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actually rewriting, and this is where the cold, hard eye of an editor will serve you well. Develop
the discipline it takes to eliminate extraneous words (more on this shortly). Resist the temptation
to wax lyrically and get to the point. Not sure if a paragraph works? It probably isnt. Be tough
on yourself, and know when to delete or rework something. Your work will be much stronger as
a result.
He feels that when it comes to writing it is very important to not take his personal opinion and
try to turn it into a fact. He feels that as a writer he should try instead to convince his readers to
agree with the subject he feels strongly about. A way that Edgar felt would improve his writing if
he applied it and practiced would be to take the time to find valuable and reliable sources to
better support his statement or fact that he feels strongly about. This is a summary of the words
that Edgar Lopez told me when I interviewed him.
Good writing enlarges readers knowledge of the world, or empowers readers to act for the
common good, or even inspires other good writing words from Mary Pipher.
Norma Acosta
Professor Ogden
English 1A
Online course
Week 5 Writing Assignment
20 June 2015
What college Students Struggle With
Practice is a tool that is used in all aspects of a persons life if they hope to achieve
greatness. I dont know why maybe it is because currently I am a college student that I feel I am
constantly practicing to better myself in all the classes that I am taking. I think that the class that
most college students constantly struggle with is every aspect that English writing has to offer.
The problem of English writing is that there are many aspects of English writing that is difficult
for most college students including myself to comprehend or enjoy doing. The solution to the
problem is simply by constantly practicing writing. There are many ways to practice bettering a
students writing.
In my current English 1A class we read a book called Writing to Change the World by
Mary Pipher that gave so many great tools to better a persons writing including her personal
experience with writing. Expressing ourselves through writing is a key for readers to better
connect with your work. Mary Pipher is an extraordinary inspiring writer who throughout her
book makes many clear statements that writers have the possibility to change the world through
their writing. In the introduction alone Mary pipher states that the writers job is to write good
writing which enlarges the readers knowledge and encourages the reader to also act for a or the
common good(7). This is a good tool when it comes to writing in a college class. The student
should write in manner that their readers would gain knowledge of a certain subject and
empower their readers to act toward that action in a good manner. Mary Pipher also states that a
writer should visit their past and childhood in order to know themselves through their writing. I
think this is a practice to not only better the writing of college students but also so that college
students also get to know themselves which she states in chapter 2 Know Thyself to better help
college students.
Keith Gary creates a video on YouTube called Creative Writing Masterclass 1: Ideas &
Inspiration in which he expresses the many different ways that he gets inspiration for writing.
He mentions that inspiration is very important when it comes to writing. I personally feel the
same way that Gary feels because if more college students were more inspired on what to write
their writing classes would be less stressful. Gary makes it pretty clear that in order to better
ourselves in writing is to practice writing based on our inspirations that can sometimes bring out
the best of our writing. He states that one place that we can get inspiration from is though the
books we read which is very similar to what Mary Pipher stated in her book. I can also agree
with this because if college students are able to enjoy what they read then they can write better
based on that inspiration. I myself am truly inspired by the book I currently read by author Mary
Pipher.
Every week in my English 1A class I am required to write and submit a learning journal
in which I state what I learned, what I found challenging, and what I found to be fairly easy.
According to David Smit in his article Strategies to Improve Student Writing he describes the
problem to why students arent writing so well in their English classes and also goes into depth
as to how the problem can be solved. Smit states that a good solution is for students to write
several days a week a learning journal. He mentions that a learning journal can help with betting
a persons writing and can be useful for writers learning write to look back at as they are
improving. Now looking back at my writing journals I feel like I have improved a lot compared
to when I began write. This is a good practice that many college students should definitely take
into consideration.
Another article that I found to be very useful was on word stream called 16 Ways to
Improve Your Writing Skills Word stream is a well-known article that provides many useful
tools for a variety of categories. But it also provides a section that demonstrates different ways to
better a persons writing. The article states sixteen important and useful ways to better anyones
writing. It also provides simple steps to write a good paper or anything involved with writing.
The article is an academically appropriate source that college students can find very useful to
receive a well-deserved grade for their writing efforts. The article also goes a little in depth with
each of the sixteen ways college students can improve their writing and express themselves
through their writing as well. This article is useful because it has many steps that college students
can practice in order to better their writing. One important tool that I feel is super important to
practice that the article mentions is that when we edit our work we should do it ruthlessly this
means that we need to be our most difficult critic. This is something that most college students
and even most writers dont always practice. Being a tough editor to our own work is crucial if
we want to become better writers. Even this section of the article mentions that we should be
tough on ourselves and learn to develop this editing skill. Being a good editor is a practice that
every college student should develop.
This article called "Why Are Students Poorly Prepared to Write - Teaching Excellence &
Educational Innovation - Carnegie Mellon University" states the ways of improving your
writing. But one way I believe that college students can also improve on their writing is simply
by discovering what area in writing they are struggling. I found a website in which students can
go on and check different areas they could analyze to see which they need to improve on. It is
crucial in writing that we know specifically what we need to work on. I think many students
should go on the website because it could be just as useful as the article. As a student I find it
extremely useful to discover what I need to improve on specifically instead needing to change
and work on every area of writing. Picking 1 specific area to work on can make the process of
writing a lot easier and a lot less stressful which is what I believe most college students would
want.
As a college student I have my own certain views when it comes to writing and I know
that other college students also have personal views of writing. So I personally decided to
interview a friend that I met a long time ago in middle school, his name is Edgar Lopez, he is a
pretty intellectual and smart person that I feel is the right person to ask about this subject. I asked
him to tell me his thoughts on writing and the ways that he felt he could improve his writing. He
feels that when it comes to writing it is very important to not take his personal opinion and try to
turn it into a fact. He feels that as a writer he should try instead to convince his readers to agree
with the subject he feels strongly about. A way that Edgar felt would improve his writing if he
applied it and practiced would be to take the time to find valuable and reliable sources to better
support his statement or fact that he feels strongly about. I found what Edgar told me to be very
interesting because I remember reading in Mary Piphers book as well as in one of the articles
how important it was to take the time to do your research. It is very crucial when it comes to
writing to have the right kind of sources that will better explain the message you are trying to get
across for your readers.
Another useful article that college students can find very good to apply and practice is by
Rebecca Bransetter. She wrote the article 8 Strategies for Improving Student Writing and on
the eighth strategy she mentions that a persuasive essay can be a great start to better a students
writing. She mentions that it is a good way because its an essay in which the writer has a voice
to stand up for a certain subject that they feel strongly about. I think that it is a good practice for
college students to work on if they want to better their writings. It is also good because writers
who are beginners can learn to develop a skill in which they can incorporate their voice in
everything that they write about not only a persuasive essay.
I feel that I have provided many useful tools and ways that a college student can solve the
many different dilemmas that writing comes with. I think that writing never gets easier its just
that the more we practice the better that we get at it. I have also provided valuable sources that
any college student can revisit to get a better and deeper understanding of the information
provided. There really is nothing more satisfying than being able to see yourself improve each
and every time you practice something.
Work Cited
Chin, Beverly Ann. "The Role of Grammar in Improving Student's Writing." The Role of
Grammar in Improving Student's Writing. N.p., 2000. Web. 21 June 2015.
Branstetter, Dr. Rebecca. "8 Strategies for Improving Student Writing." Teaching.N.p.,
n.d. Web. 19 June 2015.
Gray, Keoth. "Creative Writing Masterclass 1: Ideas & Inspiration." YouTube. YouTube,
20 May 2008. Web. 20 June 2015.
Pipher, Mary Bray. Writing to Change the World. New York: Riverhead, 2006. Print.
Shewan, Dan. "16 Ways to Improve Your Writing Skills." 16 Ways to Improve Your
Writing Skills. N.p., 07 Aug. 2014. Web. 20 June 2015
Smit, David, Language Is Acquired Only By Absorption And Contact With, An
Environment In Which Language Is In Perpetual Use., and Vi Samuel Thurber (1898,
Paraphrased In Judy & Judy,. IDEA PAPER #48 (n.d.): n. pag. 2010. Web. 18 June 2015.
Why Are Students Poorly Prepared to Write - Teaching Excellence & Educational
Innovation - Carnegie Mellon University." Why Are Students Poorly Prepared to Write Teaching Excellence & Educational Innovation - Carnegie Mellon University. N.p., n.d. Web. 19
June 2015.