Albright

Chris Albright
English 223
Dr. E
9 December, 2015
Personal Writing Reflection
The amount I have grown as a writer over the semester is substantial and I
couldnt thank Dr. Emmelhainz (whom Ive had now for both English 123 and 223)
enough. When I arrived on campus this semester, my writing level was probably
comparable to that of a high school kid. I was decent at summarizing or analyzing
material and connecting various points, but I struggled in concluding or answering the
infamous so what question. To make matters worse, my vocabulary was small, bland,
and made my writing appear to be written by a much younger writer. Looking at the
difference in my essays now compared to the beginning of the semester, one probably
would say that separate authors created them. I have progressed exponentially this
semester and it is clearly evident in my essays. I think this rapid growth is because for
the first time in my life I am attacking school with full effort. I have never worked as
hard in school as I have this semester and because of that hard work I have learned so
much more, especially in writing. Analytically, I am even better than when I arrived in
August and my ability to summarize has also improved. Now I am able to conclude my
evidence into actual valid arguments that raise critical assumptions. The so what
question is no longer something I fear and rather is something I look forward to because
I have developed a great interest in expressing my thoughts and ideas through writing.

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Most importantly, the expansion of my vocabulary is palpable and transforms what used
to be my papers into real and powerful essays. Now when I write my essays, I always
have a thesaurus to reference because it keeps me from sounding boring and repetitive.
Also when Im trying to assert my key points I always try to elaborate on them to really
explain why they are significant. The included writing samples on this website serve as a
reference to my writing at the beginning of the semester and the progress I made
throughout the semester. The Mixed Media essay proves that I am no longer an
elementary writer and that I am now capable of creating strong, persuasive arguments.

Technology has a huge impact on my writing because the majority of my writing

is done from my laptop. Personally, I prefer typing to writing because I have poor
handwriting and I am an excellent typist. Additionally, while typing on a computer I can
quickly reference an online thesaurus, dictionary, or website to explain a confusing idea.
Technology speeds up the process of my writing and is partially responsible for my
growth as a writer.

Writing will forever be a part of my life because it is something we do every day.

I will probably be writing every day for the rest of my life whether that is physically
writing pen to paper, typing on a computer, or using some speech to text application. As
for my career, I am majoring in accounting and finance so I will be writing down
numbers or making financial reports almost every day.

As a writer, I can never stop improving because I know that I am nowhere near

the best writer in the world. There are so many aspects of my writing I can improve
upon that it makes no sense to ever feel satisfied with my writing level. Specifically, I

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would like to become a better summarizer because I think that I can identify the main
points and ideas well but when trying to explain them in my own words I make them
sound dull. Obviously I have come a long way since the beginning of the semester as a
writer, but I am nowhere near my potential and I can never stop improving my writing
skills.