Tag Archives: Improvement

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 #1

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Epistolary Explorations

To me, ‘epistolary explorations’ is the study, the history, and the composition of letter writing. The phrase ‘letter writing’ is a simple one. One would have to say, “The study of letter writing,” or “The history of letter writing,” and so on. Epistolary explorations is a general term that captures all aspects of the topic. When its meaning is understood, specific characteristics are not needed in conversation. 

The idea of learning about different points of history through the reading of letters is an exciting one. It’s similar to using historical documents as sources for a historical essay. The process is more intimate and engaging, unlike reading from a textbook.

While the reading and writing for this course is exciting, it is quite unnerving. Reading and interpreting higher levels of material in high school was difficult, so college level reading stands as a worrisome idea to me. It may be irrational to worry about material that I haven’t even seen yet. Still, I hope I will be able to reach the expected level of ability in this course.

My Writing Process

In regards to my writing process, I’m most proud of my ability to keep a mental outline of my work. Though I don’t always physically write down said outline, I’m able to remember key points I most want within the writing piece. This process forces me to have set goals or objectives to reach when writing, say, the beginning. It allows for (hopefully) smoother flow of language and clearer arguments.

Throughout this semester, I hope to improve my writing and grow as a writer by widening my vocabulary and strengthening my patience. Often, I find myself using words like ‘I’ or ‘me’ or ‘the’ over and over again. I’ll try to think of different ways to phrase my words, but with some difficulty. Additionally, I’m not one to enjoy taking the time to create a well organized display of an outline, then go on to write a draft, read, edit, write another draft, read, edit, another, and so on and so forth. I admittedly will have my first draft as my final draft, with a proof read or two to check for spelling mistakes. This is mainly with school assignments, not with more important things(like my college application essays). It saves me time but prevents quality results I’m truly proud of.