Throughout taking this course, the repetitive writing assignments allowed me to grow a great deal as a writer. The reason that this transpired was that I was able to perfect a skill that was not necessarily my strong suit in that I was forced to figure out how to write a successful, yet analytical response to the class essay prompts. What truly made me excel in improving my writing in this course was how we were constantly required to write. By forcing the students to periodically get better at writing through practice, I witnessed my writing transform a great deal in that I was able to increase my vocabulary, grammar, syntax, structure, and flow overall. These skills that I acquired in this course through its writing assignments will greatly serve me in future coursework and my career because having the skill to write, reflect, and articulate my thoughts in an organized, clear, and thoughtful manner is an essential skill in both personal and professional life.
When I began writing reflective pieces for this course, there was a general trend in my writing to be too literal and not expand upon my thought process. I greatly noticed that one of the first aspects of my writing that evolved was the way that I structured my thesis statements. For example, in the first paper, I quoted the source exclusively in my thesis statement by stating its main points rather than expanding my own ideas and viewpoints based on what I read, (“Course Materials,” 2016). However, in the second paper, I made great strides in evolving how I constructed my thesis statement to include more personal insights that were combined with the text in which I drew those inferences. Additionally, when reflecting upon the evolution of my writing, I also observed that I made a great deal of progress pertaining to my ability to write a counter argument. Previously, I had never given much thought to a counter argument and noticed that this came much easier to me by the end of the second paper.
What greatly developed in the fourth paper was my ability to write a proper introduction paragraph, (“Course Materials,” 2016). This is imperative because previously, I was able to write a thesis statement in the other prior assignments; however, I was unable to articulate what I needed to say in the introduction to get to my thesis statements effectively. What I learned in the fourth paper was the ability to start with a broad topic and narrow my thoughts and arguments into my effective thesis statement. Additionally, I learned the utility of the introduction paragraph to road-mapping because I was able to outline my entire paper effectively in the introduction.
The fourth paper also taught me a great deal about who to reverse my introduction in my concluding remarks, (“Course Materials,” 2016). Previously, I had not realized this link between the introduction and conclusion and how it could enhance my writing ability a great deal. The way that I was able to foster this skill in the fourth paper was that I started by restating my thesis statement in the first sentence of the conclusion. Then, I was able to funnel my arguments back out to the broader subject that I started with, which enabled me to bring my paper to an effective close. This really polished my writing and I still do not know why it took me so long to internalize this concept throughout this course. That being said, I really tied this together in the fourth paper and it made an immense difference in my overall writing ability, flow, and final product.
Reflecting back to my first learning statement, I have come a long way since then because my writing was quite abrupt and robotic at that point in time, (“Course Materials,” 2016). For that reason, I was able to expand on this hindrance in subsequent learning statements and grow a great deal as a writer. This was achieved due to the repetition that the course work required.
This course additionally taught me a great deal about writing concepts that I had not paid a great deal of attention to before such as: language styles, responding to arguments, logic, and planning/research, (“Course Materials,” 2016). It was because of these tutorials that I was also able to grow a great deal as a writer in this course because I learned the logic behind what I was trying to overcome and it made me a better writer overall.
All in all, the repetitive practice of writing and applying new concepts to my writing made me grow exponentially as a writer. This course taught me how to organize my thoughts effectively and achieve a great deal in a short period of time. The lessons that I learned in this course will benefit me a great deal in the years to come because not only will my writing continue to grow, but it will also evolve with new vocabulary, language, and experiences.
References
“Course Materials.” 2016. Web. 16 May 2016.
