Kammer 1

Tessa Kammer

Professor Bocchino

Writing 2

09 December 2019

Every Cut is Necessary to Let Something New Grow

At the beginning of the course, I wrote like a writer and read like a reader. Now that we

are approaching the end of the course, I read like a writer, which in doubt helps vice-versa in

writing as a reader would see fit, seeing the “different choices [I, as the] author[,] might have

made instead.”1 Before I kept reading and writing independently of each other, I made the

connection that they were related in the English subject but did not realize how important they

were when you put them side by side. Initially, my writing could come across as awkward,

grammatically correct, but it would sometimes challenge and confuse the reader in a negative

manner. The Writing 2 class allowed me the opportunity to research and discuss with my

classmates, particular articles, or works that talked about how you can improve your writing. The

socratic seminar-style of learning was very helpful because I could improve my writing skills on

my own but also with my classmates and their input and opinions.

I never honestly thought in depth about genres or their implications of what makes them

different from each other. The only prior knowledge I knew was how they distinguished books

and movies into specific categories. However, on the first day of class, we dove right into the

discussion of genres, their conventions, set-up, and overall importance in the English

1
Mike Bunn, “How to Read Like a Writer,” Writing Spaces,
https://writingspaces.org/bunn--how-to-read-like-a-writer)
 Kammer 2

community, specifically writing. The idea that a granola box could be a genre shocked me at

first, I didn’t understand why it was in the same species that define books and movies. I thought

it was a goofy approach to the style, my limited knowledge of strict humor, romantic, or

horror-based genres got blown out of the water. Once discussing it with the rest of the class, I got

a grasp on what exactly a genre is and their conventions. From there, the idea of discourse

communities was brought up, and the growth in my writing flourished. I started to understand

where exactly I was coming from when it dealt with genres as the subject. Seeing genres in a

whole new light helped me process exactly how to write with further information at hand.

My writing style, developing throughout this class, is a mixture of ‘thinking outside the

box’ while also staying on topic. I pride myself on my creativity; however, sometimes, it can get

out of hand and end up confusing the reader. The peer-review in-class days were beneficial; I got

incite from my classmates on exactly where I was going right and where I was going wrong

(getting off-topic or muddling my ideas together) in my writing. After turning in my essays, I felt

proud of my work, knowing I could still improve for my final portfolio, but that I was happy

with what I turned in. The comments I received after getting my Writing Project folders back

were constructive. The comments pin-pointed where specifically I could improve during a

revision but also pin-pointed what I needed to look out for and be mindful of in my next essay.

At first, the comments would say that my thesis might not have been clear enough or too

confusing. Near the end, the comments asked about simple corrections and confusion, usually

done because of poor wording or sentence structure (straightforward clarification or fix).

I ended up revising my Writing Project 1 and my Writing Project 3. While looking over

each essay, it was interesting seeing how much my writing style and techniques changed (even
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without the final revision process). I decided to revise my first Writing Project because I knew

that with the growth I learned as a writer throughout this class, I could undoubtedly impact the

writing style I used at the beginning of the quarter. The main issues in the first Writing Project

were the unclear thesis and lack of concrete examples. The original thesis was jumbled and made

barley any contribution to the rest of the paper. In addition, there was a lack of examples that I

incorporated throughout the entire essay, that made it seem less cohesive. In my revision of

Writing Project 1, I corrected the thesis by stating that the poster genres were unique because of

“casual sentence structures, organization, and space constraints [which] connect [the] form to

[the] function within posters because of the relationship to the audience.”2 The thesis now covers

the topics of ​how ​and ​why​ form and function relate to a genre. The newly added examples from

the Important Numbers sheet, movie advertisement, weight loss plan, and election sign, could all

link back to the thesis, showcasing a uniform essay.

The second essay I revised was my Writing Project 3. The uniqueness of translating a

subject from one genre to another intrigued me because of the challenge and creativity it

provided. My essay became confusing because of the lack of explanation in who exactly the

audience was after it went from an academic to a non-academic format. The original genre was a

chemistry research paper discussing food safety with genetically modified food. The other style

was a cook-book recipe. The difficulty in this was trying to figure out how I could keep the

scientific jargon in the translation but change the audience to a more general and open

community. My main point while revising the Writing Project was explaining how the scientific

language can be kept in a cook-book recipe format if the sentence structure was changed. The

2
Writing Project 1
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commanding, step-by-step instruction layout of the recipe format, was completely different than

the academic sentence structure used in the research paper. Once I kept the jargon

academic-based and sentence structure non-academic, it was clear to the reader what the final

genre was (cook-book recipe) and what it was talking about (GMO products).

This portfolio reflects that I am a growing writer, I take corrective criticism and apply it

to my current writing as well as my previous writing that I revise. I do not want to plateau as a

writer, continuing to make the same mistakes or not improving my skills or techniques. This

portfolio showcases that I can go back into my writing, pick apart the different components of

where I did well and where I could improve, and take action.

For future writing or language courses, whether it be academic or non-academic, I can

apply my strategy of reading like a writer and going back to my work to self-evaluate. These two

strategies are essential for the revision and growth process. Being able to self-correct (when

peers are not around to help) is a vital skill to have in college and life in general.

The new style of citation was, at first, a bit hard for me to understand. I thought I got the

hang of it once I turned in a project builder for Writing Project 2, but soon realized I was

mistaken. After taking a couple of extra minutes in class to go over the Chicago style

bibliography and footnotes (which cite differently), the rest of my papers were correct. I enjoyed

creating and looking at my classmates’ genre translations, seeing other people’s versions of

creativity within their works projected inspiration onto my writing.

I am appreciative of how I have changed overall as a writer but also a reader. I take into

consideration things I never did before, what a “discourse is trying to accomplish”3 or how the

3
Laura Bolin Carroll, “Backpacks vs. Briefcases: Steps Toward Rhetorical Analysis,” Writing Spaces, (
https://writingspaces.org/essays/backpacks-vs-briefcases)
 Kammer 5

“audience should… respond to the exigence.”4 Growth is an ever-changing critical skill to have;

this Writing 2 class has shown me precisely how to improve my writing, step-by-step.

4
Carroll, “Backpacks vs. Briefcases,” Writing Spaces, https://writingspaces.org/essays/backpacks-vs-briefcases
 Kammer 6

Bibliography

Bunn, Mike. “How to Read Like a Writer.” Writing Spaces.

https://writingspaces.org/bunn--how-to-read-like-a-writer.

Carroll, Laura Bolin. “Backpacks vs. Briefcases: Steps Toward Rhetorical Analysis.” Writing

Spaces. Accessed December 8, 2019.

https://writingspaces.org/essays/backpacks-vs-briefcases.

Writing Project 1