Ninth grade has given me a great opportunity to become a
stronger writer, and I have tried my best to take that opportunity. With every
writing assignment I’ve been given, I try my hardest to use the processes, tips,
traits of good writing, and rubrics to deliver a quality of writing that is the best
of my ability. Throughout the year, I definitely believe that my writing skills
have improved greatly. The most useful thing I have learned this year is how to
analyze literature and rhetorical situations in depth. Reviewing my pieces of writing through the year, I have noticed that the use of good traits of writing are much
bolder in my most recent work.
My first
piece of writing was my literacy narrative entitled “The Lost Story.” I
remember thinking that I got lucky when I heard what my assignment was because
I had such a great story to tell. This piece of writing is actually my 2nd
favorite paper out of my collection. Although, I know that if I could
go back now and edit the paper, I would definitely improve it. A lot of the issues
in this paper have to do with conventions such as missing commas, which I still
struggle with, but I have gained a better understanding of these errors
throughout the year. The lowest score I
got on the paper was sentence fluency, which has been a problem of mine
throughout all of my school years. Looking at my last paper, I think I did much
better with my sentence fluency.
The next
paper I wrote was my Profile called “Katie Michael.” The biggest strength in
this paper was definitely my introduction paragraph. I described Katie riding
her horse in descriptive detail. I learned how to do this in depth by reading
many interpretive characterizations in class. I was able to use descriptive
details to convey characteristics about Katie. The main problem I had in this
essay was connecting the other paragraphs in the paper to the first one. If I
could edit it now, I would relate the determined person she is to the
determination I characterized in the first paragraph when she was jumping on
her horse. Also, my transitions were quite
shaky. The transitions in my global issues paper were pretty strong, so I have
improved with them. I now know that smooth transitions must be done by somehow
using the topic of the current paragraph and briefly relating it to
the upcoming paragraph.
My literary
analysis called “Tales of a Sidhi-kur Analysis” was the most difficult paper
for me to write this year. I think the biggest reason that it was so difficult was
because of the story I chose. It was very hard for me to come up with a thesis
for this story because it has many stories within it. I realize now that I needed
to figure out the author’s purpose for creating many stories within, how they
connected, and how they affect reader’s interpretations of the story. I didn’t
fully conceptualize the type of paper I was supposed to write using this story,
and it ended up pretty messy. I also didn’t analyze my quotes in enough depth,
which I did much better in my global issues paper.
My global
issues paper is the best paper that I wrote this year. I scored an A in everything except the
citation format. Overall, this paper shows how I’ve strengthened as a writer. I
had trouble with my thesis and connecting my ideas to the thesis in my literary
analysis, but I really got the idea of how to do that in my global analysis paper.
I actually did well in my sentence fluency even though it’s been one of my weaknesses
in the past. From my literacy narrative to my global issues paper, I’ve
improved in all the good traits of writing. I’ve definitely applied things I
learned in class to my writing.
One of the most valuable things I
have learned during my writing experience this year is that the process to a
final paper is extremely important. Outlining, writing many drafts, thoroughly
editing, peer editing, and reviewing the rubric is necessary for a final
product that is the best of my abilities. Another important thing I have
learned this year is to support my thesis and to provide a foundation for the
purpose I’m trying to convey in the paper. Over and over again, we have learned
how to give supporting details throughout a paper that demonstrate qualities that
make a strong argument. Supporting details also help show readers why a certain
quote is important, why an author might have written something a certain way,
and how descriptions of a person can exhibit certain characteristics. Reviewing
all of my papers from this year has made me realize how much I have improved as
a writer, and that I’ve been able display those improvements and what I’ve
learned.
