Dear English Department,
My name is Whitney Mays and as a 22 year old first time freshman, I can honestly say that this has been a challenging year for me. I took a few years after graduating high school to follow a dream of mine and although I do not regret it, it made getting back into school a lot more difficult. Unlike many students, I continued to write after my high school years were over. From songs to short stories, writing has always been a way for me to express myself. My first day of English 115 was a nerve-wrecking one. I was nervous to see if my many years of writing were up to par or just a joke in the eyes of a college professor. Fortunately, I was not disappointed. Professor Lace not only encouraged us to write how we felt but showed us exercises on how to open up our minds when writing. Marshmallows, anyone?
Throughout this semester, I’ve learned multiple ways to improve my writings skills. Firstly, I’ve learned how to open up my mind when beginning to write by free writing. I never imagined that simply writing down any words that came to my mind would end up helping me find structure in my first essay on student professionalism. Secondly, I’ve learned ways of understanding a piece of writing. The use of positive ethos, pathos, and logos can help make or break an essay, as we learned with our second essay. This essay also came with the Toulmin style paragraph, a very effective writing style that helped me clearly explain my ideas and thoughts. Lastly, I’ve learned how to write an annotated bibliography. I’ve never had to write one before and although learning the different types of citations was difficult, I know it was necessary to continue on in university writing. I would like to personally thank Ms. Lace for her positivity and upbeat attitude in class as it put the nerves of a first time college student to rest.
Thank you,
Whitney Mays
My name is Whitney Mays and as a 22 year old first time freshman, I can honestly say that this has been a challenging year for me. I took a few years after graduating high school to follow a dream of mine and although I do not regret it, it made getting back into school a lot more difficult. Unlike many students, I continued to write after my high school years were over. From songs to short stories, writing has always been a way for me to express myself. My first day of English 115 was a nerve-wrecking one. I was nervous to see if my many years of writing were up to par or just a joke in the eyes of a college professor. Fortunately, I was not disappointed. Professor Lace not only encouraged us to write how we felt but showed us exercises on how to open up our minds when writing. Marshmallows, anyone?
Throughout this semester, I’ve learned multiple ways to improve my writings skills. Firstly, I’ve learned how to open up my mind when beginning to write by free writing. I never imagined that simply writing down any words that came to my mind would end up helping me find structure in my first essay on student professionalism. Secondly, I’ve learned ways of understanding a piece of writing. The use of positive ethos, pathos, and logos can help make or break an essay, as we learned with our second essay. This essay also came with the Toulmin style paragraph, a very effective writing style that helped me clearly explain my ideas and thoughts. Lastly, I’ve learned how to write an annotated bibliography. I’ve never had to write one before and although learning the different types of citations was difficult, I know it was necessary to continue on in university writing. I would like to personally thank Ms. Lace for her positivity and upbeat attitude in class as it put the nerves of a first time college student to rest.
Thank you,
Whitney Mays