Goals of Next Year

Next year, I want to become a more experienced writer. There are a few specific areas that I need to work on, but overall, I want to gain more experience. My goal for next year is just to put forth the best work that I can. I do not believe that the perfect writer exists. Every single skilled writer has struggled with one aspect or another of writing. Next year, I hope to do the same. To accomplish my goal of putting forth my best work, I must be consistently practicing and struggling. In my opinion, writing is just like any sport. You practice, you fight, and your repeat to get stronger. I did this year, and I hope I can do it next year. I pray that my English teacher next year will be able to challenge me to help me become the best writer I can possibly be.

Areas I Need Work On

One of my main issues with my writing is my inconstant coherence. Coherence is the flow of your piece of work, and it determines how easily a reader can read and interpret it. I think part of the reason my coherence needs work is that I go deep into the topics I write about. Once I go into extreme detail in my work, it can sometimes be too messy or confusing to read. Though my coherence is not awful, it is evident that my coherence needs improvement whenever I write about a complicated topic. Coherence is essential because it affects how a person reads a piece of writing. It allows the author to take an intricate idea and put it into words in a way that the reader can understand it. Coherence is a necessity to make sure that the reader can understand and interpret a particular piece of writing.

Writer Portrait

I am a writer that is learning. Over this last year, I have written more than I ever wrote before. Sure, Ms. Milligan’s class was challenging, but it was easy compared to this class. This year was the first time where I have been given as many weekly writing assignments as I was. Every week, I wrote two blogs that each took around 20 minutes. Though this does not sound like much, it was these small writings paired with papers every quarter that stimulated my growth as a writer. I have grown much this last year, but that does not mean my growth will come to an end any time soon. There is a possibility that next year, I might learn just as much or more than I have learned this year. After my sophomore year is over and my junior year starts, I will learn and grow even more. I am a writer who is continually challenged and growing.

Writing Center

       

This second semester, I visited the writing center for my research project. I met with a writing fellow named Douglas who was very kind and knew exactly what he was doing. My main issue with my research paper is that it felt like it had an odd coherence. I had massive paragraphs that would take up almost two pages each. Douglas showed me that I had no reason to make these paragraphs as long as they were and suggested that I divide each one into two or three more paragraphs. After I did this, the paper already began to look much better. Douglas also recommended that I add in transitions to each paragraph to allow the reader to keep better track of what I was writing. Douglas was able to revise my paper in a kind and simple way. I am glad that he helped me because I got an A in the end.