My Journey As a Writer
Essay 1 revision.
Feedback to Learner
You have given some good details about your reading/writing life. Your English is very good, but you have some minor errors. Your essay gains power and focus as it goes on. The beginning is a bit disorganized, but by the end you have the wind in your sails.
To revise this essay for the portfolio at the end of the semester you will want to think about developing your paragraphs. Then you will want to correct any grammar errors. Good job.
For the revision, I decided to look at the Professor Hays comments. I added relevant information and took out unnecessary words. I looked through each and every yellow comments to respond to each comments. I corrected fragments and run-ons.
The Journey of my writing life
I honestly don’t remember what I first wrote or the first book I read but what I do remember is that I hated reading while growing up. I wasn’t a big fan of reading and my mom always forced me to read. She always promised me anything if I decide to read to her. I was a shy little girl who did not talk that much. I can recall that as I entered into my teenage years I started to read more. High school was when I really got into reading so I read a lot of books and wrote a lot. My English teacher in high school made me enjoy reading. She made us choose the book we interested us a students. Also I have learned that I only enjoy reading books that I am not force to read. I like picking out my own books to read instead of assigned books to read because they get boring. I was very passionate about what I read and would always discuss it with people.
Writing has always created a safe space for me because it lets out my thoughts. I write to be free. I write to be heard. I write to have a voice. It takes a lot of time for me to be focused when writing. When I have a paper to write, I sometimes get anxious. I think way too much about the paper. I have pictures and outlines in my head about the structure of the paper. If I cannot think about any ideas to write, I get stressed out. And when I get stressed out, I get mad. A lot of people knows that when I pick up a pen or when I start to write, you better not dare talk to me. I remember the day I was writing a paper, thoughts were flowing in and it felt good. Then my friend decided to come in my room and start yelling. As soon as I heard her voice, all the rush I had to write my paper was completely gone. I don’t like typing when I first start out to write. My mood determines the way I write. When I am stressed out, I tend to have a hard time at writing. My reading life kind of correspond with my writing life. Without reading, I can’t write. Reading a book helps me become better in writing because I take notice of the grammar used and how I can apply it to my own writing.
My weakness in writing is my lack of confidence to believe that I can write. My writing is improving and I have definitely come a long way. Since English is not my first language, I get discouraged by how my writing skills are. The first essay I ever wrote was hard for me to write. I didn’t k ow the first step of how to put a paper together. I would start writing and get frustrated that my ideas are not coming together. I knew what I wanted to say but my thoughts weren’t translating into the paper. To help develop my confidence, I always say to myself that I can I write. Before I start writing anything, I think about the content for a while. Then I write my ideas in bullet points and not look at it until the next day. After this, I start taking out ideas that make sense to me in my outlines. When I first got this assignment, I had to plan out what to write. I wrote new paragraphs everyday so that I could think of new ideas. Any form of writing for me takes a lot of time and effort. My writing style is that I like to write at home in my room or any place where there is complete silence.
My writing practice will help me succeed in the academic community because I will be less stressed about writing and taking every process step by step. In Anne Lamott’s “Shitty First Draft,” she explains the importance of writing of being ok with what you write first. She said “Very few writers really know what they are doing until they’ve done it” (Lamott). This is honestly true because I go through this process every time. Trusting myself in the process that what am writing will come together in the end. If my friend is struggling with writing, I will tell them to trust the process. Don’t sweat it too much and take it step by step. Write one or two paragraph a day and go back to rereading. Rereading also helps me improve my writing. I always go back to edit or take out ideas.
I like writing in various context because it challenges me to become a better writer. Even when I text, I text in full sentences. I think that writing a lot now will prepare me for future writings because I know that I will be doing a lot of writing as a Psychology major. My favorite tools to write with is a pencil because I feel more connected with my brain and my thought process. I don’t like when I start out writing to type on a computer. I like getting my ideas out on paper before typing. My writing practice will nurture my writing because it let me express and trust myself that I can write a good paper.
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