Writing is something we learn from a very small age. Writing, in general, has never been a strong point of mine, either in organizing my thought or grammar wise. Recently I was able to more in-depth define my true problems in writing through different writing assignments that both targeted to different forms of writing as well as different thinking and organizations in writing. We started to understand the different language that is used for each of these writings. One example of a style of writing is a formal letter, in this formal letter we were to address our professor about ourselves, our goals and different goals. A formal letter is a great example of the different language and the tones that can be used in the professional world. Using formal tone and writing, we also use this in the memo. In the memo, we were to address the City College President with a solution to a problem we believe City College to have. With this being our reader, it opened a different form of writing with the tone of the memo is formal rather than informal. It also leads to the thought of organizing. Organization is a large part of the writing process which we saw more of in the lab report analysis assignment. In this assignment, the organization was critical for the explanation of the different part and comparisons of the different reports. Which led to the technical description that we were to write our description of an object of our choosing, but with a number of parts and a technical aspect to it. This assignment was the combination of the different parts of all 3 assignments and used in this fourth assignment. With all of these different elements, we had one more part to do which is the last assignment, which included us creating a solution to problems in the world. All four assignments came into play here, we were to organize our thoughts, ideas, and formatting, we were to think of the tone we are trying to have while conveying our solution, but also how to present the work they have done to others.

In all these assignments I saw the different struggles and successes in my writing. For one I found that I tend to write too fast. Now, this is not to say that it is an entirely bad part. But in my case, it was my downfall, I tend to write so fast that it is almost the same as my thoughts are, all over the place, this is something that through the different assignments I started to see got better the more I started to understand that it was a problem in my writing. The first time that this problem was pointed out was in professors Rodwell’s comments on my memo. The more I looked over her comments on the different components of my memo I realized that the ideas in my head seemed to make sense just in there and the message I was trying to convey was not the best. When I investigated the Course Learning Outcomes provided to us in the syllabus one specific point applied directly to the situation at hand, I was trying to “develop and engage in the collaborative and social aspects of writing processes”. This was not just Professor Rodwell’s comments, but it also applies to the many times I’ve gotten peer feedback on the writing that I have done. The strategy of having not just been to the one to read have input in my writing is great on that not only helps me but also allows me to give better feedback in others writing as well. It brings a social aspect to writing, which many times, especially in college, we seem to take more like a one-person audience, which is oneself. Sometimes forgetting that it is meant to be for everyone. It’s not to say that I have completely mastered this skill, but more to say that has allowed me to be more conscious of my reader and what they think and ask when reading my work.

Despite having an upper hand in giving and receiving feedback, there is still an aspect of my writing that I still have trouble with, which can be easily found in the Course Learning Outcomes as, “enhance strategies for reading, drafting, revising, editing, and self-assessment”. This aspect of writing has always been hard for me. Not in terms of physically, but more in terms of training myself to see the flaws in my own writing and finding a different way of writing about the same thing. In editing many times, I make the mistake of using all the feedback I have received from both my peers and my Professor, and not measuring what is necessary and how much is really needed before the essay is too focused on that one aspect. For example, in the Lab Report analysis, I received feedback on the summary and explanation of the rhetorical situation of the different reports I had chosen. After receiving this feedback and starting to re-edit the essay I started to add more information on the lab reports. The more and more that I started to put the information I started to reread and wondered if this is enough information to understand the labs I am writing about, while also trying to write more about the rhetorical situations on top of my analysis on the use of jargon in the three lab reports. After the final essay was done, I tend to read it right away and find very few errors in it. But after rereading it after a few days I start to see more flaws in the writing. Many times, I don’t go back to the writing after rereading it once, which is something that is not to my benefit, many times after a few days and myself rereading it, I tend to see that there is an overuse of information or a use of references to ideas I know but must explain. All of these came up in the Lab analysis, making it lose what the purpose of the writing is. This to this day is my struggle that I work on to fix, by writing more outlines, as well writing with more time so that I can assess my own writing.

Despite being easy to say, it is something that I still am struggling with and am more aware of now. With the different techniques that have been taught to help better my writing such as the outlines, as well as peer and self-review, all of these would be my guides to becoming a better writer. It’s not to say that it is an easy feat, but the peer review is something I have found to be very helpful and useful for the future. Editing, revising, drafting are still my weakest links and still am struggling to fix in my writing, I believe that with more practice I will find a way to better my writing and find a balance for the use of peer review and the writing and my own focus.

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