Running Head: A THOUGHT ON WRITING 1

A Thought On Writing

Elise Pati

Arizona State University

April 29, 2019

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Abstract: This paper is on my journey and growth as a writer. It goes into detail about what I

have learned this past semester. It also talks about my hopes and plans for the future.

Keywords: writing, learning, & growth.

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My understanding of writing is one that opens the door to endless possibilities in life.

Writing has the potential to take me out of the world around me, and allow me to design and

create a whole new one, never yet explored. Writing is the portal to my thoughts, and the

window of opportunity for growth. Writing can only be effective if passion is involved. I write not

simply with passion, but with a vision. The majority of my writing is constructed with metaphors

and descriptions of what something is and can evolve into. I am not talented when it comes to

discussing, or debating, my views on life with other people. Writing creates for me a way in

which to do this indirectly. It has helped me to better understand my views of the world, and how

to convey it to those around me. We hold a mind palace, built and constructed specifically to us

as an individual. Writing to me is a way in which to open the door of that palace to others.

Writing is an ancient art stretching thousands of years back in time, and yet it is still the

essence, the base function, of ever evolving cities today. Writing for me is an escape. Writing for

me is a way to move past the terrible and the awful. Writing for me is a way to embrace and

experience the amazing. Writing to me is a way of connecting to myself, and connecting to the

world around me.

My understanding of writing, when correlated with school, was one solely to do with

analysing books and texts already given to us. All my past english and philosophy classes have

been constructed around this. When coming into this english class, I was still expected to learn

how to analyse; yet the difference this time was what I was analyzing. For the first time, I was

given nearly full freedom on what my topic would be about; and for the first time it was not

based upon a book. In fact, the very first project was based off of analysing art work, which is

something I have never done, or thought of doing, before this. It is not that I never knew people

did this, but I never did it on my own, and never received the opportunity in school. What this

has done for me is not only developed my argumental and grammatical skills as a writer, but my
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approach to the topic as well. My understanding of writing now has helped me learn how to

transfer the visual into the written. Before this, I would always be transfering the written into the

visual.

The thing that has contributed most to my overall understanding of writing, are the

​ ook we read during the first half of the

different books we read in class. The ​Rhetoric B

semester, helped me to learn about rhetoric in greater detail. It showed how it should, and

needs to be constantly applied to our everyday lives. Another thing that I thought was valuable

obtaining from this book was the history behind each form of rhetoric. The fact that we were

given such detailed and descriptive accounts of the author, helped to better understand that

certain form of rhetoric. This deeper understanding allowed for me, as a writer, to better develop

and construct my arguments. The last book we talked about was Bohm. This book was

fascinating, because it took rhetoric and brought it into the moral spectrum. It gave rhetoric a

deeper meaning, besides making it just about how to construct a well versed argument. It

caused one to think about not just the opposing argument, but the individual behind the face of

that argument. This realization will help me in the future when considering the opposing

audience. It also has helped me to realize that I should be evaluating my moral stand on the

topic at hand. Not only should my moral stand be addressed, but whether I am approaching this

in the correct way.

This may seem irrelevant, or even unexpected, but what I still need to learn about writing

is how to start. The only time I ever write is when I am required to. There are countless times

when I have thought about something that would be fascinating to put down on paper, but I

either stopped or never even started. This was not because I was lazy, but because I simply did

not know how, or where, to begin. My current understanding of writing now after what I have
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learned from this semester is this; first there is the experience, then the inspiration, which then

becomes thought, and finally thought becomes reality with a word. What a beautiful world we

live in, where the endless is actually possible. What I knew before, but am now affirmed in is

this; that no set path needs to be taken in order to accomplish a verbal work of art. What does

this mean for me? Well I have a research project I wanted to do for Barrett, but was unable to

complete this semester. Using what I have learned from the past semester, I want to start the

project and see where it takes me. What is needed is the first word to make the path a reality to

start, and the willingness to explore in order to finish.

Moving forward now on my journey to becoming an international travel nurse, I want to

take this view of writing with me. In nursing school we are required to write many papers about

various issues in healthcare, and many times these papers are requiring our stance on those

issues. I intend to apply these skills, about rhetoric, when writing these papers. One thing that

we learned that I especially found fascinating, was addressing the opposing sides view first. I

can not remember off the top of my head what this method is called, but I found it unique and

humanistic. When I say humanistic, I mean in the sense that it addresses the other side, instead

of immediately forcing one’s own opinion onto them first. This is not only demonstrating

sensitivity to those people, but respect as well. Outside the classroom, I hope to begin my

project I mentioned earlier. This project is on empathy in healthcare, and why it is lacking. I am

not exactly sure where it will take me, but from what I learned on how to collect information, and

organize it before writing, is a place to begin.