In all my years of going to school and writing papers, I realize that I’ve come a long way when it comes to my writing skills and English vocabulary. Once I started my blog during the later years of me being in high school however, that’s when I realized that there’s more to writing than just following a strict outline or having cohesive structure, though I still find that to be important in some cases.
We all know what a typical essay outline looks like. You have your introduction paragraph, your three main points and then a concluding statement. I’ve followed that outline for nearly all of my middle school essays, as well as a few papers back in high school. With me being a part-time college student now, and depending on which professors I have, there’s a bit more creativity involved when it comes to writing an essay. I personally enjoy having the ability to make as many points as you want within an essay as long as they’re cohesive and refer back to your main point. This is the kind of formula I’ve been given for my Topics in American Literature class [from this semester] as well as other classes in past semesters (ie. Sociology and Political Science).
Perhaps at some point I’ll share a couple of my more academic works in the future, but in moving onto the next point here, there are some pros and cons that I’ve learned over the years that come with academic writing. Of course, you have to follow your professor’s rules and guidelines, whether they have to do with formatting, checking for grammatical errors and spelling and other technicalities within the structure of your paper like making sure you’re consistent with your font and size, inserting the right headers or footers and having a working, original title. Other professors (especially ones who have a background in English/Language Arts) would probably care more about the content of your paper. These professors can be a bit more demanding in what they look for because they’re grading not just the format of your paper, but also sentence structure, any excess within your wording, cohesiveness within every point you make and also the tone of your paper. What kind of message are you trying to convey? Is your argument clearly stated within your thesis and conclusion? It’s a lot to keep up with, and this is probably the biggest con I have when it comes to academic writing.
I feel like this blog has come a long way in addition to my writing skills, but one thing I enjoy more when it comes to writing this way is that I have full, creative freedom in what I want to write about and how to get my own message across in a way that’s more personal. Typically, I don’t like to make things too heavy, personal or political most of the time content-wise, but I still like to keep an open mind about what topics I do want to write about. I also just enjoy the process of putting together each post for my blog. Usually once I have a topic in mind, I’ll write it down on a working list of ideas that I’ll sometimes refer back to. If a certain idea after a while still catches my interest, I’ll schedule in some time to get that idea out onto draft, and this in itself can be considered fun sometimes because the thoughts I have the moment I sit down can just easily come to me. I’ve never been someone who can just sit down and plan out everything in advance before I start the first draft, and in those instances where I do try and pre-plan any thoughts that do come to mind, sometimes my thoughts change after a period of time, so doing things that way just doesn’t work for me.
Shifting the perspective back to academic writing, one thing that can make the process of writing essays tiring is the extensive research you have to do, and especially if the topic you’re writing about is something you don’t have a lot of interest in. I’m glad that most of my classes so far have allowed me to explore topics that grab at least some of my attention if not all of it. My current writing assignment for my Communications class (which is connected to a persuasive speech I have to give in a couple weeks) is about why praying should not be mandatory in schools. I’m currently in my research phase and trying to find sources, but I’ve also been plugging in bits and pieces of information into my outline as I go. This technique has served me well for just about any paper I’ve had to write, but since I also have to rehearse what I have to say without going over a certain time limit, this puts a bit of pressure on me. I should also mention that I’m not exactly the best at citing things by memory without some help, and for this current speech, even though it’s not recommended to use note cards, it is required for me to have a slideshow presentation. Hopefully I can get through this speech without breaking a sweat!
I know I’ve mentioned in the past what my writing process is like for when I’m working on posts for my blog, but just to give a quick recap, once I’ve finished that first draft, sometimes it takes five minutes or less for me to make changes before I submit a new post. In other cases, especially if the topic calls for more information or a little bit of outside research, editing the post can take up to 10 minutes if I decide to make time for it. I’m not always on top of editing in all honesty, and because my blog is more so a creative outlet, I try not to let myself become a perfectionist to where every little detail has to be fixed or polished to the Nth degree. Writing is meant to be fun, so if there’s at least one spelling error or a missing word or two, I may look past it if I feel like I’ve put in enough effort already. Another thing that I don’t always hold myself accountable for is citing any outside sources that I’ll use. I know that certain fashion posts I’ve made have images that have been credited for, like when I wrote about different designer brands that I’m inspired by. In the grand scheme of things however, making mistakes is part of the process. It’s nothing to get upset over, but especially when you’re writing for yourself, that inner critic can be really hard to silence sometimes.
One upcoming topic that’s still on my list to write about is immigration vs. adoption and how that plays into the Pixar film Turning Red, and I know I’m going to have to remember my sources and cite them in that particular post once I get around to writing about it. I’m honestly excited to share my thoughts on this topic, and for more than just one reason since this has been highlighted about a week ago in my Literature class. There’s just something about the topic of culture that continues to capture my interest, and the more I dive into the subject, the more I’m able to appreciate my own culture of origin as well as other cultures in the world.
To wrap up this post, I just want to make it known that while I know that my history with English vocabulary and writing has helped to further my interests (hobby-wise and as a student), I try my best to recognize that English and writing is something that not everybody is naturally gifted at. Writing is a skill that has the potential to evolve the more you do it. It’s kind of like riding a bike or learning how to cook; we all have to start somewhere, and it’s okay if your first attempt isn’t perfect. Even the most famous of authors had to start somewhere, and while there’s nothing wrong with admiring authors like Agatha Christie, Stephen King or J.K. Rowling, comparing yourself to people like them really doesn’t serve a positive purpose in your life. Writing is supposed to be fun, and you can gain inspiration from almost anywhere!