I have always thought of myself as a fine writer. I have always been able to come up with great ideas and take a perspective that others may not take. The only problem is that I have never had enough practice as a writer. In high school it was always just a rush to finish up and get ready for the weekend. Now that I am in college and have taken Comp 1 with instructor Steve Dalager, I believe that my writing have grown very much. I have learned new techniques, and ways to go about writing.
I greatest factor in this class for me was the fact that the topics were very broad which gave me a lot of room to think. I can not do well in situations that are very one sided. I enjoy writing in a very free way, and that was my favorite part about this class. It was very interesting using the comment system, and I believe that it helped my writing as well. It was nice to receive feedback from your peers and at the same time get practice on giving feedback yourself.
My favorite piece this year was the cause and effect essay simply because I got to write about something I love. I had a great time writing everyone of my essay and there wasn’t one that I really struggled with. It was just being able to go off about all the things that skateboarding has brought me, and I could talk or write about it all day and night. I was happy when we got that topic. I believe that writing from your heart is the only way to write, and this is what this paper was. In fact, this is what all the papers were. That really helped my when writing and I think that it cause me to become a better writer.
My least favorite piece was the comparing piece. The piece that was about my living at home compared to living on my own. That was the only piece I had trouble with because I am so mixed up about the two. I loved living at home sometimes, and I love living here. Both of them have their ups and downs, and that made it difficult to reach a solid conclusion. I would be writing and would change my mind in mid sentence. It affected my writing, and that is why it became my least favorite piece.
I am so glad I took this class, and even more glad about who the instructor was. I know you are going to be reading this and don’t think I am trying to make points up for the portfolios flaws with sucking up. You were a very laid back teacher, and very easy to get along with. That in its self affected my writing. Knowing how you kind of saw things helped shape my papers. You let me go off on things that most instructors wouldn’t. This class really helped me out, and I believe everyone who took it grew in one way or another.