Journey

I began to write in a journal when I was in third grade, partially due to the requirement set

by my teacher. In the beginning, I did not care about the writing so as a result, I would just put

down a few sentences about random things. But as time moves on, I began to record the things that

I saw and felt in the journal. During this time, I received a book featuring collections of essays that

were recommended by educators. I started to dissect these essays hoping to find the "secret

ingredient" that contributed to their high ratings. I wrote in similar ways as to the essays I read and

the red marks on the writing portion had since decreased. The books I read influenced my writing

style. I remembered there was a period where I was obsessed with the ancient style of writings in

Chinese. The authors wrote in a way that words combined beautifully and smoothly to portray an

idea. I tried to mimic the way they write and carefully, however, I was never able to achieve the

artistic conception they possessed.

These previous experiences that I had with writing set a foundation for the style of my

writing now. However, modifications are needed to improve both the structure and the process of

writing to better unveil my ideas to readers. Through the article "Shitty First Draft" by Anne

Lamott, she revealed that many successful authors do not have a set place or time to start their

writing and most importantly, not have any idea of the piece and jotting down things that came

across their mind as a "shitty first draft" (which I found surprising of). Lamott's personal

experience with writing a first draft acted as an advice to open possible ways in which I can shape

my first draft (Do not worry about grammar and spelling, just write down the thoughts I have.)

Lamott further discusses writing in larger scales like novels or long essays where she pointed out

that it is easier to not worry about the overall structure of the work but to focus on the individual

pieces one by one. I too run into problems with specific writings that are restricted by certain
structures like the ones presented in the article "Unlearning the Five-Paragraph Essay" by Jonathan

Lang. The traditional five-paragraph essay, he argues, "distorts the organization of an essay" (Lang,

page 1). I agree with Lang that the five-paragraph form raises an invisible boundary between

paragraphs which disable the flow of ideas between them. To unlearn the five-paragraph essay will

enable me to perform my essay as a single piece instead of individual summative paragraphs. In

addition to the insights I had gained from the readings, there are many more tips that I would like

to adopt from the class lists. In future writing settings, I would practice being more engage with

nature to relax and regather my ideas and taking breaks when it is appropriate to minimize pressure.

Having these advices in mind, I believe both the process of writing and the actual writing itself

would significantly improve through initiating the flow of writing and digging into the details on

the content I am trying to deliver.

College Writing R1A was a class to further advance my skill in developing an essay. As I

talked about before, my previous encounter with the development of an essay was restraint by the

five-paragraph format. In this class, I was able to express my ideas more openly and, in a sense,

jumped outside the "box". We went over techniques to improve writing or more importantly, the

experience of writing. Topics like where to brainstorm, how to brainstorm, and when to brain

would be touch upon as we dive deeper into the class. I followed the techniques we talked about

in classroom discussions and applied them to the process of creating these individual essays. The

instructor emphasized heavily on peer review, for each essay we would go through two or three

rounds of peer reviews, revising with suggestions until the final draft. I thought the process of peer

review was crucial because it allowed the absorbing of other people's ideas and to catch mistakes

that I was not able to find. At the beginning of each class session, we would have ten to fifteen

minutes of free write, that kind of activity, and as I recalled, destressed my mind and prepared me
for further activities. Another attribute of the class that I think is helpful was the opportunities to

participate in panel discussions and activities outside of class. Being able to grab ideas from

professionals enable me to implement more profound concepts when constructing my thesis.

After taking the College Writing R1A class, I am confident that my writing would reflect

value. From reading through my essay displayed in the portfolio, I hope you can see the ideas I am

trying to convey through the works of my essays.