Throughout the past year, I have pushed and
prodded myself to face more challenges. I have used new styles and techniques
that I previously could not have imagined myself using. While attempting to improve all aspects
of my writing, there were times that progression declined and my grades fell
due to distractions. Having a busy schedule accounted primarily for my
digressions from schoolwork. I
often consider writing to be one of my greatest accomplishments. Looking back
through my papers and essays from this year, there are many issues I now see
that I would change. This year, I have learned a variety of techniques of
writing that will help me in the future. I have grown as a writer and as a
student and feel that my writing may still be improved in many ways.
The first assignment this year was the literacy
narrative. Initially, I found the assignment confusing because I did not
understand what was being asked of me. I had not understood that the purpose of
a literacy narrative is to tell the story of how a composition has been created.
Ultimately, I wrote the paper twice. The first time, I wrote it incorrectly; it
did not fit the defined criteria for a literacy narrative. The first draft was
about my journey to music camp, whereas it should have been about my song
writing process. The second attempt of the literacy narrative was an
improvement. Although my final grade slightly disappointed me, it encouraged me
to try harder on the next assignment.
A ‘profile’ essay about a closely related person
or place was the next paper assigned. I chose to write about my father.
Although I found this paper to be much easier than the literacy narrative, I
had trouble in one category. My lack of organizational skills resulted in my
grade dropping by three points. I had stated my ideas sporadically, as their
placement made little sense. Aside from organization, every I did well in every
other category. My final grade ended up being eight percent higher than that of
the literacy narrative. I had progressed as a writer, but still needed much
improvement.
After my improvement on the profile, it
disheartened me to discover that my final grade for the following assignment, a
literary analysis, was two percent lower than my previous grade. I faced a few
problems while writing this essay on account of my inability to find a short
story in time. Once I realized that “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” would
work perfectly, I began the writing process. While reading back over the
literary analysis, I realized that my writing skills had decreased over time.
The beginning of the paper was organized, my voice was sophisticated, and my
ideas made sense. However, towards the end of the paper, the writing was
sloppier. I was not proud of the final grade, which again motivated me to do
better on the next assignment.
The
hardest paper assigned this year was the global issues project. I remember sitting in my World History
class, listening to my teacher explain to the class what we would be working on
for the next few weeks. She said that each of us would focus on one current
global issue. I wrote about water pollution in India. I chose this mainly
because my great uncle is a political leader in a small town in India, and he
is trying to bring clean water to the town. After two days of research, I found
myself at a dead end. I could not find enough research to fill six pages of
material, so I changed my topic.
My final topic was about the rights of women in Afghanistan. I
researched for nearly a week before the assignment was transferred to Dr.
deGravelles’ English class. I focused on punctuality throughout the writing
process by finishing every step as it was due and by keeping myself
organized. In the end, I felt as
though I had done my best and made a grade I could be proud of.
It
feels weird looking back on all my papers from the past year. My grades climbed
from bitterly disappointing to gratifyingly high. I am proud of myself for
coming this far my freshman year. Challenging myself on every assignment filled
me with satisfaction.
