13 questions

What was most helpful to your development as a writer, reader, and thinker? Why?

The most helpful thing for my development as a writer, reader, and thinker was the workshops probably.  It helped me because it helped me to see other points of view.  Workshops also helped me by people telling me what needed to be explained more when I already knew what I was talking about but some couldn't follow my train of though or knew what I meant.  Lastly, I think workshops helped me become more open to people criticizing my work.  I have always been somewhat defensive and offended when someone told me I needed to change something but I have become more open-minded and accepting of constructive criticism.

What can you do to continue/improve this development?

I think I will continue the idea of workshopping by having other people read my papers before I turn them in.  This will help me understand what I have missed and what needs to be explained more.  It will also help me see my mistakes and help me learn about what/what not to do in my writing.

What did you learn from the reading in this course? Which essay(s) did you enjoy the most? Why? What did it teach you about good writing?

I learned from the reading in this course that you can pretty much write about anything if you have much to say about it plus some personal experiences to throw in.  None of the essays were my favorite because there were so many good ones to read.  I loved the ones with sarcasm and humor though, they were the most entertaining for me.  

Describe the writing process that you find most beneficial for you. Why does it work? How can it be improved?

The most beneficial writing process for me is to sit down and just put out a rough draft so I have most everything on the paper that I want.  Then I go through and reread what I have done and fix minor errors and sentences that I think are awkward.  The next best thing for me is to have it edited by someone else so I can get more insight as to what needs to be fixed.  I make all the changes that people suggest, then go through it again and make sure the whole thing flows for me.  I make changes here and there to what I like and then I'm done.  It works because I get to edit it as well as someone else so it becomes better.  It could be improved with a lot more revising sessions thrown in.

How has the blog been beneficial to you as a writer and as a person? How? Why?

The blog has been beneficial to me as a writer because it has taught me to just write.  It taught me the true meaning of essaying, just put all your thoughts on a page.  As a person, well I am more rounded now.  Before I was just good at writing five paragraph essays right and left because that is how I had been trained since junior high school.  But this taught me more about actual writing and I enjoyed learning something new.

What was your favorite assignment of the semester? Why?

My favorite assignment of the semester was the first essay we wrote, the personal essay.  I loved this because it was fun for me and I got to write about something that I loved.  It was easier than the other essays because I knew what I was talking about and it didn't have to be 10 pages long.

What was your favorite part of class? Why?

My favorite part of the class was being able to get to know people.  In my other classes all we do is take notes during the lecture and then we leave.  There is no time to learn about other people or talk about funny things.  I really liked being able to get to know people.  By getting to know people better I understood their writing styles better and it just made the class a lot more fun.

How is the final portfolio beneficial to you? How do you think differently about your writing because of it?

The portfolio... I am not exactly sure how it is beneficial to me.  I know that I will never really look at it because I just don't go back and read my old writings.  Perhaps someday my kids will find it in the bottom of a box somewhere and laugh at the things I chose to write about.  Or maybe they will be impressed with my writing skills--all depends on the literacy level of America in those days.  But I see no benefit for me to have a book of things I have written.  I think I will try to make all the pieces that are going in as good as I can possibly get them in the amount of time I have.

Why is submitting your work to a public audience (on the blog and to journals, etc.) beneficial?

I guess submitting my work to a public audience is beneficial because who knows?  Maybe I will have to do that sort of stuff one day.  Probably not, but it was good to learn how to do that sort of thing if I ever want or need to.  It also was beneficial because I had to really think about what I was writing and think, "Would someone really want to read this?  What can I do to make it readable?"

If you were to take this class again, what would you want to change and what would you want to keep?

The only thing I would change about the class is the reading.  Sometimes we had two essays to read that took a half hour each and the reading just wasn't enjoyable anymore.  I liked reading the essays but sometimes they were just so lengthy it was really boring.  I think that the reading should be cut down to one essay per class period so that students enjoy it more.  Everything else I liked!

What did you learn in this class that you will apply to other situations? How?

The thing that will help me most in other situations is my writing process.  I really should always use someone else to edit my paper because it can only get better.  It will help me make sure that my papers are clear and understandable while still sounding educated.

What makes good writing? Why? Give examples. How can you contribute to that sphere of good writing?

Good writing: visual imagery, feels like the author is not speaking in a superior manner, humor, easy to read (not like you're trudging through mud), and I can't think of anything else at the moment.  Examples of good writing were essays like Rooster Fish that kept me entertained and were fun to read instead of a chore.  I can contribute to that sphere of good writing by figuring out how to write and make the whole piece flow and keep the reader entertained.

Anything else you need to get out about the class.

I have had a love/hate relationship with this class.  At times I loved everything and I loved learning how to write in new styles and feeling like I could create something great.  Other times I was in the depths of despair because I would look at my work (which I though was good) with markings all over the page and comments saying that I needed to add a ton of information for the reader to understand.  But overall I have enjoyed the class because I learned a lot about writing and how to actually do it.