Reflection on the year

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.