Looking Back

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Recommended: Growing as a writer

The act of writing an essay has always been something of a love/hate relationship for me. Like many students, I find the process to be either pure enjoyment or incredibly painful depending on my view of the topic. It’s something that I think all of us come to terms with at some point. Throughout this course I have come to realize that a lot of the pain associated with writing can be relieved through an understanding of the skills and methods needed. The process of my growth in this class can be seen throughout my essays. It’s almost hard to believe the journey I’ve been on from my first essay in this class to my last. The feeling I get when I look over my writing assignments is the same as I would get if I were looking at pictures of myself developing as a child. It’s a feeling of distance. Like the entire process took place a long time ago. Despite the fact they were only done months ago; the changes that I have undergone in writing feel immense. Each essay from the first one to the last reflects the challenges and lessons that have contributed to my growth as a student.
The first essay provided a good foundation for the changes that I would make throughout the course. If I could use only one word to describe this essay it would be overconfidence. I came into this class with the misguided belief that I already knew what I needed to know. Looking back on my first essay it is apparent that I had little to no idea what was involved in good writing. The initial reaction that I get when I read through the first essay is that it is completely void of any personal style. The tone comes across as being robotic, and I can’t help but cringe while reading it. Ironically, I had stated that good writing is “passionate and thought provoking.”...

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...ersonal voice. By the second essay I had begun to develop a sense of myself. I started to break away from the repetitive tone of the first paper, and express myself as an individual through my writing. Additionally, I was able to create a stronger paper by learning how to use sources to better effect. Despite the progress I had made during the second paper, I feel as though the third paper didn’t really show additional growth from the second. However, by writing assignment number four I really felt like I had hit my stride in the class. Everything I had learned previously came together to help me fully express my views on education to my audience. This final essay has allowed me to reflect on my own process of growth in the course. From this point I can see that the skills I have developed in this course are going to be essential in succeeding in college and beyond.

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