What Four Months Can Do to Your Writing by Ella Blaine

Introduction

eblaine1 — 2023-11-29 17:46:37 UTC

From August to now my life has entered into this surreal shift. When I came to English class it was the biggest relief, a small classroom, unlike all the lecture halls I'm in. As the year went on, one of the only classes I looked forward to was English. I loved the intimacy and made friends. As for the work, it surprised me. I enjoyed doing it and got good grades. Which made me like it more. I've enhanced and learned new things about writing. I can see there's more beyond the words now. Though I have a greater grasp on English and writing as a whole there is much room for improvement. I get excited to write, which is great, but now I have so many ideas within every assignment. A major thing I have to remember is to take my time and be clear. Overall, I feel like I've accomplished something more in English. My experience this year has been so beneficial, not only for my social life but for my education and writing ability as well.

Minor Assignment 1

eblaine1 — 2023-11-29 18:11:15 UTC

This assignment is one of the first ones, it's a minor from unit one. For it being one of the firsts I surprisingly like it. This assignment shows the potential my writing has, in my opinion. Though it's just me answering three questions, it shows I was actively working. It's clear and straight to the point while being effective.

Minor Assignment 2

eblaine1 — 2023-11-29 18:29:11 UTC

This piece comes from unit three! Now, after completing units one & two you might think my writing capability has progressed. It has, and though this piece shows some improvement there is still space for more. This piece is a little aggressive, I focused too much on Gold's opinion rather than my own. So, I sort've forgot to put my genuine thoughts into it. I chose this one because I feel as if it does show some progress but it could use more proofreading, so it's like a reminder to do so.

Major Assignment 1

eblaine1 — 2023-11-29 18:42:10 UTC

For unit two's major assignment, we had to prepare a formal joke analysis in the format of a slideshow. This is really where my ideas flew all over. To be more specific, I had a bunch of thoughts, and this sketch contained an underlying message in which I wanted every aspect to be known. Sadly, this made some slides confusing or even repetitive. Though I do like it, again it shows I may need to be spending more time drafting and proofreading.

Minor Assignment 3

eblaine1 — 2023-11-29 19:00:36 UTC

Here's another writing assignment from unit one! Now, one thing I am good at is writing about how I feel. If you can't tell I still have a diary. This assessment focused on what comedy means to me. I do like this one, I feel as if the tone is mature. The vocabulary I used is my favorite, I think it contributes to the tone I was going for. Some more pros are it's seemingly clear and easy to understand, plus it's short and sweet. I wanted to add this one because it's one of my favorites. It gives me more confidence given it's from unit one too.

Minor Assignment 4

eblaine1 — 2023-11-29 19:21:03 UTC

Here is some of my actual opinion in response to Judy Gold! This little piece comes from unit three. I'm not particularly proud of it, but I'm also not disappointed by it. It's neutral for me. I do like that I had an opportunity to state my thoughts and explain why some of Gold's claims aren't upheld. I think this paragraph shows some improvement, I was able to pick the correct fallacy for the exerted piece and the explanation wasn't half bad. Still is a little aggressive to me, so I would like for it to be less emotional in a way.

Major Assignment 2

eblaine1 — 2023-11-29 19:32:48 UTC

Our very last major assignment ended up being one of the pieces I was most proud of. Which was not expected. A majority of my drafts for this paper were just awful. It's almost funny, but I just could not get my thoughts together during the drafting process. I remember sitting there either absolutely blank with ideas or too many of them. Then all of a sudden it just came out. It ended up being better than I imagined. It started clear and continued to end that way. I like to think this is an easy and entertaining read. One that portrays my skill improvement, and hopefully shows my progress in many ways.

Minor Assignment 5

eblaine1 — 2023-11-29 19:59:25 UTC

This is one of the "awful" drafts I created for 'They Say/I Say.' This is another instance where my ideas flew all over. I had this so-called vision for the paper but it was off-topic, which led me to get confused. The draft itself doesn't quite flow, really the only word to describe it is confusing. One thing I would refine is my process of writing. I need to put more time and thought into the outline while also putting more effort into researching the evidence. Said evidence needs to link up with my counterclaims and provide support. It's not really awful but it can be better, and if it was better the final draft would've maybe been easier to write.

Conclusion

eblaine1 — 2023-12-01 20:39:38 UTC

In as little as four months my writing skills have enhanced. From in-class teachings to reading our textbook I've gained more knowledge about so many things. Some key skills I will take with me everywhere would have to be being able to analyze all kinds of different works, writing emails that don't piss off my professors, and being able to thoroughly do research. There's tons more but the list would go on and on. As a psychology major wanting to be a therapist writing is going to be in my world a lot. Emails and evaluations will be a daily thing for me, so I'm grateful to have accumulated these skills. I feel more confident as I continue my college education as well. Overall this has been a light yet insightful and challenging course and I'm happy to have experienced it.