Teresa Lopez Ramos
Professor Leigh Gold
English 1121
March 16, 2019
What happens if you went to a middle/high school for seven years – you are taught college-level reading, writing, math, and science proficiency. Within three months later, you are placed in a higher education setting and expected to use those certain skills. Especially when it comes to reading and writing. When reading a simple text, we are taught to read the text at least two or three times. We are able to focus on plot, character, theme, narrative, language, etc, and translate these found elements into a written analysis. As students, we have learned for many years what makes a successful piece of literature, however as we evolve, we use the same set of skills to create a thesis, intriguing first sentences, evidence filled argument, bibliography’s, to help share our ideas and opinions.
During my senior year of high school, every Math, English, Science, and History class I had reflected on how I was able to argue, communicate, plan, determined in which I can use to help become a successful young adult. Specifically, when it came time to write my college essay.
The writing process was a duration of the junior and half of my senior year of high school. It began with an exciting and creative inspiration board. It was called a road map – a timeline in which pinpoints every single moment of our lives. After creating this road map, we had to decide on which moment could become our most vulnerable yet most unique story that can get us into college. Days later, we create numerous amounts of essays. Most of my essays
were particularly troublesome, who wants to share one of the most embarrassing and vulnerable moments of their lives. These essays are shared to college administrators, they decide if I qualify to go to their school. Unfortunately, this brought anxiety and stress levels that I never thought I would have.
However, that anxiety went away after I implemented a specific writing process. There has never been an essay or paper that I have written that did not involve my planning process. One, begin early. The writing process is a lengthy and time-consuming – I need time to gather facts, concepts, theories, and if necessary, a compelling argument. One – differentiate me. Rather than selecting the first essay choice, I review potential essay topics that are able to showcase my understanding of the content. Two – I like to understand what am I being graded for knowledge (quality of argument), analysis (investigation), and communication (organization). After deciding on what type of topic I would like to write about, I then do a free write. Which then transitions into step four, create a detailed outline. The outline is known to be a blueprint of your essay. What would you – the writer, have your introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion look like?
These strategies can either be helpful or not, it all depends on the writer. Many writers happen to have many different writing strategies – it all depends on what works to create successful essays, articles, and even books. When we read books, essays, and articles, we as readers can connect to the author by trying to analyze, what the message and what are they trying share with society.
