Writing Success from A Composition II Student

Plan for Success and Topic Ideas  by Rey Marquez, Jr.

 

My writing has improved over time, but it has been a journey. I have learned from reading many books, including Stephen King’s, “On Writing” that has helped shape my style and format. However, I still struggle at times. I use writing in my everyday life; mostly, writing at writing work emails, memos, and technology narratives. I have learned that my writing needs an overhaul. I take my time, nowadays, to submit any writing at work, or even personal. I find myself revising constantly. College Composition I course was a bit nerve-wrecking to me, because I did not know what to expect, or what the outcome would be.  The end result of that course was great. When I saw I was taking Composition II, my nerves came back. My weaknesses have always been brainstorming. I sit in front of my laptop, at a coffee shop or at home, and my fingers seem to freeze. I cannot think of a thing to say or write about, but before I put thought to Microsoft Word I have all these ideas flowing away – must be that my laptop is possessed. The aspects of my writing I wish to improve are learning how to brainstorm better, honing in on the right words to use and the flow of my sentences, and understanding what makes writing formal or informal. One of the most important things I learned in Unit 1 was the three “most important components of good writing: All writing, both formal and informal, needs to be clear, simple, and direct.” (KUWC, 2014) Using these three components, and coupled with my learning experiences for the rest of the course, will help me developed better communication through writing.   

 The problem I would like to solve is in my workplace and that is the communication aspect. There have been too many times where one department and another do not communicate, and when they do the communication is not received or read effectively. This communication gap is a major problem when dealing with issues that need to be addressed within a specified timeframe. I go back to being clear, concise and specific when writing to your audience.  Presenting this argument will come across smoothly if I present examples of when the communication was received and decoded incorrectly. I think that using Kaplan University’s Writing Center, which I am a huge fan of, I will develop a sound argument for everyone to use clear, concise and specific statements.

 

 

References

Kaplan Writing Center. (2014). Formal vs informal. Retrieved from

https://kucampus.kaplan.edu/DocumentStore/Docs10/pdf/style/formal_vs_informal.pdf