Theory of Writing
Chantysha Clifton \
December 10, 2019
Professor Sara Jacobson
English 110
Theory of Writing
Before taking this class I always thought of writing as something that is free-spirited, unless there is a something in particular that I must write. I felt that in order to be a great writer you had to be a natural at it and never seen it as something you can get better at over time. It wasn’t until now that I realized I was wrong and in order to become a great writer, one must have a good understanding of rhetoric and knowing how to relate to topics. I feel that once a person has that understanding, writing anything would be less stressful and have more of a natural flow. Not only must you have an understanding of rhetoric, but reflection is also something I feel is necessary if the goal is to be a great writer. Reflection for me has been one of the best things I learned in this class, due to the fact that after each assignment I got to understand how I went about executing each one. This gave me insight on what it is that works for me, what was my reasoning with each paper and how to speak on my writing process.
When it comes to my writing process there isn’t a routine that I repeat or a consistent pattern that I use with each writing. I more so make sure that the space I am in is comfortable and depending on what it is I am writing would decide on how I would go about the process. So, if there is a task that I know needs to be done before writing, I make sure to do it in a timely fashion, since most of my writing is done at night and I usually have to wake up early due to having kids. Once I begin writing, I think about what it is I am writing about and the main point I am trying to get across. I noticed that when I am figuring that out, I usually need a very quiet space so that I won’t get confused and lost in my thoughts.
Once I figure out my objective, I start thinking about my introduction and how I can grab my audience attention. Like I stated before depending on the writing, I would try to make sure my hook fits with the writing and the audience could connect with it. For instance, with my inquiry based essay, I started off with “being a parent can have one feeling many different emotions, especially since the parent is responsible for a whole human being”. That sentence is something that my intended audience can relate to as well as bringing awareness to those who aren’t the intended audience. I continue to build off that hook and for the body paragraphs.
Writing my body paragraphs consist of me taking the notes I have and reorganizing them into complete sentences. To make sure I don’t go off topic, I would look back at my writing task as I get deeper into my writing. When concluding my work I never really had difficulty with prior to the class, I feel it is the easiest part of writing, Though looking back at my source based essay, I did find myself writing a small reflection in the conclusion which was a result of me realizing I actually learned something from the writing assignment.
I believe in order to write an exceptional piece of work; you must have some type of interest in the topic that you are writing about or find a way to relate the topic to something you are interested in. I feel that doing this pushes me to make sure what I’m writing isn’t dull and is instead thought-provoking. I always felt that way, but I knew it was a must when I would be in class and there would be certain articles that we would read that lost my interest in the first few sentences. Once during my first peer review, I read a student writing and it took a lot of perseverance to finish reading his assignment; which I felt was because he just jumped straight to the point without trying to get the audience attention.
For instance, in this class I chose to discuss about learning disabled children because of having a learning-disabled child, working with learning disabled children and wanting to know different ways to help them succeed. Since the beginning of the semester, there has been constant discussion on rhetoric, as well as is being apart of each assignment knowingly and unknowingly. By choosing to discuss something I can relate to, I found it less difficult to do my assignments, on account of always having thought about my audience. I would refer to who my audience was, what would be the proper language or tone, and was my message clear. It became clearer as I went on to do the composition in two genres essay, that picking a topic that you have interest in or can relate to would shape your writing into something great.
I was able to get my point across without being so formal and lifeless, by getting personal and sharing humor from a parent point of view and not as a student. Hearing my classmate say “I wanted to read more” when showing them my first draft of my composition in two genres assignment, made me realize that I was not only on the right path but was really starting to understand the use of rhetoric and it felt amazing. Peer reviews helped give me insight on how I should go about my writing, based off of what I was told by my peers as well as what I read. For my first assignment I had to do a source-based essay, problem was I never heard of it before this class and didn’t know how it should be written. Even with my professor going over it, it wasn’t until the first peer review I finally understood what was expected not only for the assignment but for the class as well.
After speaking to two classmates, the third person I spoke with did exactly what my professor asked of us. He went on to tell me that he had done it before in high school but still just went on google as a refresher and seen examples. Something as simple as google could have saved me so much time, but I was more grateful for my classmate and the information he gave me. I took what he shared with me and decided to share it with the rest of my classmates that struggled just like me with the assignment. I truly feel if it wasn’t for that moment, I wouldn’t be ]able to write this theory. That moment led to me constantly searching for different types of genres, language, tone, and getting a better understanding of a medium, stance and a rhetorical situation.
The information I found continued to stick with me, even when I had to do writing assignments for my other class. I didn’t do much writing in my other class, other than notes. Though when I did write my professor was big on discussing a particular even and making an argument out of it. My first writing assignment I had to argue about what was true freedom “owning land or practicing your own religion”. It was a short and simple writing assignment, compared to this class but it would take a great amount of thinking because I wasn’t so sure about how I felt on the topic. If I was going to make an argument, I knew that I would have to not only stand by my reasoning for which ever I choice I chose, but also incorporate my true beliefs as well for the assignment to get a grade I would be proud of.
I thought about my stance on freedom and taking in my belief of what true freedom is. Once I realized my stance on freedom, I took off with my writing to the point that I had to make sure I didn’t go pass the required number of pages for the assignment. I was able to throw my own little flair within the last two paragraphs where I argued which was true freedom, all the while keeping it formal enough for my professor. I was ecstatic to see not only that I got an A minus, but to see the comment “very good-clear & concise”, since I had to stop myself from rambling on. Now when I write I stop and think, not only about what it is that I am writing about but how I am going to get across to an audience. What’s my stance on the topic, what do I know about it already, what would be the best genre for me to attract my audience? Is the tone or even the language I am using appropriate for the topic I am discussing? It’s like I was handed a flashlight to help me get through a pitch-black maze. Though it is not fully bright, but the light that I have is guiding me to the end. For me the end is being able to be skillfully in writing, no matter the genre, medium or purpose. Who knows maybe I will get the chance to actually become the editor-in-chief of Vogue, especially since I got rhetoric as my secret weapon.
