I was never good at writing, but I love to read. Funny how that works, right? During this semester's class, I have learned many tips to improve my writing and express my inner thoughts on paper. I was given the chance to explore different ways of writing and lots about absurd authors. I have seen growth in my own abilities since beginning this course, and with this I will thrive in my future writing endeavors.
Prior to taking this class I had a hard time finding a good thesis and things to elaborate on in a hooking way. With the helpful feedback from peers and mentors, I have strengthened my ability to write in a way that others enjoy reading. The Point,Evidence, Explanation (PEE) method was a helpful way to write my essays. It broke my writing down into smaller, manageable sections that helped me focus more on specific facts.
Throughout essays one and two, I have learned how to incorporate evidence and research into my essays while still keeping the reader's attention and not repeating someone else's work. Along with my formatting, I struggled with MLA 9 formatting. I often skipped over the tiny details, causing points taken off of my essays and affecting my grade.
Typically I would write one essay and turn it in without revising. I would use my rough draft as the final essay. This is partially due to my lack of time management and procrastination. Since the beginning of the course, I have definitely improved my formatting skills and have started working on my assignments with ample time to complete them to the best of my abilities. If it weren’t for Professor Hammett, I would still be stuck in my old writing habits.
Part of becoming a better writer is allowing constructive criticism from your peers. Peer workshopping felt intimidating at first, as if people hated my essays and how I wrote. I was always stuck in the mindset that getting comments on my work was seen as a threat. As time went on, I realized that it was actually very beneficial to me as a writer. Allowing other perspectives and views on my work helped me realize things that I otherwise would not have caught. It leaves room for fixing my mistakes with the helpful advice of classmates and mentors.
When getting peer reviews and graded papers back, the one thing that I realized was I needed credible sources to provide my essay with evidence. Professor Hammett gave a helpful tip to use google scholar, and how to know if a website is credible. When writing about my social epidemic, distracted driving, I needed resources I could rely on. My topic was based mainly on facts and data for evidence. Learning how to analyze and recognize good resources from bad made my writing flow a lot better due to having correct information.
Overall, I have learned a lot of ways to improve my writing overall. This class has better prepared me for my future endeavors. I will now be able to write a better essay using the PEE method and good formatting. After taking this class, I have grown both as a writer and a student in academic and professional settings.