Muhammad 1

Saliha Muhammad

Deborah Kabwang Makuma

English 101

31 October 2021

Achieving and Progressing in Writing.

I have a passion for writing stories online inspired by my dreams. I treat my dreams like
movies and I pretend I am dictating a script. At first, It started as a part-time hobby, to
pass the time but then I started to receive a follower. My follower gave me funny
feedback and sometimes I could use it in my next chapters. The more chapters I wrote the
more people expressed interest in my story. I felt good about my stories but I wanted to
find a way to summarize my thoughts regularly. And I started to use what I learned in my
English class in my stories. At the beginning of my English class, I used the basic writing
skills I learned from homeschool. As I progressed through English I learned different
modeling and tools. For example the Schaffer's method, and other writing techniques. As
I progressed through English I found myself writing more efficiently and vigorously. I
applied the writing concepts to expand my writing skills and organize my thoughts. The
concepts that changed how I write are a) writing text is an object outside of oneself that
can be changed, developed, and improved b) writing is a social activity, and c) lastly all
writers have more to learn. When I first saw those concepts I didn’t know what to make
of them. I understood how most of them applied but I was confused about the context of
others. When my entire English class discussed these concepts I could see that I wasn’t
the only one that was a little confused. As the class discussed the concepts I started to
understand how the topics I was questioning applied to writing. By having a grasp of
these concepts I was able to start applying them to my stories. I am currently writing a
chapter and I plan to incorporate either an anecdote in the chapter. I felt inspired by How
to Tame a Wild Tongue when I write my stories. This quote is very descriptive and
similar to how I like to write “I remember being caught speaking Spanish at recess - that
was good for three licks on the knuckles with a sharp ruler”(Anzaldua). While reading
her story I felt drawn to finish it to the end and I enjoyed the descriptiveness of her
writing.
 Muhammad 2

A Written Text is an Object Outside Oneself that can be Changed, Developed, and
Improved

Can the writing concept, a written text, be an object outside oneself that can be changed,
developed, and improved improve my writing or make me more confused? I didn’t know
what to think when I first heard about this concept. I didn’t understand it, and as I kept
thinking about it I believe I found the definition when I was working with my tutor.
Working back and forth with different tutors helped me to realize that even when I think
my writing is complete that is when I need a fresh pair of eyes to help me improve. My
tutors all gave me the motivation and encouragement to develop, change, and improve
my writing. They allowed me to struggle until I found my answer and when I did my
writing blossomed. In the end, this concept was a big help to my essays and discussions
and I understand the importance of this concept. After getting feedback from my tutors it
was time to see if I was able to connect with my peers.

Writing is a social activity

Writing is a social activity that helped me conversate with my peers by discussing our
views on different topics. By treating my writing as a social activity I was improving and
having fun while doing it with my peers by collaborating and being able to have
constructive feedback. By understanding and responding to my peer's opinions, points,
and discussions I was learning about writing and my classmates, writing as well, helping
to elevate the writing concepts even more so. I identified this concept in the assigned
course reading Stupid America, I identify this as a social activity because by sharing this
poem with the class this became a socially shared class reading. A line that touched my
heart was “Chicano shouting curses on the street, he is a poet, without paper and pencil,
and since he, cannot write, he will explode (Delgado). I felt close to this particular
sentence because in the neighborhood I live I see this every day, Chicanos and natives
cursing the world because of how their people are treated and being looked down upon
because of it.

All Writers Have More to Learn

 Muhammad 3
This leads me to my last writing concept all writers have more to learn. As I discuss my
writing with my tutors and peers I learned what I could improve. I used that clarification
to make my writing make sense. I also learned ways to effectively get my point across by
using the most manageable and easiest method. I also learned to efficiently summarize
my text so that I can get across the most information with a fraction of words. And I
learned my favorite method anecdote, which grabs the reader's attention into my writing
piece and allows them to see you in your writing.

For eight weeks this course has been teaching me new ways to get my points across the
easiest and most effective way with the organization of ideas and concepts. For week five
the course writing I learned was the Schaffers Method for paragraph development. This
was a tricky method for me because it was a brand new concept. I really needed more
practice with it before I was confident and ready to make it my own. As I read and
researched examples I was able to find a method that worked for me. I ran my rough draft
by tutors and they helped me make sure my writing was using the Schaffers Method
correctly.