Writing About My Writing

     I went into this class, thinking I knew how to write already, and that there was pretty much one way to write that would suite most situations, and that this class would be a breeze. I had done well in high school writing courses, as well as several college writing courses, without any real effort, or need to learn new writing techniques. The idea of writing short, or even long, articles didn't really intimidate me much, as I knew how to format a paper, how to fill in words to meet word counts, and how to write to please an individual professor. In summary, I thought I already knew what I needed to know to write. 

Then I had to learn how to write about writing. 

     Throughout the classes that we've had so far, as well as the articles we've had to read along the way, I have discovered that I, in fact, do not know as much about writing as I thought I did. I had never encountered of this idea of writing for your context (beyond writing to please each professor), as I had always just managed to fit my writing into whatever mold was desired. I had never heard of a discourse community, let alone thought about which one I belong to, or how to write with/for one. I had also never come across the phases of transitioning into a new context, at least not written out in front of me (I think everyone is aware that these phases exist, but just never really think of them as phases). The big picture within these article that we have read, that I had never even thought of, is the idea of what a text/tool is in writing. Before this course, if you asked me what a text would be, I would most likely answer with something along the lines of " A book" or a "cell phone message. Same goes for a tool, I would have said something along the lines of " a hammer" or "a ruler". But I have discovered that a text or a tool are very different from these ideas. A text can really be any form of communication, from a textbook, to an email, to a conversation. While a tool can be anything from a text, to a computer, and even a person in some situations (like Alan). Overall, I guess what I am saying, is that I'm learning a lot from this course, about how my writing style wasn't necessarily wrong, but that it needs some work to be able to transfer from academic writing to real world writing.

     Some things that I would like to see continue over the course of this semester, is this evolving idea in my head, about what writing, and everything that goes into it, actually is, and how to improve my writing. I already feel like I've learned a lot about how to take my writing and transfer it into something that can be used in real life, and that can be adapted to many different situations. I like the idea that writing is dynamic, and can be changed, adapted, and improved, over and over again, and would like to continue to learn ways to do that.