Transition to College Writing: What It's Really All About

In high school, I always saw writing as an opportunity to grown in some way. When I was given a writing assignment, I would constantly think about what I wanted to tell my reader; what advice could I give to my reader? Even when I was not working on the assignment, I was still thinking about it in the back of my mind. I would observe things in my life and think about how I could use these observations in my writing assignments. I would also think about new and interesting ways to structure my thoughts in my writing so my reader could better understand my explanations and so my reader wouldn't get bored with my writing; I wanted the voice of my writing to grab the reader and embrace them. I am not trying to say that I started out writing in this manner. In fact, this strategy was was taught to me by a very influential teacher I had in high school. Thanks to her, by the end of my high school year I had grown in so many ways because most of the assignments I did required me to think on a deeper level, which caused me to grow the more I thought. This strategy helped me discover new things about myself and the world around me.

College writing is suppose to be an entirely different level of writing. Students are expected to discover who they are through their writing while improving their voice and the structure of their assignments. Students are also expected to learn how to communicate with the world in a professional manner. Many students who are in college will experience this personal growth very quickly, using writing as their catalyst to explore their thoughts and the world. However, I feel that my high school english classes were the catalyst for this same growth, opening up my perspective on the world and myself. In this college writing course, I am expected to evolve my personal thoughts and my view on the world around me, however I did this constantly in high school. My thinking and interpretational skills are at a very advanced level for my age, so I feel that I need time for my experiences to catch up with my thought processes. This doesn't apply to many college students, and I don't expect many readers to understand what I am talking about.

About now, you (my reader) may be asking yourself 'what is his point in all this?'. Here is my point; writing is thinking. For my college writing course, I read an article that explained the difference in high school writing and college writing, and what writing in college is about. The author discussed how writing is thinking, and I agree with her point. In college, professors expect their students to thinking about what their writing and write about what they're thinking. When students do this, they will become aware of how they think, how they interpret the world and they will begin to alter their perceptions based on what makes the most logical sense to them. I believe this is what college professors want their writing students to learn. They want their students to begin to transform themselves on a personal level while improving their writing skills. College professors want their students grow in the way that I did in high school.

I'm not trying to say that I won't experience any growth during this course, because I already have. I am just stating that my growth is much more complex and in depth because I have a strong awareness of my life and the world. Because of this awareness, my thoughts are much more difficult for me to process which is why this class will prove to be a challenge for me; I will be forced to think even deeper. However, I know that I am not alone and there are students who have an even deeper understanding of their thoughts and their writing. Thus, I know that I am not in a rut, but that I have much more growth ahead of me.

Marcus

Marcus

Blog for WRA 150 Section 8

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