Sherry Hsu

Professor Teri Crisp

CWR1A, Section 23
9 May 2019
My Journey Through R1A

Coming into College Writing R1A, I was intimated by the class at first because I did not

know what to expect from a six-unit English class. However, after 15 long weeks of working on

techniques to enhance my reading and writing skills, I feel like a stronger reader and writer. In

the end, this class has helped me become more confident in acquiring the skills I need to succeed

in college and the future.

College writing is different from high school writing in that there is more freedom in

choosing a topic to discuss in my paper. However, with this freedom comes one of the challenges

I faced in all the papers I have written this semester: figuring out what I want to write about from

a wide possibility of topics. Not only do I have to decide on a topic that interests me, I also have

to find enough evidences to back up my discussion. For example, after spending days figuring

out a topic that I would like to write for the text-based argument on The Soul of an Octopus, I

finally decided to write about how octopuses possess various human-like behaviors; however,

after finishing my first draft, I realized that this is not a good topic because there are not enough

evidences to support my discussion. Even with the evidences I had, majority of the paper is just

summaries instead of analysis. Therefore, I had to find a new point that interests me with enough

evidences to support why I believe the point is meaningful to the readers, and I had done this by

mind mapping my ideas. This process has made me realize that coming up with a good topic to

write about can be hard, but I should not be afraid of giving up what I have written and starting

over with fresh ideas.

 Writing papers is a long process. The various drafts that I have produced made me realize

that a good piece of writing requires patience and continuous editing. I have taken advantage of

the multiple resources, such as getting peer reviews from my classmates or consulting with the

professor, to help advance my paper and understand what I need to improve on. For example, the

peer review experience was helpful in letting me know that I was not being specific enough in

stating whether an opinion is mine or the author’s. It also emphasizes that I really needed to work

on my weakness and come up with more interpretations of the text instead of just summaries.

This process is helpful in providing another person’s point of view on my paper so that I know

how to improve it for the next draft.

In addition to the peer review, the feedback from the professor was also extremely

helpful in guiding me toward the right direction. Under the guidance of the professor, I was able

to rewrite my paper and shape it into a more structed paper that helps the readers perceive my

understanding of the book. For instance, the Rediscovering the Energy Source on Our Planet

paper is the first text analysis paper that I have ever written, so I struggled along the way. At

first, I only focused on certain sections instead of on the entire chapter. However, after

consulting with the professor, I learned that it is important to paint the big picture instead of only

covering the minute sections of the chapter that don’t even matter in helping the readers

thoroughly understand the chapter.

Throughout this semester, I have learned to read, think, and write as a scholar. Through

the close reading exercises, I began to read more carefully and pay attention to the details that are

interesting in order to help me write a better paper. This skill has helped me overcome another

challenge that I faced throughout the semester: developing my discussions and making them

more insightful. I have always struggled to come up with meaningful interpretations that interest
the readers. However, by analyzing the interesting details of the book and constantly asking

myself “why is this point meaningful to the readers,” I was able to come up with my own

interpretations of the author’s point. In addition, by putting myself in the shoe of a reader, I am

able to become more specific in my writing, which helps engage the readers and make sure that

they remain interested in the subject. By providing the readers with all the details that they may

want to know, I can avoid confusing them.

With the multiple drafts that I have written for the papers, I have learned to also create an

evolving thesis that is arguable and not immediately obvious to the readers. Although the writing

process took me a long time to figure out, such as structuring the paper and thinking about what

is significant in the passage that I chose to write about, I am so glad that I am now more

confident in my writing abilities and have eventually learned how to write a coherent and well-

developed paper.