When I came into this semester it was a long time since I had been in an English writing class. I came had just come back from a gap year in Israel and writing seemed knew even though it was not for me. I dived in college where I first learned about the foundations of writing. Then, I got a book called “The Transition to College Writing” by Professor Keith Hjortshoj. The pages in the book helped me to not get too stressed about writing and that it is not an easy process. There is much I can improve on, but I learned a lot in this class and how I can implement what I learned in my writing.

During the first week of the semester we were assigned to read “Orientation” which was the first chapter in the book. There I learned that high school English does not necessarily prepare you for a college English class (Hjortshoj; Keith; pg. 3). High school prepares you to get accepted into college and the focus is to work harder. Working harder did not work out for me because it led me to burnout. I would sit for hours by the computer and it took me hours on one assignment. This did not help me at all since I was so hard on memorizing what I learned and not the ability to connect what I had learned to prior learning.

I wished that I not do my whole writing assignment at one time. This has not helped me at all since I would spend so much time on one writing assignment by sitting for a long period of time. I hardly took any breaks and when I took a break the cycle would repeat again. In this semester I have learned that breaking your assignment up in chunks is much better (Chew; Stephen Dr. video 4). When I implemented this in my writing routine it helped me so much since I did not have to overstress about getting my writing assignment done. This has helped me have better focus on my writing since I can work on my writing with a clearer state of mind.

When Professor Weaver introduced the concept of freewriting in her class, I never had heard of it. Freewriting is jotting down any questions or thoughts you have on paper and that can help you generate what you want to put on your writing paper (Week 2 slide). I used to just pull up a word document and sit there thinking what I have to say. The concept of freewriting has allowed me to write down thoughts I had in my head. Then, I could use those thoughts and have a starting point in my writing.

I always used to aim for a perfect first draft. I would work hard to just have a good first draft. Soon I learned that a perfect first draft does not exist. “You can only get something written if you just write without letting go (Lamott; Anne, pg. 1).” This applies to my first paper of the semester since I had the freedom to write down without revising yet. For my first English paper, I first wrote down a long introduction instead of shortening it (Student-Self Assessment). When I read over my draft again, I shortened my introduction so that it did not take most of the page and read it over while making revisions. Finally, I checked every part of the essay. “Good writing comes with terrible firsts in the journey (Lamott; Anne, pg. 2).” Going along the writing process has helped me with producing essays that are readable.

My last research project I was assigned fared better for me (James; R. Mitchell “Grading has Always Made Writing Better”). It was easier for me to write the paper because I just wrote in my notebook non-stop so that I could formulate my thoughts and have a clear idea of what to write. Typing my ideas on the computer helped me not forget what I wrote about. It helped me to write bullet points on the page so I could put what I wanted to say and establish a clear path. Having a clear road path helped me carve out my paper.

Chew; Stephen, Dr. “Putting The Principles of Learning Into Practice.” Published by Samford University. 16; August, 2011. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9GrOxhYZdQ

  Hjortshoj; Keith; “The Transition to College Writing.” Published by Bedford’s/ St Martin’s, 2009. 75 Arlington Street, Boston, MA

Lamott; Anne, “Shitty First Drafts. “Selection taken from “Bird by Bird.” 1994.

James, R. Mitchell; “Grading Has Always Made Writing Better.” Edited by Ball E. Cheryl and Loewe M. Drew in Bad “Ideas About Writing.” West Virginia University Libraries Web.