Theory of Writing

 

Each individual has their personal theory of writing which guides them throughout every piece of literature they create. My distinctive theory of writing includes the belief that writing is an outlet for your thoughts. Through writing, you can more concisely and clearly express your feelings. For the most part, verbally conveying your beliefs leads to an unorganized and less impactful speech as you must think on the spot. Writing helps you to review your ideas and present them in a more logical way.

Writing is a process which begins with knowing your purpose and audience. If you are writing simply to get an assignment done, the piece will never portray your optimal abilities. Knowing why you care to write on a certain topic and the specific people you want your message to get across to is essential in writing a successful piece of literature. While writing my technical report, this was a critical part of its formation. This technical report having the specific audience of students with a high school level education in the sciences, I wanted to write with the purpose of informing them on how to find the effect of potassium chloride on the swimming speed of paramecium. After being aware of your purpose, this will lead to the creation of your first drafts and their revisal.

Your first drafts never need to be perfect, they can start out with simple topic statements and supporting bullet points you think may be important. These drafts are not permanent and can always have phrases you might want to deleted or add later. Such can be exemplified through the process I encountered while writing my technical description. With this essay’s instructions to choose a specific artifact, I had gone back and forth between ideas. I had chosen many fictional artifacts found in various cartoons that were my childhood favorites and listed supporting examples for each. In the end, I chose the Handy Dandy Notebook from Blue’s Clues as I found it to have the most to write about.

After finding the perfect cohesion of your drafts, the final copy will make itself. The most vital part of creating the perfect composition does not end here though, as getting a second perspective is necessary. Having others evaluate your work to find places where you could improve that is hard to see for yourself makes a major difference. Since the request for a proposal project was a group project this made that easy. My group mates and I could constantly check in with each other and critique each other’s work to help create as close to perfect presentation as possible.  Working together and giving each other feedback helped to bring the proposal from simple and standard to creative and detailed.

When having a class time dedicated to understanding what was expected from each assignment especially in an environment which my questions would not be shot down but listened to, I began to see how these simple changes could have such a substantial impact. The is how my theory of writing evolved continuously. Progressively, I learned important factors in writing like easier ways of organizing my thoughts and ideas or what resources and tools can be found right on the internet for free. This also is what contributed to the change the most, the tools accessible. Prior, I never knew of the different learning tools out there that were so easy to use. I had always felt like I was on my own when writing essays and if I did not know something, then simply I would just miss marks in that area. Having the ability to gain access to these places, completely opened up a whole new area to what I can learn and therefore write on.

My theory of writing has influenced how I’ve worked and learned this semester by pushing me to not leave assignments for the last minute. Procrastination was one of my downfalls in high school and waiting until it was the due date to start an assignment was the norm. This only worsened my anxiety and stress, so entering college I did want to start off on a new foot. I aspired to be the ideal student who started assignments the day they were given and works on it gradually over time instead of hours before it was due.

As time progresses so does your abilities and a perfect example of this is my writing. My theory of writing was not always as exemplary as it is now. Before entering this class I did not believe in writing drafts or having others modify my work. In high school, all of my writing pieces were done as one final copy. I believed there was no point in even rereading my own work, as when I typed I would skim through the previous sentences anyways. It took time for me to realize how I was not working to my prime. I needed self-realization that I am a good writer and I have the ability to exceed in writing, I just had to change my bad habits.

My theory of writing will influence my other writing in the future because it has created a guideline for me. Will all of my future compositions I will have a place to start because my theory of writing has taught me different tips and tricks to not get lost. Yet, my theory of writing does not end here. It will continue to evolve and be shaped by the new learning experiences I will gain in the future from writing.