It is obvious
to me that I have come along as a writer. I have improved in many areas
although I still have a grammatical problem with writing. I think that I have
improved in many aspects but, the ones that have seen the most improvement are
using sources, constructing a well-organized and flowing paper, and letting my
own ideas flourish. I am glad that I have improved in writing because that
means that this course was worth taking.
I have
improved on using sources this year by a tremendous amount. When writing papers
before this year, I never really used sources; they were not really necessary in
my writings. This year has opened my eyes to using sources and to how others
use sources. I use to just read the article I had originally wanted to read but
now I check the sources that it lists, seeing if they are legitimate and if I
would want to read the source. Checking sources can make a paper you thought
was good into a paper you think is not credible. In the blog post “Why I think college is good,” I feel like I used sources to my advantage in
helping write the blog and made the blog itself into a credible one. Using
sources is a big thing to me now, it has made me more cautious of what I read
and I now feel as though writings should have some source to list in order to
make it a well-rounded read.
Another thing
that I feel I have improved on is organizing my paper and making it flow. I
have always had a problem with flowing words into one another to make for an easier
read. I have by no means completely tackled this problem but I feel as though I
have made a good base for me to start and with this I have organized my papers
and notes. A good example of my organization is my blog post “Why college isn't good enough.” I personally love how this blog looks, all the
pictures, the bullets, and the white space. This blog shows that I have made
improvement and gained confidence in writing. Even if my papers might not flow
well now, I know how to improve myself for the long run which will more than
likely prove to be useful.
The last
thing I feel I have improved on is probably the biggest and that is letting my
ideas flourish. Over these few months I have learned to let my ideas flow and
pour out onto the paper rather than let my brain overthink what I am writing
and critic every little detail of what I am saying. In doing this, my writing
is mostly my own words now, rather than thinking of what would be the nice and
appropriate thing to say. “Why college? Take 2,” this post was the post that my ideas have come
through the most in and really shown what I think. Most of my writing consists of
ideas and sentences that my brain has gone through over and over until I
finally decide how I want it and then put it on to the paper which doesn’t make
for a very good read. I have found my writing to be much more enjoyable to read
if I just start typing and let all my ideas flow out without hesitating in any
way. This is also much more enjoyable to me and quicker to write.
Reflecting on this year I suppose
I really have made a large improvement in myself. Even if at the least I have
made an improvement in my confidence of writing. Personally I believe that the
only way to improve on writing is to just do it. You can’t just write all the
time though, you must read too, that is how you will pick up on things and
improve yourself. I believe that is one reason I improved so much, I have been reading
unlike I ever have before and I am enjoying it, which in turn has made me enjoy
writing much more.
