As the late and great poet Maya Angelou once said, “When I am writing, I am trying to find out who I am, who we are, what we’re capable of, how we feel, how we lose and stand up, and go from darkness to darkness. I’m trying for that. But I’m also trying for the language, I’m trying to see how it can really sound. I really love language. I love it for what it does for us, how it allows us to explain the pain and glory, the nuances and delicacies of our existence. And then it allows us to laugh, allows us to show wit. Real wit is shown in language. We need language.” Writing in a college student’s world today is mainly limited to Facebook messages, text messages, and email. We hardly, as a generation, write “snail mail” anymore, as my mother calls it. Papers are written on a need to complete basis and with that in mind it is occasionally hard to differentiate our professional voice versus our laid back conversational voice. Over the course of this essay I am going to tell you what my strengths and weaknesses are, my expectations on how to become a better writer, and my step by step on how to achieve my expectations.
Generally, a writer’s strengths and weaknesses vary; however, mine are fairly common. My greatest strengths include following rubrics and
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I do not like to sound “pedestrian” in my writing. For example, if I use a simple word such as big, I will use a thesaurus to find a more age and skill level appropriate word to apply. Every writer has weaknesses; some of mine include grammar and punctuation, (comma splices are my mortal enemy), procrastination, and I have a significant problem with doubting myself when it comes to my intellectual abilities. Last semester before every paper got turned in to my professor, I had my fiancé read and correct each and every one. Then, when my professor would finally hand the papers back, mine were constantly covered in red ink. It was frustrating; however, every time I tried to better
I am more knowledgeable about invention, arrangement, style, and delivery, all in which create a masterful piece of text. A few examples, I have learned to organize and construct my thoughts and ideas clearer. I have been taught to use stronger transitions and focus more on the delivery and content of the body element of essays. Further, the instructions and advice I have received throughout this term have influenced my understanding of the purpose of writing. My outlook on writing has been modified by shifting my perception of writing from, writing to prove I am a good writer by perceiving it as using “fluffy” or BIG words to impress my audience. I grew to understanding that good writing’s purpose is to engage the writer by mind-striking ideas and arguments, which therefore will prove and title me as a “good writer”.
Several people have trouble writing college level essays and believe that they are unable to improve their writing skills. In “the Inspired Writer vs. The Real Writer,” Sarah Allen argues how no one is born naturally good at writing. Sarah Allen also states how even professional writers have trouble with the task of writing. Others, such as Lennie Irvin, agree. In Irvin’s article “What is ‘Academic’ Writing?” states how there are misconceptions about writing. Furthermore, Mike Bunn’s article “How to Read Like a Writer” shows ways on how one can improve their writing skills. Allen, Bunn, and Irvin are correct to say how no one is born naturally good writers. Now that we know this, we should find ways to help improve our writing skills, and
It appears Maya Angelou could answer the timeless question what does it mean to be a women?” She shows her confidence and pride in her identity as a women in the poem “Phenomenal Woman” that I found on the internet. She says,
Maya Angelou has inspired me in more ways than one, and I had to write about her. When Maya speaks people listen. She has this wisdom that only few have, especially when life wasn’t always great. She turned tragedy into triumph, and helped others in doing so. So, Maya has proven too many women, especially black women that you succeed, even if you have had a child in your teen years. She’s proof that with determination nothing is unattainable.
During the transition from a high school writer to a collegiate writer, my strength at understanding the basic principles of good writing has remained consistent. I grasp the ...
Over my career of schooling my writing has changed dramatically at times and very little at others. Through my years of schooling people have determined my main weaknesses and strengths that I should work on with my writing. My biggest weakness is writing introductions and conclusions they must be so complicated and require so much thought to be defined as good. I excel at writing body paragraphs and explaining all the facts that back up your main ideas though.
Maya Angelou is a strong woman, how she manages to hold herself together made me feel as if she could speak to all audiences. She prevailed and picked herself up no matter long it had taken. For example, "As a result of a traumatic experience, she had become depressed and withdrawn and unable, or unwilling, to speak "yet after a year of moping around the house things made a change for the best . For me she brought a sense of nostalgia,many of us growing up have all came across something we had a sweet spot for, an attachment to, or love for. An example "the sweet chocolate drops that I loved more than anything in the world" does not just apply to food, but a place, or person,made me think of my favorite delights I sought out for as a child giving off a warming effect in my memory. Her relationship with Mrs. Bertha Flowers I found was inspiring, touching, and respectful.
These strengths and weaknesses were mainly discovered through the papers that we have written. I have many strengths when I’m writing papers and at the same time, I have many weaknesses. In my papers, I have noticed that one of my biggest strengths is how articulate I am. The papers that have been written by myself show that I structured sentences to present ideas in different ways. It is not straightforward and boring when ideas are presented. I like to keep the reader hooked on my paper. In order to keep up with this strength, I like to read articles. The articles I read are typically the ones that present new ideas or start arguments. This is one of my strengths that I am very proud
As a second language learner I have never expected myself to be a perfect writer throughout the semester. Even If English was my first language still, I would not be a perfect writer. It is not about first or second language, it is about how well I understand the learning objectives. Then organizing and writing with my own ideas and putting them in my paper. I am going to be honest, I am not good at English subject and English subject is my strongest weakness than the other subjects. In this paper I will discuss and analyze my own writing, reflecting on the ways that my writing has improved throughout the semester.
Throughout the semester i only learned few new things but i did improve and solidify my skill of writing. Before my first year of college my skills have always undermined by other high school english teachers and with that came disappointing grades. I am writing this paper as a reflection of the semester and the progress i have made as a writer. I now understand many things that my high school teachers have done a poor job demonstrating and i am grateful that i decided to take my own route in my education instead of their syllabus. I entered the semester with anxiety that i would perform as i did before but i clearly outdid my own expectations by receiving top grades on my essays.
Maya Angelou is an author and poet who has risen to fame for her emotionally filled novels and her deep, heartfelt poetry. Her novels mainly focus on her life and humanity with special emphasis on her ideas of what it means to live. The way she utilizes many different styles to grab and keep readers’ attention through something as simple as an autobiography is astounding. This command of the English language and the grace with which she writes allows for a pleasant reading experience. Her style is especially prominent in "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings", where the early events of Angelou’s life are vividly described to the reader in the postmodern literary fashion.
In this paper, I am to write about my strengths and weaknesses in writing. This is not an easy task for me because I have never considered myself a writer. Reading other peoples thoughts are activities that are more my speed. I simply have trouble putting my thoughts into writing. Since, I do not feel that I have many strengths, let's move on to my weaknesses.
My strengths as a writer are that my papers are very well developed, they have always been graded and ranged from a high B to an A. I always meet the requirement, but I don't add as much detail as I should. I have a good style and organization. I always make sure to keep my papers in order. All of my papers have spelling errors but is not bad enough for the reader to get confused while reading. Readers can easily follow my papers with no struggles. I use a variety of simple and complex sentences to structure my papers. I do get quite a few comma splices, but never to many run-on sentences or fragments in my paper. My papers do have a good word choice that include imagery and figurative language. I don't use super strong verbs in my papers and I also have grammatical errors in my papers as well.
Writing about my personal strengths is a challenging task that requires me to focus on the strong points that make up my character. However, to attack my weaknesses, is to challenge myself to take control over the areas that need some redefining of certain skills to make greatest success in life. My life is not defined by weaknesses, but more so the makeup of my personal strengths.
As my English 101 class comes to an end, I have realized how much I have transformed as a writer. In this essay, I am going to explain what I realized my strengths and weaknesses are as a writer and how they have manifested themselves throughout the quarter. I was skeptical at first coming into this class knowing that English takes formidable work and dedication, but I am very proud of the progress I have made. We completed a great deal of work throughout the quarter; from grammar exercises, summary reviews, and two challenging essays. Throughout the quarter I found myself improving in each category. As a writer, my skills and confidence have developed into more clarity and thought, something I have always wanted to be, as a result of a well constructed class that led to a superb educational experience.