[can i just mention that i am currently listening to bad romance on repeat, so in the back of my mind is bah-rah-rah-ah-ah-ro-ma-ro-ma-ma-gaga-ooh-lala. i sincerely apologize if any of that babble spills over onto this bloggin' reflection.]
that said, go listen to it and get it stuck in your head too.
now on to business.
you asked:
that said, go listen to it and get it stuck in your head too.
now on to business.
you asked:
1. At the beginning of the course, you mentioned two or three aspects of your writing that you most wanted to work on. How well have you met your goal of improving in those areas?
2. At this point, what would you say are your strengths as a writer?
3. What do you need to improve in your writing in the future?
2. At this point, what would you say are your strengths as a writer?
3. What do you need to improve in your writing in the future?
my answers:
1. [In the beginning...]
I said this.
so, to answer in order,
ONE: i still hate using capital letters and it is STILL so difficult to force myself to press that little shift button with either of my pinkies. however, i have managed to make all [most?] of my papers case-appropriate, and for that i am grateful.
TWO: I definitely think that I am able to make connections between everything I read and see now, all in thanks to this tandem class.
THREE: I don't think I split that many infinitives anymore, but perhaps I just blocked that out of my mind. In fact, I think that my grammar has improved overall [or else my Professors have given up on my papers].
FOUR: conclusions. ugh. uhm. well.
I still feel that I have quite a bit of room to grow in this department, although they are getting better.
2. [Right about now...]
At this point, I honestly have no idea what my strengths as a writer are. I have received back-and-forth feedback on all aspects of my writing, so although I am comfortable with my writing style, that might not be considered a "strong point" in someone else's eyes. I still think that I have a pretty strong style as a writer[readers can tell its my writing], even if it is not always appropriate for the prompt.
3. [Oh, improvements...]
In my opinion, nothing is perfect, so everything can always be improved upon [in general]. For my writing, I need to work on making my points extremely concise, without all the sugar-coating and fluff that surrounds them. I usually miss the boat on this one because I either write with too little opinion and detail, or I write everything dripping with detail [that has nothing to do with my point]. I know that writing with too much wishy-washy-ness is bad, but I still do it. Its like an addiction maybe?
I hate arguing. I hate arguments. I hate everything to do with the word "argue" so in my papers, when I slip up and use a conversational tone in an analytic paper, I do not use very direct statements. So, it's not that I do not have an opinion, but rather, I am not fully accustomed to fighting for the opinions that I have. I feel like I have gotten a little bit better in this area, but it could still use a lot of work. I go from one topic and idea to another, in opposition, without stating which one I am for, or which I feel has no merit. I also tend to write as I think, which sounds like something a writer should do, right? Wrong. Writing everything just as I think it does not always benefit the paper because when I think, I CHANGE MY MIND.
[you're shocked, right?]
While changing my mind in my own thoughts might be alright, in a paper, it simply confuses the reader because I am supposed to be ARGUING my idea.
Idea.
Singular, not plural, and certainly not ideas in opposition.
4. yes, this is my fourth answer, even though there are only three real questions.
[don't read this if you do not want to hear blah blah-i don't like blogging-blahhh-rah-rah-rah-ah-ah...]
In class today we had a little "reflection time" where we talked about what we liked/disliked/loved/whatever else. I honestly had NOTHING to say. Not one thing. I do not HATE blogging [the idea/act of blogging] but I did not really enjoy writing about things that I don't think anyone would care about. I also feel like since this is online, I constantly have to edit/edit/edit what I say because everyone can see it. Someone once told me that a writer's work actually tells the reader more about the writer than about the actual topic of discussion, and too often I feel that all of my ideas and thoughts are spilling out from in between the lines of my writing. This goes along with my voice as a writer, I guess. People can tell it is me writing. This sounds like too much complaining, I am aware, but I guess that although I have a writing style, I am not fully comfortable in my writing shoes as of yet. My friends have read this blog and have told me that they can tell it is me writing it. That lack of ambiguity kind of bothers me sometimes, so it is difficult for me to write blogs on my "opinions and thoughts", while editing what I think, and trying to keep it interesting for a potential reader.
just sayin.
1. [In the beginning...]
I said this.
so, to answer in order,
ONE: i still hate using capital letters and it is STILL so difficult to force myself to press that little shift button with either of my pinkies. however, i have managed to make all [most?] of my papers case-appropriate, and for that i am grateful.
TWO: I definitely think that I am able to make connections between everything I read and see now, all in thanks to this tandem class.
THREE: I don't think I split that many infinitives anymore, but perhaps I just blocked that out of my mind. In fact, I think that my grammar has improved overall [or else my Professors have given up on my papers].
FOUR: conclusions. ugh. uhm. well.
I still feel that I have quite a bit of room to grow in this department, although they are getting better.
2. [Right about now...]
At this point, I honestly have no idea what my strengths as a writer are. I have received back-and-forth feedback on all aspects of my writing, so although I am comfortable with my writing style, that might not be considered a "strong point" in someone else's eyes. I still think that I have a pretty strong style as a writer[readers can tell its my writing], even if it is not always appropriate for the prompt.
3. [Oh, improvements...]
In my opinion, nothing is perfect, so everything can always be improved upon [in general]. For my writing, I need to work on making my points extremely concise, without all the sugar-coating and fluff that surrounds them. I usually miss the boat on this one because I either write with too little opinion and detail, or I write everything dripping with detail [that has nothing to do with my point]. I know that writing with too much wishy-washy-ness is bad, but I still do it. Its like an addiction maybe?
I hate arguing. I hate arguments. I hate everything to do with the word "argue" so in my papers, when I slip up and use a conversational tone in an analytic paper, I do not use very direct statements. So, it's not that I do not have an opinion, but rather, I am not fully accustomed to fighting for the opinions that I have. I feel like I have gotten a little bit better in this area, but it could still use a lot of work. I go from one topic and idea to another, in opposition, without stating which one I am for, or which I feel has no merit. I also tend to write as I think, which sounds like something a writer should do, right? Wrong. Writing everything just as I think it does not always benefit the paper because when I think, I CHANGE MY MIND.
[you're shocked, right?]
While changing my mind in my own thoughts might be alright, in a paper, it simply confuses the reader because I am supposed to be ARGUING my idea.
Idea.
Singular, not plural, and certainly not ideas in opposition.
4. yes, this is my fourth answer, even though there are only three real questions.
[don't read this if you do not want to hear blah blah-i don't like blogging-blahhh-rah-rah-rah-ah-ah...]
In class today we had a little "reflection time" where we talked about what we liked/disliked/loved/whatever else. I honestly had NOTHING to say. Not one thing. I do not HATE blogging [the idea/act of blogging] but I did not really enjoy writing about things that I don't think anyone would care about. I also feel like since this is online, I constantly have to edit/edit/edit what I say because everyone can see it. Someone once told me that a writer's work actually tells the reader more about the writer than about the actual topic of discussion, and too often I feel that all of my ideas and thoughts are spilling out from in between the lines of my writing. This goes along with my voice as a writer, I guess. People can tell it is me writing. This sounds like too much complaining, I am aware, but I guess that although I have a writing style, I am not fully comfortable in my writing shoes as of yet. My friends have read this blog and have told me that they can tell it is me writing it. That lack of ambiguity kind of bothers me sometimes, so it is difficult for me to write blogs on my "opinions and thoughts", while editing what I think, and trying to keep it interesting for a potential reader.
just sayin.
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