Z’s Blog ‘08

EPortfolio Personal Reflection

Walking into ‘The Art of Persuasion’, I was a cocky writer who didn’t have to try to get the grades I needed.  I did not edit my essays, and I never needed to use the drafting process.  We were forced to do these things in English 319, and all of them came not so naturally to me.  I had a difficult time revising my own drafts, and I was not comfortable sharing my essays with any other people until they were graded.  Through out the semester, I was encouraged by force to do these things and gradually became a little more content sharing my essay to the public.  By the final paper, I was editing my draft before I brought it to class on the first draft due date, and for the final draft, I had people that were not assigned to edit my drafts look them over.  I know that I have a lot of work to do to improve my essays, and I know many different ways to revise my drafts that I didn’t before.  I am willing to edit, and I now feel that it is almost a necessity.  When I turn in papers for my classes in the future, I will not be afraid to look it over and fix it.

Also, I came in with a very vague knowledge of writing scholars and view points.  I was introduced to topics like free-writing, imitation, and I even dabbled in the art of memoir.  These things were all foreign to me, and I definitely needed them to move into the next era of my writing.  I have wanted to be a better writer for a long time, and I feel that I did not reach this until this semester.  When I look at a book, I look at a way that I can use some of that writing to improve my own.  I know how to break writer’s block, and I have been just writing, like a free write, for as long as I have been writing.  The memoir was a very difficult task for me, but when I finished, I felt a sense of accomplishment because I overcame my lack of creativity.  With all of these things, I feel that I can, and have, stepped into the nest tier of my own writing abilities.   

I am not that cocky, arrogant writer that was too good for edits, drafts, and ripping apart my essays.  I am not the uneducated, young writer that did not know left from right, free-writing from memoir, and the purpose of imitation.  When I write in the future, I will be more confident, and I will know what I am doing in a more educated perspective.  My creative writing skills will not flourish while I am in college, but I will be able to begin with a little more experience under my belt.  The experiences in English 319 have shaped me into a better writer, and I know that I am not the best.  I probably will not be the best, but I can and will always be looking for that next step on my writing journey.