The World of Writing: A Reflective Essay

After taking English 101 and English 102 with professors Mark Haunschild and David

Moody, my perspective on writing has changed significantly. My writing skills have improved

and I have overall become more aware of different writing techniques. I started noticing different

writing styles when I read, as well as I became a more efficient writer in other classes as well. In

addition, taking this writing class has made me more well spoken as well as a better reader. I

learned how to conduct research in a time-efficient manner as well as how to successfully

demonstrate my knowledge by putting it in writing.

My understanding of writing is that it is a way to really get any thoughts one might have

out for others to see. From fiction, to research projects I believe that writing is a crucial part of

any individual’s personal and professional life. Especially today due to the digital world and how

information can be found and produced on the internet for anybody to find and learn and interact

with. With social media, writing has become a huge part of interpersonal communication

between friends and colleagues working together alike. I believe that writing is now the most

important it has ever been due to the fact that in order to successfully communicate with each

other through social media, one has to be careful in producing the right tone in their writing. To

me writing is my entire life. Writing to me is successfully demonstrating to my peers and

professors my understanding of the material I am learning, as well as my ability to apply it to

other concepts. Also, writing to me means being able to successfully share my thoughts and

ideas with others without any unnecessary confusion. My belief is that as long as everything is

described well enough for the appropriate audience, there should not be any misunderstandings

or ideas being lost in translation.

 A very important skill I learned during the course of this class is efficiently conducting

research. As a communications major, I will have to conduct a lot of research for my

communication classes in the future. This class has taught me how to use databases available to

me in the most efficient manner possible, as well as how to successfully share my findings with

my peers. I have learned how to interact with other people’s research in my writing by providing

my own opinions or explanations on relevant issues. For example, the third writing project as by

far my favorite assignment all semester in any of my classes. After deciding on a topic I was

passionate about, I spent weeks researching new information and then writing an essay in order

to persuade my audience.

Before taking this course, I never really put much thought into writing and what exactly it

entails. I had taken honors English classes throughout my time in high school, however, they

consisted mostly of reading and worksheets rather than just practicing writing and learning about

different writing techniques. I found the textbooks we read during this course to be a very helpful

guide in improving my writing. I have learned how to analyze other people’s writing in order to

get the most out of reading it.

Peer review played a huge role in my understanding of writing, as it has shown me the

way others write. Most importantly, peer review has shown me different reasons one might have

for writing. For example, reviewing my classmate’s work has shown me that some people prefer

writing in first person and relating their new knowledge to their lives and their own previous

experiences, while some of the classmate’s essays I reviewed were third person and in no way

related to the writer’s personal life and focused mostly on the content in relation to the academic

world. Additionally, peer review has opened up my perspective to different writing techniques,
as well as various different mistakes that people make. It has made me aware of my own

strengths and weaknesses in terms of writing, as well as shown me areas in which I need to

improve in order to become the best writer I can be.

The relationship I have with the understanding of writing currently and the things I

believe I still need to learn can be described as hopeful. Looking back at all the writing projects I

have completed during this school year, I am very grateful for my improvement as a writer. I

believe that I improve with every essay I write, practice makes perfect, afterall. I hope to

continue evolving as a writer, so when I graduate college and start to actually participate in

conducting research studies, I am able to successfully share my findings with the audience. I am

excited to see where my journey as a writer takes me in both my personal life and my career.

I believe that my understanding of writing will play a huge role in my life moving

forward. I believe that writing helps expand my mind in a way that it was not able to before. I

find that when I write about new information that I have learned, I understand it better as it

causes me to think more critically about it. I have found that writing about concepts that are hard

for me has made me comprehend them better and be more successful in applying them to various

situations. Becoming a better writer has also improved my speaking skills. I find that upon

completing this course, I have been able to talk about my ideas more clearly and concisely. I find

that now people understand me easier, as well as ask for explanations less. I fully credit this class

for a successful speech I gave a couple of days ago, as I was able to clearly put my ideas in front

of my audience.
 In conclusion, I believe that this class has improved my personal life as well as my

academic life. I have been able to communicate more clearly as well as understand the material i

read more easily.