[ My Theory of Writing]
[ My Theory of Writing]
Throughout my life I feel fortunate to have had access to a high quality education, which taught me all of the fundamentals of becoming a great academic writer. Some of my earliest memories of school include Schoolhouse Rock videos teaching me about conjunctions and prepositional phrases. Long before I took any creative writing courses or learned what a haiku poem was, I learned the basics of vocabulary and sentence structure. That paired with the fact that my mother’s job was helping kids write their college essays, you could say that the rules of “proper” writing were instilled in me from a very young age. Luckily, I loved to write, probably because I was no good at any of the other subjects, but that is neither here nor there. Nevertheless, I eagerly attended English class throughout my early schooling days trying to soak up any information I possibly could.
As the years went by and I became a stronger writer, I began to understand how lucky I was to have learned these skills at the age I did. School became harder and my class schedule more diverse, which led me to realize that these skills could be applied far beyond my English class. Though I was still not a particularly strong student in subjects like history and science, I found that I could make up for my lack of understanding with strong writing. I noticed that even if I done poorly in multiple choice or matching sections on an exam, I could still get a passing grade due to my work on the essay section. Now don’t get me wrong, I was not a slacker by any means. I would work very hard in all subjects; however, my issues with paying attention in class often made it hard for me to retain lecture information. I feel strongly that I have my fundamental writing skills to thank for giving me the wiggle room to truly find out who I am as a student. Things weren’t always easy, and I definitely had some rough years in school, but my passion and appreciation for writing never wavered.
This past quarter has led me to do a lot of reflecting on myself and my journey as a writer. I used to find it funny that young kids are taught strict academic writing before they are taught creative writing. However, since beginning my writing minor at DU I have started to realize the necessity of having a firm grasp on academic writing. In my opinion, academic writing follows a strict structure with roughly five paragraphs. An intro, body paragraphs, and conclusion with lots of cited quotes in between. Clear, simple, and easy to fall back on. Understanding the English language and how to manipulate it can open numerous doors in the writing world. Even the most creative person on earth would have trouble composing a powerful piece of work without knowing the basics of writing. The same is not true for speaking, anyone can bullshit their way through a conversation or an interview. But to do so with writing, that is far more complex. Writing a strong piece, whether academic or creative, takes planning and careful execution. I feel strongly that in order to fully express yourself in any way as a writer it is imperative to have a strong understanding of the fundamentals of academic writing. In the rest of this essay, I will make my argument as to why this is the case.
I have found that it is easy to tell when someone lacks an understanding of the fundamentals of writing. Having taken multiple writing classes in high school and college, I have done quite a few peer reviews. I find that this has been abundantly clear in creative writing pieces. A writer may have a tremendous voice and perspective, yet their writing has no flow due to poor sentence structure. In the spring of last year, I took a creative writing course here at DU. Though I have never considered myself a poet, I really enjoyed dipping my toe into this new genre of writing. While my poems lacked any type of real substance, I did find that I was able to produce pieces that flowed well. Take this a-b poem about turning 23 that I wrote last spring:
“How old is old?
You must be at least 50, or so I am told.
The years fly by its hard to keep track,
Pretty soon grey hairs will grow, and the pain in my back.
I only just got used to being a teen,
And now I find myself stuck in between.
I don’t think I’m ready to grow up, I certainly don’t know the way,
better figure it out quick as I’m getting older by the day.
I was only just a kid how can this already be,
I don’t think I want to be 23.”
As simple and silly as this poem is, it works. Especially when I found myself stumped while writing poetry, I found that if I just focused on writing one solid sentence at a time that flowed with the last it would generally turn out okay. I feel strongly that without a solid vocabulary and ability to create flow in a piece, it would be very hard to write poetry consistently.
While poetry bears little resemblance to academic writing, this is not the case with scientific writing. If anything, scientific writing takes academic writing and jacks it up on steroids. During my time at DU I have been ‘fortunate’ enough to have written many lab reports. As I learned quickly my freshman year, there is no place for frills or fancy wordplay in a lab report. Just the facts in the most cut and dry way, nothing else. For example, if I were to re-word the introduction to this essay into the methods, results, and discussion sections of a “How to Become a Good Writer” lab, it would look something more like this.
Methods:
I was placed in school, given access to quality writing instruction while still a juvenile. Vocabulary and Sentence structure were taught to me while in the school. I went home. At home, my mother gave me an increase of information.
Results:
I know how to write.
Discussion:
Due to my schooling, as well as the additional information applied to me by my mother while at home, I learned the basics of academic writing. I believe that this effect was aided by my natural enjoyment of writing.
As you can see, there is nothing creative about this writing. Scientific writing poses the unique challenge of saying all of the facts with no extra wording. You want to share as much information in as few words as possible, which can be a lot harder than you think. One thing I found very helpful when learning to write in this way was knowing comma rules. With long and ugly sentences often needed, it is important to know how to use commas properly. Going back to the basics of what I had learned early on became a crucial part of my success in writing long lab reports. These basics of writing are what I feel will set me up for success in any writing-necessary situation I am in going forward in life.
I found myself thinking about this idea while writing an email to a possible winter break employer recently. Especially in this unique time where face to face meetings are more and more rare. In todays day and age, it is common for email and phone to be the only line of communication between employer and employee. For this reason, it is crucial to be able to make a good impression with well written emails. Email writing can get very interesting in my mind. At least in my world, I am usually writing emails to people much older than myself, which in my mind ads a certain type of pressure to write in a clear cohesive way. I can recall one of my first classes at DU my professor told the class that we should never write a long email to a professor. As he said, “people have jobs, and they do not have time to read a fluffed-up email. You will always get a better response by sticking to what is important.” Though it seems a bit stark, I have found this to be great advice. This way of writing emails has also allowed me to rely on my basic knowledge of academic writing to be successful. I now apply this practice when writing emails for work. Similar to scientific writing, I try to say as much as possible in a clear and concise way. Again, if I were to re-word the memoir-style introduction of this essay into an email to a professor I would phrase it something like this.
Dear Professor,
I am writing you about my journey as a writer, and my writing theory. I believe that my access to a quality education, as well as my mother’s background in writing have given me a strong set of tools for academic writing. These tools have allowed me to branch out and find success in many other forms of writing. Because of this, I feel strongly that in order to properly express yourself as a writer, you must have a firm grasp on the fundamentals of academic writing
Best,
Sam
No frills, just the facts conveyed in a clear and smooth way. In showing consistency with this type of writing, I believe you can reveal a lot about your abilities as a writer. As we have spoken about in class many times this quarter, it is about finding ways to break the norm and show your unique voice without compromising the flow and professionalism of a piece.
Since beginning my writing minor during my junior year, I have had a lot of fun experimenting with different genres of writing. As someone who spent the first two years of college writing lab reports, I have greatly enjoyed exploring the more creative side of writing. One thing I very much enjoy is finding ways to write creatively in an academic format. This could involve sharing personal thoughts, normally unacceptable words, and even full on fictional writing. For example, I could prove this by re-writing the introduction to this essay once again, but this time with some fiction sprinkled in.
Throughout my life I feel fortunate to have had access to a high quality education, which taught me all of the fundamentals of becoming a great academic writer. Some of my earliest memories include being personally taught to write by William Shakespeare himself. It also did not hurt that my mother is J.K. Rowling, who’s enthusiasm for writing made it pretty damn hard for me to stay away. My love for the English language caused me to eagerly attend English class every day at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
While sadly most of that is a lie (except the Hogwarts part), the style it is written in gives the appearance of plain fact. In fact, without prior knowledge of what is and isn’t possible, any well written fiction would seem completely believable. This is due primarily to the validity that a well written piece can give to a story. With a solid understanding of the English language and how to use it, there is not much that can’t be don’t through writing.
This past quarter of learning has caused me to do a lot of reflecting about myself as a writer. I truly feel very fortunate to have had the journey as a writer that I have had, and to have learned from such great teachers. In this essay I have shown how my knowledge of academic writing can be used to write a memoir, a poem, a lab report, an email, and even some good old fashion fiction. I really do feel that it is important to learn to write academically at an early age in order to have future success as a writer. These basic tools and principles lay the foundation for all different styles of writing. That being said, one must not get stuck in the box of academic writing. While an extremely helpful starting point for other genres, academic writing is not always the most practical structure for every day communication. The fun part is finding ways to get creative with the English language, and only then will your true voice as a writer come out.