Writing

A lot of what I learned about writing can be credited to my English teachers my junior and senior year. My junior year I had Honors English with Ms. Meldrum, a very strict and demanding professor that drilled MLA format into our heads until we could say it in our sleep. Despite her strictness, I learned a lot in her class, more than I had previous years. Even though learning citations and using them in projects was difficult, I was glad to learn it.

The project that really tested our knowledge was the MGP, or the Multiple Genre Project. We were supposed to pick a subject (any that we wanted, as long as Ms. Meldrum approved it) and read at least one long book about said subject. We then had to write at least four different papers that developed different themes and ideas about our subject. We could write anything from journal entries to poems to fake news stories, and more. It was the biggest project I'd ever tackled. We had to have a certain number of facts in each paper, and the citations themselves were a large part of our grade. The project took around two months to do it, and it was very, very difficult. However, as I said before, I learned a lot. It taught me about more than my subject, it was the thing that really nailed MLA citations for me.

My teacher in senior year was Mr. Jenkinson. Almost in direct contrast to Ms. Meldrum, he was very calm and easy going, not strict at all. Our class mainly focused on literature, but we did do several writing assignments as well. This was the first class that required a longer paper. Before, all I'd ever had to do were five paragraph essays that averaged around three pages. My final paper for that class had ten pages. Mr. Jenkinson's assignments all throughout the year helped prepare us for it, and looking back on it that really helped prepare me for college, where most of my papers are longer than three pages. That final paper also was a bit of a refresher on citations, as we were supposed to do a literary analysis of the themes in any book we wanted, and had to cite the quotes we used for evidence of our thesis. My paper was on the themes in the Lord of the Rings, and I went through several drafts, going over them with Mr. Jenkinson to get it right. He discussed heavily what it meant to analyze literature, themes in written works, and more.

There is a third factor in my ability to write college papers, one that didn't directly teach me about writing essays or the like. Simply, books helped me to be a better writer, in all forms. Books broadened my views and challenged them. Books taught me new words and ideas, brought about a thirst for knowledge and a love of writing itself. If I hadn't read all of the books that I have, I would not be half the writer I am today, and I certainly wouldn't enjoy it as much as I do now.

A Matter of Adaptation

Learning to write a proper essay for a university class wasn't exactly as difficult as I thought it would be. I took the AP Literature and Language test in high school. I had an excellent teacher who did a great job of preparing us for the test itself and turns out college in general.

I decided my Senior year of High School that I was going to take the Lit and Lang English as a magnet class at a different school in my area because the passing rate for this particular teacher was higher than the teacher at my school.

Turns out it was one of the best decisions of my life.

The first day of class the teacher had us writing essays analyzing articles. As it was, I thought I was an excellent essay writer, and I was so proud of myself coming from the rival school and handing in my essay before anyone else in the class.

I'll admit I planned it.

When the moment of truth arrived, and I was sure I did 

amazing. 

We were graded on the AP testing scale: 1 was the lowest and 9 was the highest. I remember bouncing in anticipation of the awesome score I was going to get, trying to bury my smugness beneath a mask of indifference. The teacher handed back the essay and I flipped mine over. I could feel my smile slide off my face.

3

I had never gotten so low a score on an essay in my life. I was shocked and I realized that I really had to step it up.

Over the course of the semester our teacher put us through Essay Bootcamp, meticulously teaching us and drilling us and forcing us through practice essay after practice essay until we could write a rank 7 essay in a half an hour.

It's funny because for our graduation portfolios, our teacher gave us back that first essay to place next to our final essay written in the class so we could see how we grew over the year. At the time I wrote the first essay, I remember thinking that my arguments and points were the best and that I had the essay owned. Looking back and comparing it to where my essays were at the end, there is a huge difference. The only way I can describe it is that my essays went from having no point and no supporting evidence, to a well constructed high score typical 5 paragraph essay.

After I got the main gist of how to write an essay well, tailoring it to fit the University standards was cake. It took some trial and error, but it really wasn't that hard--especially after bootcamp. The trick to writing any essay for a University class is to write the essay and take the professor's comments to heart and write the essay according to their standards the next time.

I'm so glad my high school Lit and Lang teacher put us through all that practicing, because now I feel like I can at least adequately express the points I'm trying to get across and pull a good grade. It has helped me adapt and form my essays in a way that pulls good grades from University professors, plus all these lessons have stuck with me through out all of my tutoring sessions. And that is certainly not a bad thing ;)

Great teachers

When I read the prompt for this week, the first thing that popped into my mind were the names of my APLIT and APLANG teachers from high school. Their classrooms are without a doubt where I felt like I finally learned how to write academically. I was lucky to have several good English teachers throughout middle school that got me on the right track when it came to writing a solid five paragraph essay, but it wasn't until I started into AP Language my junior year of high school that I really started to progress as a writer. My teacher, Mrs. Bowie, made it clear right off the bat that the secret to better papers was deeper thinking. She changed the way that I interpreted readings, opened my eyes to different points of view, and taught me the essentials of forming arguments. The first time I had to write a paper over five pages was in her class. I had only written a few research papers up to that point, but it felt like a whole new monster to me. I finally understood that there was so much more to writing a research paper than just pasting in quotes and slapping a citation behind it. Over the course of that year I felt that I improved exponentially as an academic writer.

My senior year I took AP Literature. I went into that year with a much clearer grasp of what would be expected of me in a college level class, but I still learned new ideas and techniques throughout the class.My first experiences with having to really analyze literature occurred within that year. I had done some level of analyzing in APLANG, but this teacher made me take it even one step further. I will forever be grateful to these two wonderful teachers for teaching me the art of writing, as it made my transition into college so much easier.

I tested out of 1010 and 2010, but my academic adviser suggested that I take 2010 again. I am so glad now that I did, because it led me to this job opportunity. More importantly it gave me a better perspective into what is expected in collegiate papers. I really didn't have to make a huge leap to get up to the level of writing my professor was asking for, but I still had to make some changes. I had learned a few bad habits, and I still found myself always wanting to write a five paragraph style essay. My 2010 class was a good experience, but I would still give primary credit to AP courses and teachers for helping me fine-tune my writing.

I really feel lucky to have had great English professors over the years. I have always enjoyed writing, but being taught the skills necessary to create a truly great paper really solidified my love for English. It makes me happy to know that there are still teachers who really love the subjects they teach and who actively foster a love for learning and writing. I know that in my case I owe two of these high quality teachers for helping me get to a point in my personal writing and tutoring that I can be happy with.

Let’s pause and reflect on how long ago that was…(memory fades as age sets in). Ah yes, I remember. I was born with the five paragraph essay genetically inscribed on my DNA. But since I still have a few hundred more words to write, I suppose I should make up a story about a learning process…. I think I learned a lot in 1010 and 2010, though I don’t remember much about either of those classes. I didn’t take 3080 early in my major courses, so I didn’t learn much about five paragraph critical essays until I was about done being an English major. I think 3080 was about the time when I started to get a real feel for what was expected in college writing. I’m not sure why my upper-division professors let me get such good grades on stuff that was badly organized and didn’t have any transitions. I remember trying to put some of them together and not being able to come up with transition sentences. What has really changed my writing is tutoring. I feel like I finally “get” it. I guess it goes to the old sayings about how you don’t learn it until you teach it. I’m still not sure about an argumentative paper or a personal narrative. I’ve never written one (that I can recall) and I’d have to spend a lot of time working on the form. I’d almost say I’m excited for my next research paper so I can put my new skills to use, but that seems like asking for trouble. On a different perspective, I think my newfound appreciate for the art of the five paragraph essay (or research paper) has shown me that like any writing, it’s something that a person works on and practices at all during their academic career. And even after, any kind of writing is writing that should be constantly revised. Maybe I should say something about how the written word is a haiku—the writer is forever in search of a word that’s just a little better than the other….but that would sound a little silly, so I won’t say anything about it. I probably should have written this blog as a five paragraph essay. If only I were that creative. Anyways, working in the writing center will influence everything I write from now on. So, again, I’m glad for the chance to do the work—even when I still haven’t figured out how to check a paper’s “flow.”

Fairly Easy Transition

I am not entirely sure of how I learned how to write the kinds of essays expected of me at the university, but I believe my high school English teacher was a tremendous help. I had the same teacher for the last two years of high school because she was the AP literature and AP language teacher, and she had our class write all types of papers. My teacher had us write papers in MLA and APA formatting and was very specific in what type of writing she wanted. My last major assignment in high school was a paper in which we had to deconstruct different literary texts and movies. Needless to say, my high school English teacher pushed us past the basic high school essay.

I wasn’t required to take English 1010 or English 2010, so my first (and really only) major writing assignment that I have had so far at Weber State was my research paper for my Biomedical core class. We were required to write a research paper on the topic of our choosing by using medical journals as references for the topic. Although it was daunting to search through all the medical journals, I felt fairly comfortable writing the research paper itself. I brought it into the Writing Center to make sure that it was written correctly, and the tutor seemed to believe that I had accurately written the paper. Other than that research paper, I haven’t had very many intense writing assignments due to the many science classes I am required to take for the Nursing program.

I haven’t encountered a writing assignment that I have felt I did not know how to write, although I have been given assignments that I needed clarification on. Any changes to my writing that I have made in the past year and a half since coming to college have probably been from the tutoring training itself. Tutoring writing has helped me to become a better writer. I now understand that there are things that must be in every essay, and some things that can be left out. I have also learned the importance of peer review, although that isn’t so much about how to write a specific type of essay.

If I had left high school only having written “five paragraph essays” or written in a specific format for my entire life, the transition to college writing would have been much more difficult. I was fortunate to have had a teacher that taught us more than the basics taught in most high school English classes.

Slacker Prompt

I hope I was not the inspiration behind the slacker prompt.  After three years of not being in school, I am now reminded of nights spent writing and trying to beat the clock. Unfortunately, the clock has walked away with an occasional victory.  That being said, I am still in the fight and refuse to lie down on the canvas.  The explanation behind the race against the clock can be attributed to poor time management.  In the beginning of the semester I assumed I would be able to do all my homework while I was working in the writing center, but this has proven to be a bit presumptuous.  Being in school has refreshed my memory and I remember now that I suffer from writing attention deficit disorder (WADD).  In order for me to be able to write I must have no distractions.  Though the writing center might seem to be an optimal place to do homework, those who suffer from WADD may have difficulty writing in environments with social distractions. 

            I know now that I need to better manage my time in order to make all of my deadlines. Now that I have a plan, all I need to do is execute it.  I have been laying on the ropes too long, and it is time for me to get on ball.  

             

Enjoyable and Busy

My semester has kept me very busy so far. There has not been very much down time lately, but that's just fine. Honestly, I enjoy having things to do; it keeps me out of trouble. I have really enjoyed working on campus at the writing center. My goal for this semester was to be more involved on campus. Working at the working writing center has given me that along with that I have had the pleasure and honor of meeting some new, wonderful people. I look forward to see what the rest of the semester holds.

Learning to Write

How did you learn how to write the kinds of essays/papers expected of you at the university (argumentative, researched, analytical, etc.)?  Did you come here more or less knowing how to do it? Was there a learning curve?

There Will Be Slack

Being the slackiest of slackers, as evidenced by the fact that I'm getting this post in two days late, this prompt is perfect for me. Of course, being a slacker has its downsides, one of which being my inability to manage my time correctly. That being said, this semester hasn't killed me yet. I'm sure it's only a matter of time. We'll see how the semester turns out, but so far it hasn't been terribly difficult. With two jobs and a couple of exams coming up, things are about to get interesting.

On another note, I just had a breakthrough with my screenplay. I'll never actually finish the damn thing, but new ideas are always nice.

Also, Rukus Wiley's Batman GIF is making my eyes bleed. It's playing in the background while I'm typing this and it's hurting me. Help.