1.) Write 1-2 paragraphs comparing and contrasting your writing process before WAC 101 and after. _______/ (10 points)
Before coming into WAC 101, I would write as if I were to be speaking out loud. Therefore, I would let my mind flow with ideas and I would keep writing it all down. I would have a good introduction, but throughout my body paragraph(s), it would go off topic here and there. When I would read back my writing in my head it sounded fairly well; however, when I would read it out loud, there would be parts that wouldn’t make sense and would sound very confusing.
After being in WAC 101 this semester, it has taught me how to reorganize my ideas. For example,
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In order to write a good essay, I had to make sure I addressed the prompt correctly. It has helped me improve on being able to address the prompt rather than ideas that are similar to it. For example, in the research paper, “Why We Crave Horror Movies,” I used research and ideas that explained the prompt in a scientific view. Such as the “cuddle effect”, I did not just address what it is but how it relates
Organization
Support
3.) Compare one of your first papers with your last. Name and analyze three ways your revision process has changed. You may refer to other drafts in your portfolio.
(2 paragraphs)
______/ (30 points)
In my first essay, “This I Believe,” I had a very hard time thinking about something that I can relate to. At first, my first draft was about the six pillars of characteristics and wanted to show that caring was the main character that contributed to the other characteristics (responsibility, fairness, trustworthiness, citizenship). However, my first draft kept on jumping around and I did not specify exactly that caring was my main topic that I believed in. Therefore, when I got my paper back, I knew I could not explain the topic about the six pillars of characteristics in a specific form. I decided to change my topic and relate caringness to my personal experiences. However, I felt as if it was not
Research My first research experience took place from the Fall 2012 – Summer 2013 in a neurobiology laboratory (Dr. Daniel Plas) focused on Parkinson’s Disease. In this project an undergrad student and I were tasked with optimizing a cellular medium for neural growth of the model organism Lymnaea stagnalis. This was comprised of following established protocols and altering certain variables within the formulas (differing concentrations of ions, pH, et al.) to observe growth pattern differences in vitro.
This was also an in-class essay, but here I see that I not only mention what the authors are talking about but also what that means. By learning to ask that next question I have more places to go in my paper. I still need to master this skill but for an in-class essay written in December, I think I have improved significantly since
In “The Fish” by Elizabeth Bishop, the narrator attempts to understand the relationship between humans and nature and finds herself concluding that they are intertwined due to humans’ underlying need to take away from nature, whether through the act of poetic imagination or through the exploitation and contamination of nature. Bishop’s view of nature changes from one where it is an unknown, mysterious, and fearful presence that is antagonistic, to one that characterizes nature as being resilient when faced against harm and often victimized by people. Mary Oliver’s poem also titled “The Fish” offers a response to Bishop’s idea that people are harming nature, by providing another reason as to why people are harming nature, which is due to how people are unable to view nature as something that exists and goes beyond the purpose of serving human needs and offers a different interpretation of the relationship between man and nature. Oliver believes that nature serves as subsidence for humans, both physically and spiritually. Unlike Bishop who finds peace through understanding her role in nature’s plight and acceptance at the merging between the natural and human worlds, Oliver finds that through the literal act of consuming nature can she obtain a form of empowerment that allows her to become one with nature.
papers and what’s needed in them. One of the more important things that I’ve learned, is planning out
Writing is a process I’ve grown to despise. Ever since grade school, I’ve had problems trying to express my ideas on paper. My writing process involves thinking about what’s being asked and trying to reflect my thoughts the best way I can on paper, but my thoughts don’t always come out as clear as I want them to be sometimes leaving a question not fully answered. My writing process isn’t a consistent set in stone process, but since being in ENC 1101 I always follow some of the same parameters such as revising my drafts, grammar usage and considering context and audience.
I have always known that writing was not my strong point. Entering writing 101 in September I was very much afraid. I knew that the expectations would be very high for this course; thus it would be more difficult than any other writing class I had previously taken. At first writing was a nightmare for me, but thanks to the assistance from professor Smart and my tutors, I have improved drastically in my writing skills and, as a result I am now a better writer. During the course of four months, I have learned so much. There were a few bumps in the way throughout the semester, but I managed to overcome them. It is hard to believe that my journey in writing 101 is coming to an end. Through my hard work and dedication, this class has helped me to build confidence in my writing that will help me throughout my college life.
First of all I sit down where I can really concentrate on my topic, and I make outlines. I
Many students in high school lack the ability to write at a proficient level. One of the major issues with writing is that they struggle to understand the prompt and do not know how to start their essay. If they cannot “unlock” the prompt and write proper topic and thesis statements they will not get a passing score on their writing assignment, both in the classroom and at the State testing level.
As I chose to take this class and better my writing skills at a college level, I knew this class was going to be difficult. With a total of four essays to write I knew I had to be on my game from the beginning. Throughout durations of this class, I have learned how to become more responsible, plan ahead of time, and how to become a better writer. With each mistake made i have been able to learn and improve. An Ad Analysis, Comparative Analysis, Narrative, and an Argumentative Essay are the four papers we had to write for the course.
While brainstorming the process essay, I realized my weaknesses and planned better how to strengthen them. I knew simple grammatical errors and transitions were two of the most important ones I needed to correct. So while thinking of my topics to include in my essay, I thought of how each of them connected. In what ways can I draw connections between the three of these topics? Through asking myself this question, I transitioned from the paragraph of agency background to volunteer work with a more satisfying flow (“The Civic Responsibility” 2). While it took me longer to draft this essay, it ended up being worth it in the long run. I felt more accomplished of this paper and when I received feedback that required me to change minimal things; I knew it was worth
One essay that really helped me improve my writing was the personal essay, where we interviewed someone in the profession we wanted to go into. I chose a teacher from high school that had encouraged me to teach. For this essay, we had to interview the teacher and then write about it. I was nervous about writing this essay, because I had never done anything like this before. I was not sure what questions to ask or how I would translate the recorded interview into a paper. I could not just simply write what she told me. I needed to present it in such away so that it was readable and interesting.
Simple enough prompt I thought. But when it was time to write it down I wasn’t sure of what to talk about. I wrote down 3 global problems on the planning sheet and thought about what I could use as evidence. The one that I thought had the most supporting evidence:poverty. So I decided to use poverty as my problem. I started the intro with a story but as I started my first paragraph, while writing it I thought you know what would be cool? Having my whole essay be like a story. That was what I did, and it was a bit risky. After turning it in I thought, that was such a bad essay. Maybe even the worst in the class. I was doubting the risk I took.When I got my essay back I was relieved to see that my risk was worth it because I got a 4. I still had the same problem as the fourth one though. Also, my essay didn’t have enough evidence because it was a story. I’ll be sure to fix up these problems in my sixth essay I
Dr. Shook’s critiques directed me to revise for the lack of transitional phrases between main ideas within my essay, as well as my tendency to compose run-on sentences. Accordingly, I inserted transitions that connected the major points that my essay touched upon. In order to do so, I used phrases such as “furthermore” in order to create a better flow without compromising the important ideas that were essential in regards to properly communicating the context to my audience. By commencing the process of revising my first essay, I developed the understanding that one of my shortcomings as a writer at the beginning of the semester included compiling numerous ideas into one sentence, consequently making it too “heavy.” By taking corrective action, I separated sentences that surpassed three lines into two entities. I found that Informal Assignment 10: Writing with Clear Style, assisted in improving my understanding of how my style of writing assists in communicating to my audience. Initially, I failed to realize that clear communication is of the utmost importance in regards to becoming an astute college writer. I entered English 101 focusing on incorporating words with over three syllables to intelligently convey my argument instead of focusing on how clearly my argument will be received by my
So the question becomes, how can a student learn to write a more developed essay? There are many different types of rubrics used by the academia world, and though each has its own way of breaking the parts of an essay into categories, there are typically three categories: purpose, organization, and conventions. Students need strategies to help them tackle each of these categories in their writing. Students need to learn strategies in questioning, in pre-writing, and in revising to develop essays that show their full understanding of the curriculum.