Dear Mentor,
At the beginning of the term,
you have resented us with Desired Learning Results for ENGLCOM Writing
Component and I am proud to say that, to some extent, I have attained them. All
my essays display my effective communication skills because I was able to successfully
get my message across to my reader. My two major essays, “Aye Aye, Captain!”
for Extended Definition Essay and “Social Networking: Crippling, Not Cool” for
Argumentative Essay, have showcased my critical and creative thinking. Those
two essays required me to think not only out of the box, but logically as well
in researching for data and information regarding the topics of my essays.
Creative and critical thinking were also exercised during the writing process
in discerning the best way to express my message. It was also used during the
peer-editing in proof-reading for any errors and searching for points of
improvement. Reflective life-long learning was also exhibited through the
consistent usage of the techniques learned in ENGLCOM WC. These techniques were
not only used for the class, but in writing academic papers, reflection papers,
reaction papers and the like for other subjects as well.
As I said before, I have only
attained to the Desired Learning results to some extent for they all proved to
be difficult to achieve. However, I found critical and creative thinking to be
the most elusive skill of all three. I constantly struggled with finding a
topic to write about and when I do decide on one, I struggled with which
details to develop. I could never agree with myself as to the kind of voice I
wanted to convey or the writing style I wanted to use. Even as I write this, an
internal argument is going on inside of me. I can only hope that one day, with
much practice and perseverance, that I will no longer be so fickle and have my
own writing identity.
With two more years of college
stretched out ahead of me and without any plans of switching to another course,
I know that there are many more writing classes to study, essays and papers to
write, books to read, mistakes to correct and lessons to learn. I foresee
countless nights of writing and banging my head for an idea. Perhaps somewhere
along the way, with all that repetition and usage of writing skills, I will no
longer find it hard to think critically and creatively.
But out of all the essays I have
written this term, I am most proud of my first one: “Nomad”. It is raw, real
and relevant to my life. “Nomad” is about constant change and the on-going
search for my identity and place in this world. Out of everything I have ever
written, it showcased who I was and what I hope to find. It is honest, without
being too honest. It was written about me, but it can also be for any
travelling soul. Whenever I read it, I feel like I am in front of a mirror,
staring at my younger self. I can feel the pain, the frustration, the anxiety
and the hope. When I finish, I know that I turned out just fine and that
everything will be okay. I hope whoever reads it will believe that too.
There was a variety of activities
in ENGLCOM WC that aided me in achieving my personal goals. The lectures
equipped me with the knowledge I needed to write well. The group activities and
assignments provided a means to practice new concepts and writing techniques. It
gave me the opportunity to use the concepts discussed during the lectures and use
the techniques introduced during class. I was also able to develop a formal
voice and exercise writing academically.
Personally, I do not believe
that blogging made a difference in my reading and writing skills. I wrote as I
would for a written or printed output and I read as I would a printed or
written text. My writings on my blog are the same as the academic papers I am
required to pass for other subjects. Perhaps I would feel differently if we
were asked to maintain a real blog instead of one for academic purposes.
However, blogging proved to be more convenient for most of the students because
it made peer-editing and commenting easier than if it were a written output. It
also spared us from the hassle off printing, allowing us to save paper, ink and
money.
Throughout the course of this
term, I found out that I am a highly informal writer. I write the same way as I
talk. Many times, I have caught myself using informal language and describing
scenarios to express emotion (ex. “banging my head for an idea” = frustration,
anger). I learned that I am also very fickle. My mind comes up with too many
ideas too fast that my memory often cannot catch up with it. In the end, I am
left angry and frustrated, with nothing to write. After that, I get a writer’s
block. However, thanks to the lessons and techniques presented to us in class,
I was able to come out with a handful of good works. Even though I still prefer
writing as I usually do, it’s good to know that I am just as capable of writing
an academic paper with a formal voice.
Some of the writing techniques
taught this term was Outlining and Free-writing. Personally, I have grown
accustomed to Outlining for it allowed me to organize my train of thoughts and
ideas. Because of this, I am now able to write efficiently and effectively. Free-writing
also aided me in letting out my ideas before they could desert my ever changing
mind. Lessons such as parallelism were revisited while others like pre-writing
strategies, how to write an introduction, thesis statement and conclusion were
expounded.
In revising my major essays, I
always turned to classmates for a second opinion. I have the tendency of
overlooking my errors and mistakes for I knew the flow of the essay like the
back of my hand. I already knew what it was going to say even before I read
that part. Because I had already understood what I was reading, it was easy for
me to skip my mistakes. However, with a fresh pair of eyes, my classmates
easily spotted the errors I had committed and readily edited them. I also
turned to my professor for an experienced view for it is her area of expertise
and her experienced eyes were able to see the mistakes that my classmates might
have overlooked or considered correct.
As the term ends, I can proudly
say that I am walking away with a head full of knowledge and a pocket filled
with new ideas and techniques jut itching to be used again. There were many
difficulties that I would rather not encounter again, but gold can only be
purified through fire. I still have much to learn and the road to travel
stretched far and unending before me, but I know that I am leaving better than
I have come.
Always,
RoadtoApollo
No comments:
Post a Comment