Whether written through diaries or correspondence, the epistolary format can provide a more personal level of character development, experience, personality, and more. Readers may feel a strong connection to said characters when reading these kinds of pieces of fiction. Additionally, epistolary fiction can more clearly show relationships or dynamics between different characters. Through this week’s focus, I learned just how many different ways a story can be written using the epistolary format. When reading Counting the Days, where rather than the whole story being told through letters, quotes are dispersed in order to support the story rather than be its entirety, I realized there is no one true way to write these kinds of stories. This week has made me feel much more prepared for our creative writing assignment. I feel as though I’ve been given many different pieces of inspiration.