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Arela Delgado

Professor Tubbs

English 1301

12/8/20

Writer’s Journey

At the beginning of this course we were asked to write a letter to our teacher. This letter

was meant to help us focus on what we knew we wanted to improve through the course and help

inform our teacher of our aspirations. Within that document I stated my to goals for this class

was to become more confident in my writing and to elevate my writing to a more educated level.

Over the course I learned many skills in terms of essay development and peer collaboration that

aided in me reaching my goals.

In high school we never spent actual time on essays, we would be given a prompt, a due

date, and nothing more. As a result, my writing skills were stagnant until this class. Over this

course I learned that there is much more that goes into an essay than the words. Idea

development takes time, we must first look at the the topic, the who, what, when, where, and

why of every aspect. It is there where you can decide if the topic is of substance, or just a passing

idea. It is also important to question the topic, both from your point of view as well as the

audience. Will the topic allow me to make the point I want to make? Is the topic too broud, or

narrow? Will my readers understand my topic, or must I explain as I go? All these questions

must be answered before a thesis may even be stated. Over this course I went from throwing

random words on paper, hoping it would come together in the end, to being able to develop

concrete ideas with real reasoning and meaning.

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I had never drafted a true research paper before this class. At first I found the essay

daunting, one thousand two hundred words over a topic I knew nothing about, a challenge by any

standard. I, of course could have chosen a topic I was already familiar with, however I thought

educating myself to educate others would be a fulfilling experience. The struggle that came with

writing helped me build my confidence and prove that I could write an intellegent, informative

piece. The challenges within this class is what made me reach my goals stated in the letter to my

teacher.

A large part of this course was peer review and collaboration. We looked at eachothers

drafts, annotated together, and discussed our homework assignments. One of the biggest benefits

that came from this was realizing not everyone has my train of thought. I can read my writting

one hundred times and have it make sense, until a classmate points out that it only makes sense

to me. Being able to collaborate and learn from each other maked me adopt different point of

views when reviewing my esssays. Reading other peoples essays made me realize that I am not

the only one who struggles. A large part of my lack of confidence was thinking I was isolated in

my issues. Talking with my peers made me realize we are all on our own writters journey

looking for growth.

I recognize I have much more to learn, and even my most recent reviewed essays contain

many errors. However, this course helped me break down my flaws, find my confidence, and

will continue to aid me as a writer for years to come.