1) The textbook discusses success strategies to transition into the college setting. Describe the strategies you found most helpful.
Most college students feel that taking a writing class is not that beneficial towards their specific major and feel that it does not apply to certain situations. Although some majors do not require scholar level writing, we still need to know the basics of writing a paper that is clear and concise. We need to acquire these skills in order to write letters, notes, and presentations that is easy for others to understand. Writing a paper is a challenge, and many bestselling authors must get their books proofread because it is hard to be perfect at it. There are multiple factors that apply to my writing process. Although writing is not one of my strengths as a student, I know that in order to write a good paper I need to know my audience, manage my time, and outline my main points.
To begin with, I know that in order to write a good paper I need to know my audience because that influences the type of paper that I am writing. For instance, if my audience is a professor that is an expert on the subject that I am writing about, such as network security, I know that I can use jargon that we are both familiar with in my paper. If it is another professor or student not familiar with the subject, I know that I must use simpler terms and explanations in order for them to understand that subject. Another example is when I am writing a paper that is either for my professor or friend. When writing an essay for a professor, my writing must be formal and structured in order to get a good grade. If I am writing a text to my friend, my writing can be informal, and I can use acronyms in order to get my point across. Thus, having the ability to know my audience allows me to write a paper that can effectively reach them.
Next, I know that in order to write a good paper I need to manage my time wisely. I make sure that I finish my essay before the due date because I do not want to lose points based on turning in my essay late. For instance, I usually spend too much time thinking about how I am going to structure my essay. When I set aside some time to write my paper, I can revise it or take it to somebody at the Writing Center. If I wait until the last minute, I will likely have mistakes in my paper. As a result, I will lose points on the content, conventions, or purpose of my paper. In brief, not managing my time wisely on an essay will negatively impact my paper because I will not have the time to rectify my errors.
Finally, I know that in order to write a good paper I need to outline my main points. For instance, I need to make sure that my main points relate to the topic given to me; I also need to make sure that I have enough examples and details for my main points. If my main points do not have enough details, it shows that I am not a good writer and cannot relate to the topic well. Also having main points that do not effectively connect with the prompt can confuse my audience. Therefore, the audience will forget the topic and lose interest in the paper quickly. Thus, outlining my main points gives me the opportunity to provide my audience a fully developed paper.
Overall, I know that in order to write a good paper I need to know my audience, manage my time, and outline my main points. My writing process is very challenging because I tend to overcomplicate my paper. I spend more time planning for my paper than writing it because I want to make sure that everything connects with the topic well. I will rewrite my thesis statement several times before I start writing my paper; I also try to maintain the same structure for each of my paragraphs. Although my writing process can be time consuming, it helps me create a good paper that my audience will understand.