Vo 1 Khang Vo Ms.

Ingram College Writing 1103 11 October 2012 Midterm Assignment Dear dad, How is everything going at home? I hope you and grandma are doing well. Winter is coming, so make sure you wear your jacket whenever going outside. Im still doing great. College life is even more exciting than I thought. I made new friend and discovered new places while gaining valuable knowledge. One of my classes, College Writing 1103, is unexpectedly helpful and interesting. I would like to tell you about it because you always want to know what I have learned living away from home, dont you? I must admit I took the class as a requirement in general education program only and never thought I would be able to enjoy it. You know, Im not good at writing and English is definitely not my favorite subject. It turned out that I was wrong: writing can be as enjoyable as it is helpful for my academic career. As it name suggests, College Writing requires students to write (and to think) at a higher level than high schoolers. We dont just turn in one piece of paper we hastily write between classes. We have to read, think and write analytically as well as critically. It is a multi-stage process including, but not limited to, making inquiries, analyzing arguments, evaluating sources and developing theses. I know all those phrases may sound boring and difficult to grasp at first, but at the long run I found them relevant applicable when actually writing a paper with a specific topic. One does not simply write what they think; we college students are learning to write in an efficient

Vo 2 and meaningful way. The ultimate purpose of this class: strengthen our interpretive and analytical skills through various writing project. Let me explain to you specifically how it is like to compose a major writing assignment in College Writing 1103. Out of various writing projects weve completed thus far, which include an annotated bibliography and a few blog posts, What its like to be you? (WILTBY) essay is the one that benefited me the most. WILTBY is an exploratory essay that aims to give reader a relatively vivid self-portrait of the writer. I know its not really an exceptional topic, because students, as early as in grade school, are asked to write something similar, such as tell me about you? Is there anything special or interesting about you? However, the difference lies on the expectation for college students. I cant possibly write something as simple as Hi. My name is Khang. I have no brothers or sisters Im from Vietnam and I like soccer. Rather, I have to ask myself: How being a single child affect my lifestyle? What do I think about living in the U.S in comparison with the little town where I grew up? What makes me like soccer? Those are but a few question I had to ask myself before I can tell others who I am. The more I looked at it, the more I was surprised because I didnt have definite and absolute answers for some of my questions. Finally I realized that even I might not have understood my ego enough. In other words, this assignment gave me a chance to try to find my true self among various unreal images of persons that I had thought I was. The quest to define myself is not an easy one. After much thinking and reflection, I came up with a few ideas that I think were critical and important enough to be included in my first draft. Yes, I had to write multiple drafts, at least two, for each of major assignments. When I began to write my first draft, other problems emerged. I had to remind myself that I was not writing diary. My paper was supposed to be read by both my instructor and my peers. I couldnt make vague

Vo 3 references to events in my life or my upbringing, because my readers would completely have no idea about them. I had to be specific and selective in my writing, otherwise my readers would be either clueless or lost in meaningless, trivial stuff. Because the essay was all about me, I had complete freedom to express my emotion and thought without reserve. Only after I finished the draft did I realize I became too emotional and got carried away a little bit. In the end, my first draft didnt come out as I expected it would be: an exploratory essay with a well-organized structure, calm tone and an objective approach. Rather, it looked like a mess of separate, disconnected thoughts guided by an emotional outburst. Luckily, it was only a draft, and we had group workshop to help each other out. My peers read my draft and left valuable comments that helped me improve my paper. I also had a better idea about how the essay should be like through reading my group mates drafts. When revising my draft, my goal was to cut out unnecessary parts and add some significant events of my childhood. Because one of my group mates told me I had too many run-on sentences, I tried to rewrite my essay more concisely than before. I also wanted to make my paper more objective, uninfluenced by emotions or personal prejudices. It was not an easy task, though. Many a time I suddenly found myself in negative light, but I just went along with it. After all, if we dont face our not- so- admirable aspects of our lives, we will never learn from them and better ourselves. As a result of those revising and adjusting, my second draft was born in a better shape than its predecessor. Of course, it was not without flaws. My instructor pointed out that there was a disproportion in scale between my past and my present in my second draft. She was absolutely right. I focused too much on who I was in the past and wrote little about who I am at that very moment. It meant I need to rewrite my draft at least one more time. I didnt have time yet but I will definitely do it in a few days.

Vo 4 At this time I still havent finished my WILTBY essay yet, but I know what should be done. Now I think I grasp the concept of academically writing thanks to doing this assignment, along with the other ones. After much trials and errors, I know now how to read, think and write at a higher level. Academically writing is not really a straightforward process, but involves many stages: thinking critically, making independent inquiries, actual writing as well as providing and receiving feedback. Another factor that makes learning to write academically important is that it help the writer himself make sense of himself and his whole world alike. By trying to communicate with his readers, the writer may be able to communicate with his inner self as well as achieve intellectual growth and maturity. That is the goal Im aiming to throughout this class. I hope you are not tired at this point, Dad. We are at the end, anyway. I couldnt help but share what I have learned thus far with you, so please dont forget to write me whats happening at home. Im really looking forward to it. Now I think its time I went to bed. Good night, Dad. Your son, Khang

P/S: Please give my regards to my uncle, aunt and cousins. I miss them, too.