I was a bit hesitant to take this class. I have always thought of myself as a fair writer, but it has been a long time since I have taken an English class. I have written papers for Humanities class and put together research papers for a biology class and I always get a good grade, but I knew this class was going to pose difficulties. I didn’t think I was prepared for my writing style to be picked apart. I can usually throw together a good story, but I learned quickly that this class would require more effort than that. I have learned how to add vivid detail to a story, organize my thoughts and brainstorm, and I have learned how to write for a specific audience.
I pride myself on using good grammar and using proper punctuation and I thought this was the biggest obstacle to overcome when writing an essay, but I very quickly learned this is not the case. Grammar and punctuation although necessary, do not make a story interesting. I had to learn to add colorful interesting words and verbs to my essays. Without such additions the story seemed to be dull and lack life. It took me a few tries before I caught on, but I realized that the addition of those words really did make all the difference. For example, in my “Red Hot Lesson” essay instead of just saying that I used baby oil to tan, I described the sweet smell to help give the reader more vivid detail. Because of this class I am no longer naïve to the importance of these words.
I have always had the most trouble with starting a story. One reason I find it difficult is because I don’t find my life interesting, so who would want to read my stories? After reading the example essay and the instructions for the assignment, I would sit in front of my computer and look at the blank white screen. I would constantly be searching for an idea. When at work I was constantly thinking about what I should write about, jotting ideas down on credit card receipt paper. When I would come up with an idea I would start to type. It was a slow process but I always made it through. I always have trouble with the introduction, but once I was able to get it down, it was smooth sailing. I have surprised myself many times by coming up with a story I had forgotten about or writing a story and turning it into something that I was proud of and found myself sharing with friends. I think that brainstorming for an essay will always be problematic, but after taking this class and writing over thirty essays, I know I will eventually come up with the perfect story.
Upon looking back on my first essays I realized that I had poor organization skills. When writing the story I would just let all of the ideas flow together, unaware of how disorganized the story was. To me it made complete sense, but to the reader it was a confusing mess. It took me some practice to learn how to organize my thoughts, keeping in mind chronological order. Because I still have trouble writing an organized essay, I make sure to go through the story several times and think about the story from every angle. I try to put myself in the reader’s shoes so that I can write an interesting, effective essay. I know that I still need work as far as organization goes, but I think that I have come a long way.
Before this class the only audience that I wrote for was my professors. When writing for a professor I always kept in mind that the paper I was writing was for nothing more than a grade, I never tried to entertain. I was not worried about making him laugh or making him sympathize with me, I was only trying to convince him that I knew the subject matter at hand and that I deserved the best grade possible. Having a blog for this class put me in a different mindset. Although I knew my professor was going to read my essays, I had to keep in mind that my peers would read them as well. So I had to switch gears and write to entertain. I wanted to write a funny essay, an essay that would bring about emotion, or cause my peers to sympathize me. Captivating an audience can be a difficult task, but I found that if I was enthusiastic about the topic then getting the readers to like the story wasn’t that hard after all.
I started this class with hesitation. I was not ready for my writing to be judged but once I jumped in and gave it all I had, I found that I really enjoyed myself. I learned valuable writing skills that I would not have learned otherwise. I will now always add vivid detail when needed, brainstorm for as long as it takes, and organize my thoughts effectively.
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