Writing Philosophy
Words. Known to some as a unit of language, consisting of one or more spoken sounds or their written representation, that functions as a principal carrier of meaning; but to me, a fear. I could never describe my emotions or experiences in such a way to satisfy myself, and to give the story justice. Year after year I’d sit and listen while my peers read their papers in class of varied lengths, and astounded me with their use of diction and formation of sentences. My eyes widened at each description and dramatic representation, wishing with each syllable that rolled off of their tongues that I could write half as good as they could.
In entering AP English 11, my fear grew as I took a seat the first day and looked around at my classmates. I was surrounded by geniuses, capable of much greater things than I and I had no escape. My shyness overtook me and I kept to myself; unwilling to share my writing, too baffled by the works being created by everyone else. That was, until our college essays. When introduced to us as“the college essay”, I once again was overcome by fear at the mention of“college”. The excitement that sparked from my classmates was nowhere to be found inside of me, no matter how hard I searched. To get us into the feel of the essay, Ms. Self had us write six beginnings for our essay. While I groaned at the mention of the assignment, when I sat down to write, the words came easily and six healthily sized beginnings were completed. The next class, Ms. Self announced that we were going to be reviewing each other’s pieces and giving comments towards the improvement of our papers. My stomach immediately knotted inside and my eyes grew wide at the thought of one of the geniuses reading my paper. Reluctantly, I handed the paper over and immersed myself in thoughts of failure and fear of what they would think of my writing. After the papers were all passed around for a few rounds, Ms. Self called time and instructed us to return the papers. When mine was returned to me, my peer, Kyle, looked at me and said, “Wow”. “I wish I knew you better! Your writing intrigues me and just want to keep reading!” I was immediately filled with warmth and I couldn’t help but smile out of disbelief. People actually liked my writing! I went back to my seat slowly, reading over all of the comments and glowing. As we progressed with the college essay process, I looked forward to writing each draft, thrilled to express my topic and in all of the different ways we were learning in class. This was my turning point. The point at which I realized that my writing is mine. I make it what it is and I can fill it with whatever I want, despite what other people say. I had finally found a way to express myself and in a way I could completely get my message across. From there on, I was thrilled to write and proud to share my writing with anyone who would listen.
Now, I can confidently say that I enjoy writing. I love seeing something in my everyday life and being able to write about it, on my own or in class. I love the freedom writing gives me and sometimes it’s just for me. Just for me to write and feel the endless boundary I have in doing so. In September, writing was a chore. I felt no excitement in the words and grew bored quickly with each piece. I have found that when I find a topic to write about, it thrills me and I cannot stop. My college essay described my experience on a mission trip in Vacherie, Louisiana. It was an experience that touched me in amazing ways and to be able to put that in words, was an accomplishment like no other. I also found enjoyment in writing research papers; an assignment that used to make me want to give up writing completely. I realized that I could add my own opinions and emotions while keeping the research to inform and sometimes convince my readers.
This year overall has significantly strengthened my confidence in writing and my complexity of my writing. No, I am no scholar or professional writer, but my use of diction and sentence structure has improved to a point I never thought I would reach. As I continue to grow and progress with my writing the one area I know needs improvement is my grammar. While it has improved significantly over the year, there is always more room to improve.
Also over the course of this year, I have found it helpful and intriguing to read articles and pieces written by other authors. In doing so, I’ve seen numerous different styles and approaches each author has taken to certain topics. I’ve received a better understanding and respect of their purpose for writing and what it signifies to them. For example, Jimmy Santiago Baca wrote an autobiography about his journey into poetic writing. In this piece, he describes his struggle in the classroom setting and his reason for dropping out. He then went to jail and there listened to inmates “reading works of Neruda, Pas, Sabines, Nemerov, and Hemingway.” He was released months later only to be put back in again on drug charges. During his stay, he taught himself to read and write from scraps in the jail. Baca’s story truly inspired me in his determination to learn on his own and what measures he went through to learn. Although I have not and hope to not experience the frustration and punishment he experienced, I admire his strength and pursuing desire to learn as much as he possibly could. When he was no longer allowed to read and write, he shut himself away from society (of the jail) and wouldn’t let anything bother him.
Another excerpt that intrigued me was that of Bergen Evans. In his piece, he discusses the importance of obtaining a large vocabulary, one of my goals in my own writing. He says, “So the wise man, who wants peace of mind, and the efficient man, who wants to get on with the job, will take the trouble to use specific terms instead of doubtful ones.” This was one of his many pointers that I can apply to my own papers and improve them by specifying certain areas. The one quote that particularly stuck out to me was “And you will be pleased that it is good, just as you are pleased to see a forward pass completed, or a long putt holed, or a dance step gracefully executed. For words are to the mind what such actions are to the body.” After reading this, I realized that the passion I have found in writing is just as significant to my life as the sports and activities I participate in are. They have formed the person I am just a writing has opened my mind to inspire myself.
The third article is by Richard K. Redfern, who discusses how to avoid the vagueness and verbosity in much of today’s bureaucratic language. This also is a weakness I have and am thrilled to learn more about in order to improve on. A point he touched on that most helped me is that “when the shorter of two similar forms is adequate, choose the longer.” I know that by applying this technique to my own writing, I can intrigue my readers more and advance my dialect in the piece.
As I continue to read more and more novels and instructive pieces by professional writers, I am confident that my writing will progressively improve with each new technique I apply to it. AP English 11 has shown me how to love writing and to write what I feel and in such ways that convey the exact message I want to capture my readers with.
In entering AP English 11, my fear grew as I took a seat the first day and looked around at my classmates. I was surrounded by geniuses, capable of much greater things than I and I had no escape. My shyness overtook me and I kept to myself; unwilling to share my writing, too baffled by the works being created by everyone else. That was, until our college essays. When introduced to us as“the college essay”, I once again was overcome by fear at the mention of“college”. The excitement that sparked from my classmates was nowhere to be found inside of me, no matter how hard I searched. To get us into the feel of the essay, Ms. Self had us write six beginnings for our essay. While I groaned at the mention of the assignment, when I sat down to write, the words came easily and six healthily sized beginnings were completed. The next class, Ms. Self announced that we were going to be reviewing each other’s pieces and giving comments towards the improvement of our papers. My stomach immediately knotted inside and my eyes grew wide at the thought of one of the geniuses reading my paper. Reluctantly, I handed the paper over and immersed myself in thoughts of failure and fear of what they would think of my writing. After the papers were all passed around for a few rounds, Ms. Self called time and instructed us to return the papers. When mine was returned to me, my peer, Kyle, looked at me and said, “Wow”. “I wish I knew you better! Your writing intrigues me and just want to keep reading!” I was immediately filled with warmth and I couldn’t help but smile out of disbelief. People actually liked my writing! I went back to my seat slowly, reading over all of the comments and glowing. As we progressed with the college essay process, I looked forward to writing each draft, thrilled to express my topic and in all of the different ways we were learning in class. This was my turning point. The point at which I realized that my writing is mine. I make it what it is and I can fill it with whatever I want, despite what other people say. I had finally found a way to express myself and in a way I could completely get my message across. From there on, I was thrilled to write and proud to share my writing with anyone who would listen.
Now, I can confidently say that I enjoy writing. I love seeing something in my everyday life and being able to write about it, on my own or in class. I love the freedom writing gives me and sometimes it’s just for me. Just for me to write and feel the endless boundary I have in doing so. In September, writing was a chore. I felt no excitement in the words and grew bored quickly with each piece. I have found that when I find a topic to write about, it thrills me and I cannot stop. My college essay described my experience on a mission trip in Vacherie, Louisiana. It was an experience that touched me in amazing ways and to be able to put that in words, was an accomplishment like no other. I also found enjoyment in writing research papers; an assignment that used to make me want to give up writing completely. I realized that I could add my own opinions and emotions while keeping the research to inform and sometimes convince my readers.
This year overall has significantly strengthened my confidence in writing and my complexity of my writing. No, I am no scholar or professional writer, but my use of diction and sentence structure has improved to a point I never thought I would reach. As I continue to grow and progress with my writing the one area I know needs improvement is my grammar. While it has improved significantly over the year, there is always more room to improve.
Also over the course of this year, I have found it helpful and intriguing to read articles and pieces written by other authors. In doing so, I’ve seen numerous different styles and approaches each author has taken to certain topics. I’ve received a better understanding and respect of their purpose for writing and what it signifies to them. For example, Jimmy Santiago Baca wrote an autobiography about his journey into poetic writing. In this piece, he describes his struggle in the classroom setting and his reason for dropping out. He then went to jail and there listened to inmates “reading works of Neruda, Pas, Sabines, Nemerov, and Hemingway.” He was released months later only to be put back in again on drug charges. During his stay, he taught himself to read and write from scraps in the jail. Baca’s story truly inspired me in his determination to learn on his own and what measures he went through to learn. Although I have not and hope to not experience the frustration and punishment he experienced, I admire his strength and pursuing desire to learn as much as he possibly could. When he was no longer allowed to read and write, he shut himself away from society (of the jail) and wouldn’t let anything bother him.
Another excerpt that intrigued me was that of Bergen Evans. In his piece, he discusses the importance of obtaining a large vocabulary, one of my goals in my own writing. He says, “So the wise man, who wants peace of mind, and the efficient man, who wants to get on with the job, will take the trouble to use specific terms instead of doubtful ones.” This was one of his many pointers that I can apply to my own papers and improve them by specifying certain areas. The one quote that particularly stuck out to me was “And you will be pleased that it is good, just as you are pleased to see a forward pass completed, or a long putt holed, or a dance step gracefully executed. For words are to the mind what such actions are to the body.” After reading this, I realized that the passion I have found in writing is just as significant to my life as the sports and activities I participate in are. They have formed the person I am just a writing has opened my mind to inspire myself.
The third article is by Richard K. Redfern, who discusses how to avoid the vagueness and verbosity in much of today’s bureaucratic language. This also is a weakness I have and am thrilled to learn more about in order to improve on. A point he touched on that most helped me is that “when the shorter of two similar forms is adequate, choose the longer.” I know that by applying this technique to my own writing, I can intrigue my readers more and advance my dialect in the piece.
As I continue to read more and more novels and instructive pieces by professional writers, I am confident that my writing will progressively improve with each new technique I apply to it. AP English 11 has shown me how to love writing and to write what I feel and in such ways that convey the exact message I want to capture my readers with.