Breaking the Five-Paragraph-Theme Barrier “The five-paragraph essay theme is a national phenomenon,” wrote Thomas E. Nunnally, “Students from all over are proficient in the form” (3). He is right that students are constantly being taught that the five-paragraph essay is the proper format when it comes to writing an essay. The five-paragraph essay does have some usefulness as a guide and an organizational technique when formatting essays. However due to its lack of creativity and restricting nature, it is sometimes not the ideal choice when it comes to writing articles such as research and journal articles.
As this essay suggests, a sixteen year old Russell Baker learns that his ostensibly “boring” professor, Mr. Fleagle, wished to instill his values of the art of writing. That is, the essence of “the essay”, or writing in general, is to properly express the topic that you are passionate about in a manner that is both personal and inviting; invoking strong emotions of one kind or another in the reader. Meanwhile, sticking to the rules of structure, spelling, and grammar are a secondary consideration in this concern. Baker realized that when writing a paper, it doesn’t always have to follow all the rules of writing; he learns that the true art of writing is when he writes from his heart; the meaning of the story, the essence of it. Therefore, finding a connection to your subject or topic, by any reasonable, probable, or logical means is key for an amateur writer.
Have you ever wondered whether a writer’s voice and the standard rules of academic writing can exist on the same page? According to Dr. Debra Pena, English Professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), and Mathew Teorey, English Professor at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, and the author of "Using Freshman Composition to Analyze What Students Really Know about Grammar", a writer’s voice and the process of academic writing can exist on the same page (Personal Communications February 13, 2017, Teorey 2). However, my first essay in Freshman Composition II was a Classical Argument on “Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE): Is it the New Death Sentence for Future Athletes Playing Sports in America?”
In an essay, structure and balance are important because they allow the reader to stay focused on the material. As a result, the reader will feel involved in the topic because he or she is the writer’s targeted audience. Involving the reader in the text is an effective way to attract his or her interests. For instance, there are several elements used in a paper that can affect the reader’s emotional response. An essay that connects to the audience’s emotional response is a successful paper.
Over the course of the semester, my main goal was to become a more precise writer and develop my identity as a writer. According too, the Portfolio Letter assignment sheet, becoming a better writer consists of precise planning, draft and revising. It also includes understanding a variety of academic genres by examining the basic characteristics that defines each type. In order too efficiently meet my goal of becoming a better writer, it was very important to have my work evaluated by others and myself as well. The use of rhetorical knowledge, critical thinking, reading and writing all are the important aspects in this course.
If I were asked by my boss, family member or friend what I have learned in school thus far, I would tell them that I have learned how to become an author, writing snob, and a self- proclaimed avid reader. All of these traits have enabled me to become a successful student and better professional. Before coming to Bethel University, I felt I had great writing skills as I wrote company policies, job descriptions and other Human Resources related materials every day. However, I now feel that my writing skills are average and can definitely be improved upon.
When I began the writing process for this assignment I did not know what I was going to write about. I started by thinking about every writing practice that stuck out in my educational career. Eventually I ran across the experience that I had with my sixth grade teacher and how detrimental that was on my writing ability and thought process. As I began to write this essay, I started to relay memories that I almost nearly forgot.
5 Writing Lessons from Best Seller Authors All successful authors are known for their creativity and commitment. When he signs a contract, the writer will be wholly committed to complete the work within the deadline assigned. Hoping for having more time to write the article make the writer weak in his writing skills and the publisher cannot have that writer for a longer period. When a task is given to paraphrase a poem, the writer can use the tool paraphraser or the rewording tool that help in better writing.
Throughout the term there has been many writing assignments —big or small— that helped reflect my writing process or the process itself. In the beginning of the course I felt like I was an “ok” writer, but lacked some skills such as: organization, sentence variety, and vocabulary. Also, I did not like to write and had a feeling of dislike when forced to write. I felt like I improved on everything I wanted and was seen throughout the semester. I know how to organize my ideas, the worksheets given in class to work on sentence variety really helped, and vocabulary was built on some level.
Over the this past semester in freshman composition I have learned how to write a college level paper. Going into this class, I was a little unsure and scared that I wasn’t going to be able to do the things that were required for me to do. As the semester passed I could definitely see a change in my writing. I learned how to use the appropriate punctuation, how to write and refute an argumentation paper, which I believe is my strongest piece of writing and how to research and gather information to write a strong research paper. I knew coming into this class that I was going to struggle with my punctuations, word choice, and the overall flow of the paper.
Writing has always been an issue but yet interesting subject of mine. As hard as I try and write essays, and papers I just can’t get the hang of writing. But after taking this class, I did learn different writing technique and improved my writing proficiency, material body of formatting, and how to uncovering and properly use sources. Through class exams, essays, and a research paper, I was able to learn new writing skills. Although I have learned a variety of things, my writing still needs improvement.
ENG-122 Reflective Essay My writing process has changed tremendously over the course of this class. I feel more accomplished, confident and I feel sometimes that my ideas and thoughts just come in to my mind out of nowhere and I start writing about anything now. I pay attention to my punctuation and grammar more as I have polished them more now, not only when I write but then others write as well. I am constantly looking for errors and I highly think this is helping me a lot in my career.
What does writing mean to me? Writing means getting people engaged in your piece. It means people wanting to keep reading what you wrote. The biggest thing about writing to me is expressing your thoughts and letting your mind go. Using good word choice and having a strong voice in the writing is something that makes it good.
Writing essays and other types of posts has always been difficult for me. But, throughout this composition class, I have learned many interesting and new things about the different types of writing styles. When starting this class, I considered myself to be an average writer with run-of-the-mill vocabulary, ordinary sentence structure and typical finished products. This class has helped me greatly improve my writing skills in a variety of ways. I have learned multiple things by taking this class, such as new ways to approach writing and that there is much that I still need to learn about composition.
I’ve grown as a student of English this term. I worked on several things including my weaknesses, what i struggle with on a daily basis and even my strengths. Doing this has helped me become a better reader, writer, thinker and a better person. I’ve also use the resources available, like going to tutoring and asking for help when i still feel stuck on something. Going for help is much better than trying to figure out for myself what i needed to work on.
