During the semester, first time preceptors have to reflect on their own writing in order to help

teach others how to write. Below are some of my paragraphs written through the semester.

Purpose and Audience (1):

While creative writing can be interpreted differently from the original intent, good
academic writing should leave no room for interpretation as it lays out the author’s thought
process. Academic writing is a form of communicating ideas. It serves as a way for students and
other scholars to expand their knowledge. By communicating new ideas clearly, they can be
expanded upon further or used in different connotations to understand something else. Not only
does it help others understand the author, the author can also learn more about themselves
through their writing.
While the author may not fully understand the thought process behind their idea at first,
writing is a way to discover the inner workings of the brain. For me specifically, I have had many
instances where I (dis)agree with someone’s idea but I don’t fully know why until I begin letting
my brain “word-vomit.” While this word-vomit does not typically end up in the paper, it does
allow me to understand exactly what I am trying to say by seeing it spread out in front of me.

Writing is a form of communication. Sometimes you can have a plan of what you want to
say, but it doesn’t always go according to the plan.

Pre-Writing (2):
I believe good academic writing comes from good ideas and the communication of those
ideas. A paper is nothing without the backbone of an idea. A strong thesis leaves no room for
doubt about the argument of the paper. A strong thesis also allows the writer the chance to know
exactly what they need to say to make the thesis stand out and prove their idea to be true.
For my pre-writing stage, I tend to do something I like to call word vomit. Word vomit is
basically writing down your thoughts as they come to you. Sometimes they link together to form
coherent sentences, and other times I am not as lucky. I am a very visual person so seeing my
thoughts laid out in front of me helps to determine what I need to write to make a coherent
argument.

I have learned from past experiences that sometimes you have to lay everything out to
fully see what you are trying to accomplish during this communication. I know there are times
where I can’t explain what I’m trying to say, but I throw out random words until it makes sense.

Drafting:
 Drafting is arguably one of the biggest steps in the writing process. This is where words
finally start hitting the page and floating thoughts formulate into concrete sentences. Drafting is
where the content finally comes to light and the ideas become action instead of thought. In
drafting, the real writing begins, and the paper starts to form.
I will admit that my drafting process is probably not the best and definitely does not work
for everyone. I am a word vomiter through and through. By writing whatever comes to mind, I
see where my thoughts are going and form the paper around my intentions of where I see it
going. This is never the final paper, but by getting words on the page, I feel better about where
the paper is heading as it gives me a better idea of what exactly I want to say.

When I write the original draft, I tend to follow a stream of consciousness and follow the
flow of words from my brain. I then go back and make sure things make more sense and
structure it so it’s easier to read and follow along.

Structuring Paragraphs:
The structure of an essay is what makes the essay work or fall apart. Without a solid
structure, the essay will read sloppy and lose the reader very quickly. If the reader can’t follow an
essay easily, they aren’t going to finish reading it. No matter how brilliant the idea may be, the
structure of the essay is the real communication behind whether or not the reader will understand
the idea fully.
In my own writing, I tend to have a topic sentence that lets the reader know exactly what
the paragraph will discuss. If I feel the need to break away from that topic, I will then make a
new paragraph to not confuse the ideas. A clean break signals to the reader that there is a new
idea about to be discussed. However, these ideas have to relate in some way.
By using transitional sentences in between paragraphs, the structure has a little flow that
allows the reader to follow what is happening and how these ideas are linked. Much like the first
sentence of this paragraph, I was able to switch ideas without having a jarring response from the
reader. In having this flow, the reader is able to stick with your idea and not get confused. In
writing, we want to avoid this confusion as once the reader is confused, it is hard to pull them
back into the ideas you’re expressing.

After structuring the ideas and putting them in an order that makes sense, I go back and
add small details to help transition between the ideas and focus on the flow of the paper.

Transitions:
 For me personally, transitions help make the paper easier to read and the easier a paper is
to read, the better it is. In my own writing, I try to use transitional phrases such as "moreover"
and "for example" along with highlighting the connection between ideas. That is really all a
transition is, the connection between ideas. I also try to repeat the key concepts that I want to
come across in the paper so that the reader can see the connection along with retaining the main
ideas.
In some of the papers I've read so far, transitions seem to be something that is put on the
backburner and not thought of more. They are apparent in some cases, but they almost appear to
be thrown in last minute to try and get a flow going. In order to flow better, the transitions have
to be well thought out and you have to know where you want your paper to go.