Jonathan Corriher

Dr. Jan Rieman

24 October 2010

Growing Within

I have been a part of an English/Writing class every year, since I began my

formal education (1998). English 1103 is different from every one of the previous,

and I would definitely say for the better. The class description states, “Developing an

awareness of your writing self by paying attention to your writing-reading-thinking

processes.” This is what separates this class from the rest. Previously I was taught

“how” to write, an attempt to place each student in the same template in order to

produce people who wrote “correctly”. Without focusing on the ideas I was

attempted to express, I became stagnant and was simply writing the way I was

taught, not from within. Therefore, this paper is my “looking back, and looking

ahead” to what I have learned this semester, and what knowledge I hope to obtain

throughout its remainder.

Up to this point I have used many different types of writing practices from

our simple daybook entries, to our more complex formal papers, all of which forced

me to think and write in different ways. A substantial portion of our writings are

informal, which I believe is helping me grow as a writer because I am not constantly

worrying about my mistakes, in an attempt to adhere to the “template” style of

writing. I am very comfortable with most of our writing practices and I feel at ease
with the “no stress” environment of just being able to write whatever comes to mind

in my daybook. I do not have to worry about what I say, or how it will be judged.

I do struggle with our more formal writings. The majority of this is due to the

psychological change induced from the word formal. As soon as I think “formal”, I

switch to “correct writing” mode. I start to dissect each sentence in hopes of

eliminating any structural errors. I become obsessed with making my paper

“perfect”, but simultaneously I put my paper’s content by the wayside. I am

accustomed to teachers grading my paper for grammatical errors, and like any

student I aspire to make the best grades possible. Therefore my focus was to

produce grammatically correct papers.

Before entering this class I read the course description and I realized the

goals stated within coincide quite nicely with my personal goals. “In wanting to

become a more capable writer, one must be able to use writing and reading to make

meaning.” Being able to produce dense, academic writing is a goal of mine. I hope to

be able to express what I think and feel as accurately as possible through my

writing. This course has spring boarded me towards achieving this. For the first time

I am able to think and write freely, but not without positive criticism and helpful tips

from Dr. Reiman and my peers. Helping me become a well-rounded writer.

The classroom culture has also allowed me to grow as a writer. Respectful

disagreement, true collaboration, and risk taking have all contributed to being able

to learn about my writing self. The opportunity to express my ideas/thoughts in a

positive environment, without fear of ridicule or degradation is priceless. Previous

classrooms did not support such ideas, keeping students quiet in fear of expressing

a “dumb” idea and becoming the butt of a fellow students joke.

This environment extends to our peer workshops. Being able to have a paper

read by multiple people who experience your paper from different angles is

beneficial. I not only realize the mistakes, but have different answers on how to fix

them as well. My peers are much more creative and imaginative writers then myself,

so I keen in on their advice and attempt to implement aspects of their writing into

my own. The only negative i could think of would be if my peers were not such great

writers. I could understand their frustration with how I read and attempt to

contribute to their writing because I am not able to assist them as well as they

In reference to my inquiry question, “The lexicon in writing-speech

differentiation”, I finally found a topic that both interests me and is feasible in

understanding its contents. Some people simply cannot talk; it is a pet peeve of

mine. When someone attempts to speak but says a few words and has to pause or

says “like” excessively. I have always wondered why this is so, and does this

correlate into their writing? I think the research on this topic will help me become a

better writer as well; it will expose why and how people make these mistakes and

how they can rid themselves of this common problem. Surely I will find multiple

researched issues that occur in my writing, and hopefully will find the solutions as

well.