Writing at Howard: A Look Into My First Semester Writing Experience

Throughout my time at Howard, I have learned a lot of things about myself: I learned that I’m way more of a deeper thinker than I thought I was; I learned that college is all about gaining new experiences and using those experiences as lessons to life; and finally, I learned that I can mold myself into the kind of writer I want to be.

I’ve always known that I wasn’t a bad writer. I never got grades below a ‘B’ (with an exception on the assignments I procrastinated on) for my writing assignments in high school, so I didn’t really think there was much to be enhanced. However, when I received the grades for my first two essays, I knew I still needed to make improvements. So from that point on, with an exception of my third essay, I told myself that I would upgrade my skills and actually pay attention to my writing. Instead of just writing whatever came to mind and turning in the paper, I wanted to also be able to make sure that what I was saying made sense to the reader, and not just myself.

Although I know I haven’t done my best at writing, I do believe that I’ve made some improvements – which can be seen in the revisions of my first two essays and some of my journal entries. For example, when I was revising the essays, I tweaked a couple paragraphs and sentences so that the reader would be able to better understand what I was trying to say. Additionally, I made sure that I got to the point in my writings instead of writing extensive sentences talking about one thing. I also decided to write while using some of my personal experiences with writing and my thoughts in general as a peek into my mind, which I believe served as a strong point in my writing in addition to attributing to my growth as a writer. And finally, I believe that through my writing, the reader will be able to hear my voice and no one else’s.

However, with improvements there are also setbacks, one of them being the mechanical errors found in my essays (before I revised them). I never really had a problem with the mechanics behind writing before attending Howard. However, like most writers, my work isn’t perfect as I too make those mistakes that I can easily fix. Along with the mechanical errors came the syntax of my sentences, which sometimes could either confuse or mislead the reader into believing something other than what I intended.

I believe now that I have a better idea of who I am as a writer – a writer who is candid in my writing – I will be able to improve my writing until I feel satisfied with my work.

And hopefully the essays and journal entries in this portfolio present some of that.