Chance+Gallant's+First+Essay

Collective Conception

Before eleventh grade, I hadn’t really formed a definition of good writing, I was only worried about if I got a good grade. My last two English teachers in high school changed it all, with the aid of my pre-cal teacher. If it is truly good writing, it’s going to make you feel some emotion. Whether its joy, sorrow, anger, or excitement it will have an impact on your life. The point the author wants you to see should be easily understood. When you’re interpreting someone’s writing it's almost as if you’re communicating with them, if you don't have some response after you've read it wasn't good writing. “__Writing About Writing__” really reinforced some of my ideas about what good writing is. It has really made me think about everything I've been taught, it makes my writing process seems so primitive. I don't mind that my technique isn't as complex as some, I prefer the basics. I started forming my own concept of good writing, when Lisa Huff, my eleventh grade English teacher, cried after reading an article to my class about starving sick children in third world countries. She immediately thought about her own kids in those situations and it had a physical effect on her. When we asked why she was crying, and she said, “I just tried to get in the mind set of those kids, trying to imagine what they must be thinking. Then I thought about seeing my own kids go through that and it made me feel torn.” Words on a piece of paper made her cry, not a cut knee not the loss of a loved one, writing. That is when my concept of good writing started forming. To connect with a piece of writing on that level is unreal, it really made her feel something. After thinking about it, it made me change the way I do some things, I started being not as wasteful with food as I use to be. It truly had an impact on me because I still think about those kids, and how much of a challenge it must be. Mrs. Moran, the craziest woman I have ever met, was my twelfth grade English teacher. Rumors were going around that allegedly, she had been coming to school drunk. In her defense, those were most likely false, she was just a bit odd and people understood it as she was under the influence. In class she would be teaching a lesson, and all of a sudden she would start crying referring to it as “leaking”. Needless to say, there was never a dull moment in class. I probably did more writing in her class though than I ever did up to eleventh grade. She always made you read your paper to her after she graded it. Then she would pick apart your paper, asking what seemed like hundreds of questions. She always made sure you knew what your purpose of writing was, and if you thought you were thorough enough. Could you have said more or less? Made me realize when writing a paper, I don't really put myself in the position of the reader. I'll never forget after turning in each paper, she always asked if we felt good about what we had down, and if you said no she make you revise it until you said yes. Hidden in all her methods was actually a purpose it wasn't just excessive nonsense. I understood you should look at your own writing as if you were another person and if you get confused, or don't have any rebuttals then you need to make some changes because it's not good writing. My junior year I was introduced to something I never would of thought existed, mathematical essays. Mark Sparks, my pre-cal teacher, was one of the most amazing teachers I’ve ever had, and probably the best to arrive at BHS. He was one of the few teachers I’ve had to this day that wasn’t scared to actually be friends with his students. He didn’t try to be professional every second of the day, which in my opinion, made him a great teacher. Actually bonding with your students, and getting to know them helps you teach them. I would argue that till my death. This probably isn’t a valid point to add to this paper, but all of the papers I wrote in there, I enjoyed. The challenge was something that made me appreciate the irregularity of writing a paper in a math class. At first of course I was annoyed with the idea of working together two subjects that seemed to have nothing in common but in the end I understood why you would do so. To be completely honest, if the book “__Writing About Writing”__ has done anything it has only just reinforced my definition of good writing. I doubt if my concept of it will ever change drastically, the reasoning behind it is well supported, in my opinion. The book goes from one extreme to another about what writing should be with all sorts of writers giving their opinions. To base ones definition of something entirely off what someone else told you what it should be, would be disappointing. Another thing the book “__Writing About Writing__” has made me realize how primitive my style of writing really is. I prefer the most basic style that is human possibly. Trying to make the process more and more complex I think will make you lose your original thought process. Perhaps it is because I am lazy that I prefer to not make things harder than they already are, or maybe it’s because I'm simple minded. I start out with the simplest plan, I jot down an idea for each of my body paragraphs that support my statement or explain my purpose. Then I immediately begin working on the introduction. If I don’t consider my first sentence to be adequate enough, I spend an endless amount of time revising it trying to make it work with the whole introduction. Then once I’m satisfied with the intro, the rest is a breeze, because most of the time I can just ramble on for hours and tie it all together perfectly. I would say writing a conclusion is also easy compared to the amount of effort and thought I put into my intro. Overall I would say that majority of my writing strategies have been reinforced, I feel comfortable saying that my views towards my own writing haven't drastically changed in any way, seeing as how I feel this paper would be considered “traditional” for me. Meaning, the same writing processes and techniques used in my past writings were implicated in this paper as well. Showing that the book didn't completely catch me off guard and throw me through a loop making me want to write like all the writers who contributed articles to this book. I would say that, that means I had a pretty strong foundation for my writing, seeing as how I'm still comfortable using what I've learned in the past.