Witzen

Witzen, Maria
Rachel Efstathion
ENC 2135
18 April 2016
Reflection-in-Progress
Due to the culmination of my English class for this semester, a reflection of my
experiences and evolution of writing seems to be in order. Over the course of these past few
months, I have had to compare my views of writing from the beginning of the semester and now,
and doing so has caused me to reflect more on my writing than ever before. Looking back, I
have written so much in this class, almost to the point that I have either written a paper or
completed one project per week. With all that composing, I have constantly worked on defining
both my writing style and my theory of writing. I am eternally thankful for the opportunity Ive
had here to write this semester, because writing is truly a way to pour out your soul onto a
computer or a piece of paper. I believe that through this class, I have learned things that I will
carry with me into the future, both in writing and non-writing related ways.
Writing is the most influential way to do a variety of things. Writing can inform, create,
persuade, challenge, explain, and much more. In order to get a point across, writing should come
not only from a writers mind, but also his heart. If that writer feels or cares nothing for what he
is writing, the readers of his work wont care either. Being passionate about your own writing is
the main key term I stand by, because when I write about something that I truly believe in, my
writing not only improves, but it also seems to reach a wider audience due to the passion I put
behind it. Writing should be a happy medium of clear and concise, yet imaginative and risky.
Writing should be a work that is consistent with its specific genre. A heavy metal lyricist should

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not compose a debate on the American education system unless he is an expert in the field.
Otherwise, writing and genres would get muddled, and that would not be beneficial to the
writing community. Accuracy, attention to detail, direction, and fluidity are more important key
terms to include in writing. Writing, to me, is a form of art that fluctuates with the different
styles and media platforms of each individual writer. Writing is fluid and dynamic, and
personally, I have never seen it the exact same way twice. Different writers have their own style
of writing, whether it be in their descriptions, points of view, imagery, attention to detail, or other
characteristics. Writing can also be informative and even scientific, which is beneficial to those
who search for answers in their fields of study. Learning how to write is a crucial skill that
students all over the world should experience, because it can truly shape our cultures and define
things that cannot be expressed in any other way. At the beginning of this class, I defined myself
as a decent writer with room for improvement, and now, I can whole-heartedly say that I have
improved my writing in many ways.
My theory of writing has not entirely altered over the course of the semester, but it has
changed in ways that have made it more understandable and concise. Before taking this class, I
had no idea how to define good writing or anything concerning my writing style, mostly
because I thought it was simply something that was an understood term to people, but when I
thought over it, defining words came to my mind that I had never considered before. Truly
understanding my theory of writing is a totally separate craft from just writing words down. This
English class has taught me how to differentiate between the two, but also use them both to
enhance the other.
The process of writing and rewriting into different genres has really shaped my theory of
writing the most. I believe this process has caused me to truly consider the meaning of genre and

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understand the differences between a letter to my high school principal and a research report, for
example. At first, comprehending the meaning of genre was challenging, but as I went to my
first conference and continued to write, I eventually understood genre and its many forms. I not
only learned creative skills but I also created knowledge while I was in this class. My theory of
writing really contributed to how I created knowledge because I used the key terms I defined in
my theory to shape how I approached my writing. Being passionate about what I was creating
was a prevalent theme I attempted to include in all of my writing, because it is the most
important part of my personal theory of writing. Over the course of my three projects, I wrote a
general essay on my most prized possessions, a research report on why music education matters,
and a proposal letter to my high school principal advocating for music education. I also
composed a poster with a computer program I had never worked in before, created an Instagram
account, and I am currently in the process of perfecting a digital portfolio to house all of my
projects. To say this class was beneficial to a budding writer and creator would be an
understatement.
I used the genre of a reflective essay to explain how my knowledge of writing has
expanded over the semester because I feel like it is one of my strengths in the realm of writing.
It is also a significant way to get words across to an audience in a clear and concise way. My
experiences in this English class have shaped the way I will compose various writings in my
future career, whatever it may be, and will enhance my writing skills both at Florida State
University and beyond. Writing does not have to be a burden, and I believe that through
exploring different genres, identifying key terms, and developing a clear theory of writing to
stand by, writing will never be burdensome.

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