To whom it may concern,

Over the course of this composition 1 class this semester I have been given the opportunity to explore and improve my writing ability. The assignments have challenged me and encouraged me to step outside of my comfort zone regarding my previous writing experiences. When I was younger I loved to write stories, however over time I stopped doing this and became out of practice in my writing. I wrote for assignments throughout public school, but never put too much thought into them. Over the years I have become rusty in my writing, but this class has helped me begin to relight my James in writing and has helped me improve my writing.

Among many things, I have found my writing process to have changed greatly. Many times in the past when doing a writing assignment I would have simply picked the first idea that came to mind, written a first draft, and submitted it with little revision. In the past I had not received feedback on my work until after the final submission so I rarely had the motivation to workshop the writing further. With Ms. Gardner’s constant feedback and encouragement for revision I have been able to begin to overcome this bad habit. When looking back on my essays now I find myself naturally more motivated to reread and revise my past work.

Something that helped me to see the importance of the revision of drafts was a piece of reading we did for class. In “Shitty First Drafts” by Anne Lamott, she discusses the process she goes through when writing professionally and how she interacts with drafts and revision. In a paraphrased quote from the conclusion of the reading she quickly summarizes her writing process. “Almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts. You need to start somewhere. Start by getting something — anything — down on paper. […] The second draft is the up draft – you fix it up. You try to say what you have to say more accurately. And the third draft is the dental draft, where you check every tooth, to see if it’s loose or cramped or decayed, or even, God help us, healthy. (Lamott).” Over this semester I have been able to truly understand the importance of the process she describes here, and I have been able to apply this process to my work.

This class has also impacted my brainstorming process. In the past I would often come up with an idea and immediately run with it, not considering other possibilities, but working in this class has changed that. In preparation of each assignment, we spent a lot of time reading examples of others’ work and discussing what makes good writing in the specific genre we were focusing on. Spending time preparing for the assignments allowed me to properly brainstorm and explore more ideas before deciding what to finally focus on for the assignment instead of just going with the first idea that came to mind. Similarly to the revision process, this soon became a natural part of my routine when writing for class. I began to spend more time before even starting the essay putting more thought into the subject matter than I had in earlier years.

My best work this semester (by far in my opinion) was the personal narrative essay. While it was the very first assignment, and my writing has improved in certain ways since then, to me this essay still stands out above the others. I believe that above all else I am a story-teller, that is simply my most preferred writing style. Doing assignments such as the independent business profile and the argumentative essay simply did not come as naturally to me as the personal narrative did. I find that my entire life, while reading, I naturally gravitate towards writing with stories more than something informative. My love for and experience with these stories have made writing narratives come much more naturally. I also truly enjoy sharing my experiences with the world, especially those I find unique, so there was a lot more passion in the personal narrative assignment than the others, and I believe that passion is the most important thing that creates a good piece of writing.

If I were to go back and revise/rewrite this assignment I would likely focus more on making sure the timeline makes sense. I wanted to be able to include related anecdotes from throughout the past couple years but I had a hard time connecting them all seamlessly. I wanted to include details regarding playing video games with my brother, my experiences as a trans person, the message of the game, my relationship with my brother, and also replaying and finally beating the game while I was writing. I found it got convoluted at times and I had a hard time deciding which details didn’t need to be included. In the textbook “Everyone’s an Author” in the chapter on personal narrative, the writer said “Nothing irritates an audience more than reading or listening to a story that has no point. (EAA 207)” I had to make sure my narrative still had a point through all the details. As I stated earlier I had a lot of passion for this essay so I wanted to include every little thing I found important to the subject. I was impaired by my enthusiasm, but it also allowed me to create a heartfelt and genuine essay. 

Creating an e-portfolio this semester has also influenced my work. The actual creation of the portfolio, copying my drafts and essays onto the website, has allowed me to look at my work from a new perspective. When my writings are actually on a website it no longer feels like just an assignment, but an authentic piece of writing you might find and read, not as an instructor but as a person. When I consider my writing less like an assignment it transforms. I become more considerate of my audience when I know that my work will be examined by multiple people, not just Ms. Gardner. It gives me more incentive to really make sure my work is the best it can be. 

I feel not only prepared but excited to go into english 170 after completing this semester of composition. It is apparent to me that my skills and processes have greatly improved, making writing a much more enjoyable experience. I feel confident that when going into assignments in english 170 I will retain the habits I picked up over this semester, especially putting extra thought into the brainstorming and revision processes. I feel especially confident in things like narrative writing, business review, and argumentative pieces, but I believe that the learning I gained from this semester will help me in any form of writing I may have to do in the future.

In the end I find this semester to have been very successful. I have written essays that I find to be higher quality than those in the past, and I have been able to find more passion in my writing like I had when I was younger. I have gained a lot of experience inside and outside of this english 160 class this past semester and I am ready to take on the future endeavors in english 170. There is always room for improvement, and I have found enjoyment in working towards improvement.

Sincerely, Colin Bracksieck

 

Lamott, Anne. Bird by Bird. Anchor Books, 1997. 

 

Lunsford, Andrea A., et al. Everyone’s an Author. W. W. Norton & Company, 2023.