Journal 1

In the past, just about all of the writing I have have done, besides text messaging and using sites like Facebook, has been through school assignments, whether it was through a research paper or using rhetoric to choose a stance on a certain topic. Throughout grade school and high school there where times when I liked writing, such as writing about interesting topics or about more open ended topics, and there were times when I really did not like writing, such as writing really long papers about things I really did not care about. As a writer, I feel that two of my strengths are that I put enough content into my writing and I am usually really good with my grammar usage. Whenever I have a writing assignment, I do my best to answer all of the questions that are asked and provide enough explanation and examples to try and get my point across as best as I can. I also make sure to use correct grammar and spelling.

I think that I have a few weaknesses when it comes to my writing. Sometimes when I am writing, I feel like I am not making my writing interesting enough. Although I am getting the assignment done and fulfilling all of the requirements, sometimes I am not interested in what I am writing and just write it to get it done and as a result whatever I just wrote has no really feeling or excitement to it. Another weakness I feel that I have is getting my message across in the best way. Although I am usually good with providing enough examples or explanation in my writing, sometimes the way I set up my writing or the way I choose to write out something is not the best, and then the message I was trying to explain is not as clear as it could be.

There are a few things that I would like to change about my writing to help improve as a writer. For me, the most important thing is making what I write easier and more exciting to read. Even though I can write papers explaining how I feel about a certain topic or just answer questions, I feel like I can do more and write in a different way to make what I write much more enjoyable to read, even if it is about a topic I am not really interested in. For example, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart does this by taking topics that some people would probably never find interesting and uses humor and satire to make them much more interesting. Another way that I could improve my writing is by being able to get my point across in a clearer way. One author whose style I have always liked is Ernest Hemingway. I have read The Old Man and the Sea and many of his short stories in high school, and what I have always liked about his work is how clearly he tells his stories. Sometimes I have a more difficult time following what is going on in some books that I read, but with many of Ernest Hemingway's stories I had very little difficulty understanding what was going on in the story and have enjoyed reading them.

I feel that this class will help me improve as a writer and improve how I express my rhetoric. There are many ways that this can happen, such as practicing my writing and being exposed to different writers and their works. Hopefully, what I learn in this class can help me improve my writing and how I am able to use rhetoric in my writing.