My Growth in Writing
Ninth grade is a difficult year because of the new, unfamiliar experiences of high school. Fortunately, I had many opportunities in and out of school for personal growth. Indeed, the classes and extracurricular activities I participated in changed me as a person through knowledge and new skills. One of the classes that particularly modified the person I was at the beginning of the year was English with Mrs. Boyd. I learned, through the process of writing, many things that I will take with me in future years.
Writing so much throughout ninth grade has allowed me to refine my writing process. Of course, the first thing I do now before writing is create a brainstorm. I have come to use a type of brainstorming that employs a chart because it helps me understand the main points and the flow that will be present in my writing when it is written. This chart is shown to the left, and it is composed of a thesis, three topic sentences for three different topics, and supporting evidence. As an organized person, this system helps me write. After writing that brainstorm, it is easy to write the first draft of my essay, which tends to be a hodge-podge of my varied ideas about a topic. Through the process of revising, I am able to create a series of drafts that end with a coherent final piece. This process is my crutch in all writing scenarios, and, without it, I would be lost.
Through my refined process of writing, I have been able to create a multitude of products throughout ninth grade that have certain admirable qualities that reflect my strengths as a writing. I think that the strongest aspect of my writing is my content, for I like to get to the root of complex ideas and situations. Indeed, my writing has a propensity to incorporate the most complex thoughts. I also think that my diction and syntax are noteworthy because of their elevated state. I write with varied and appropriate vocabulary on a regular basis probably because of the difficult pieces of writing that I enjoy reading. Also, that difficult writing has shown itself through my syntax, which, to the average reader, may seem confusing, but is generally grammatically correct. I want to write like the best writers I have read, and I am far from being at that state, but, with continued amelioration of my writing and the enhancements of these beneficial aspects, I may be a good writer one day.
Writing this year has pushed by abilities to become a better writing, teaching me many things. First, I learned how to adapt my writing to a new teacher’s demands, which occurs every year due to the variation of teachers. Mrs. Boyd likes certain things in writing that my old teachers did not, and she dislikes certain things in my writing that my old teachers adored. By having so many teachers who want so many different things, I will be able to make my writing please the tastes of many different people rather than just one person. In this manner, Mrs. Boyd’s viewpoints are invaluable. In addition, I learned how to, through being in ninth grade English, a few new vocabulary words from the works of literature that we studied. Having this new vocabulary will certainly ameliorate my future writing by offering varying, appropriate words in different situations. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, I learned in English how to write in the International Baccalaureate program’s (IB’s) desired manner, which was not introduced to me before this class as I was not in an IB class in the past. In the future, I will remember what Mrs. Boyd taught me and apply it to future writing.
There are no limits to the number of ways I can ameliorate my writing. First, I would like to be better at referencing other works of literature when I am writing so as to improve the quality of my pieces. This will come through reading more works of literature from varied authors and viewpoints. In addition, I need to continue to work on my atrocious spelling. I rely too heavily on spellcheck, which is somewhat embarrassing when I am writing with paper and pencil and make stupid errors. Also, I need to be more varied with my vocabulary, which will come, again from reading more often and making note of words that I do not know. I ought to continue to work on my punctuation of quotations, too, for the writing I produced this year reflects ignorance on rules of quotation punctuation even though I know what I ought to do. Finally, I should improve my writing by using less absolutes and making some of my viewpoints less extreme when I am writing for class. I am not always right when I write, and these areas are just some of the ways I can hopefully become a decent writer.
Writing throughout ninth grade has certainly been a process of growth. I learned many things throughout the class, and I have many areas to still improve. Luckily, I was fortunate enough to have a marvelous English teacher. Her zealous interest in her students’ success is apparent in her work in class and outside of it. Mrs. Boyd has put up with me, a laudable task that I thank her for. In future years, I know I will use what Mrs. Boyd has taught me so that I can continue to work hard in my writing.