The prewriting method I had chosen for my narrative essay was freewriting. The reason why I chose that method is because of the topic I was given. The topic was my family’s traditional food. So, because the topic is about my family, I thought it would be easier to free write since it’s based on my own knowledge. This method allowed me to share what came into my mind, which included knowledge I knew about my family’s traditional food and its importance in my religion without stressing on research and correct grammar.
Through the freewriting, I was able to depict important facts that I never thought was important. For instance, the meaning of why my family and culture offer leftover rice to plants and animals. I also found what I can add to make the readers understand the writing more, because not everyone can relate to our tradition. Adding information helps the reader have a better understanding of why I had chosen rice as the topic. This method is perfect for exploring a topic because before writing, I didn’t know I knew certain facts and how important they were to me until I had to think and write about it.
Journal On Tuesday, October 27 I chose to write about luck and effort and its role of importance in one’s life. The reason I chose to write on this topic is because it was one of the many topics on a site I chose to base my journal on. However, the topic also intrigued me. I have always believed in effort because everyone can’t always depend on luck. As I’ve been journaling for the past few months, I realized it has been very helpful. It allows a person to share their critical thought, feelings, argument and etc. With journaling it can help develop new topics and ideas, too.
How? Well, journaling can help a person look pass what they argue. For instance when a person shares their thoughts, it could lead to arguments, which can lead to a person opening their minds to new possibilities or ideas. So with that being said, Journaling can also give ideas for a new essay topic; I can guarantee it has helped a lot, especially at times I can’t think of any. I would always look back at my journals to help form new topics. For example, I would switch subjects from the journal topics I have written, or argue and write about the opposite of what I believed.
Overall, journaling is helpful. Other Essay Writing Sample and Self-Analysis The non-revised essay I will be writing about is my descriptive essay, which was about my experience in a Blue Bonnet field as a child. The reason why I chose not to revise this essay is because of numerous reasons. First of all it’s a childhood memory I do remember, but not everyone has perfect memory. So with that being said, I didn’t know where to go from where I ended and how to word what I saw. Secondly I wasn’t sure of how to organize my paper, which makes a big difference in the paper’s flow.
And lastly, the essay didn’t interest me as much as my other papers. Despite why I chose not to revise it, the paper did have some strengths. The words I chose to describe the things I saw left the reader with a great impression of how beautiful the field was, as well as what and how I did things such as running. Another strength that I believed benefited the paper, was the southern slang I added; this explanation answers the question you had about it being on purpose or by accident. The slang gives the reader a sense of who I am. Moreover like anything that has strengths, there are weaknesses.
Some of the weaknesses, my paper has are punctuation placement, specifically commas. I have always been confused about how and where to use it. Another weakness the essay has is how soon the conclusion came. I could have added more to the story, but I wasn’t sure of what to add. Also, since I added the conclusion so soon the story ended off early with a weird ending. The essay sounded unfinished and rushed. ? Showcase Revised Essay I think the most successful piece is my narrative essay called “My Sticky Tradition” which is about my family’s traditional food.
This story was created for all readers, it informs them of why rice is my family’s traditional food and how we used it. Without the writing process, I wouldn’t have developed a successful piece. The prewriting, writing, editing, and revision stage is all important steps. Out of all the steps in my writing process, I believe prewriting was the most helpful. In prewriting you’re supposed to let your thoughts flow without stopping and making changes. So because I didn’t take the time to stress on proper grammar and more, I was able to start my first draft faster.
Prewriting also helped me narrow what I wrote into groups, in this case the importance of rice in my family. Not only did prewriting help me narrow my writing into groups, but it also helped me, who was struggling, to find topics to talk about. After my prewriting, I started to develop the paper. I printed my prewriting and highlighted what I thought was important to keep. I also started planning how I should organize my work, as well as see what information I can add to help the reader understand the piece more.
Then when I figured out how I wanted to organize the paper and what I wanted to add in it, I went in search of a place to write; I can’t focus around sound. As time passed, I eventually finished my first draft and printed it. I then made my own revisions, but I still felt uneasy. So I asked a friend to proofread it and she gave me some feedback, including changes I made. Having a friend proofread my paper helped me see more mistakes than I did before. They also gave me some suggestion, which were very helpful. For instance, changing repetitive words, such as for example into for instance.
Doing that step makes the reading less boring than it is. Although I revised the essay, there were still minor issues to be fixed. While I was editing, I could have fixed my sentence fragment so the paper could have a better sentence fluency but I didn’t. If I did, I’m sure it would have made a difference in the paper and my grade. I also knew my editing wouldn’t be perfect because I struggle with grammar and mechanical issues. However, I liked how I put together my introduction and conclusion. I never felt so great about the two before. I was surprised at how the introduction flowed into the body paragraph.
In conclusion, I’ve learned how each step of the writing process benefited the other. Without the prewriting I wouldn’t have realized the relation of rice with my tradition, which was great to add into the writing to show its importance. Also without editing and revision, I wouldn’t have the improvements and grade I have now. I will continue to use all the steps of the writing process, especially prewriting. I’ve never realized the importance of the writing process until now. End-of-Term Writing Response Although I experienced some obstacles, I am proud of the work I’ve done.
This fall I have worked on many pieces, and as time passed I have seen much improvement in my work, grades, and responses. Not only that, but I’ve also seen how much I’ve developed as a writer. This is important because my goal in the beginning of the year was to improve my writing skills. One of the many things I struggle with are punctuation, specifically commas. I would place commas at spots they weren’t needed. After I took the course, I realized I shouldn’t always depend on reading a sentence out loud because it’s not always useful.
I also experienced how useful the labs online and the in class lessons were, thanks to the examples and peer editing. I have improved, but I must admit I still have some comma issues. However, I intend to improve them more. Some of the ways I intend to improve them, are doing more labs, revising my written assignment from other classes, writing in my free time, and working on worksheets that can help improve my skills. Hopefully as I practice, my skills will improve. Along with improving my comma skills, I will try to improve my skill of identifying sentence fragments, and complete sentences too.
Each one of them are issues and needed to write successful papers. As with changes in my writing, I have seen some. Like I’ve said before, I use less commas. However, I wish it could’ve improved more than it did. I also constantly revise my final drafts to make sure I don’t have little mistakes, because I always find a few. The little mistakes can make a big difference in a paper. The other change in my writing is how I see and think about it. I’ve found the best writing process that works well for me, which I will continue to use.
Now given these points and the following, you will understand why I would grade myself something around an 85%. First, one of the other reasons is because I know I try my best. The other reason is I know I have more to offer, but I don’t try to get help from the instructor like others. Third is, because I know I have shown some improvement in my work, which was everyone’s goal as a student in the beginning of the year. Lastly, I’ve adopted what I’ve learned in my writing and tried not to make it useless. Hopefully, this all justifies the grade I gave myself.