Hi, my name is Dylan Chan, I go by he/him, and at the moment I am undecided on my future major.

After looking at the syllabus, I am excited to put my own opinion out to the blog to see if maybe some of my peers agree with my view or can maybe change the way I may view a certain topic. However, one thing I am nervous about would be my difficulty in interpreting and analyzing what the author maybe trying to say within their writing. When it comes to good writing, I believe that one should be able to grasp the audience’s attention, whether it be writing something that can be relatable to the reader (such as a overall message) or to have the reader be able to empathize with the characters in the story. Moreover, the writer should be able to provide factual information that remains focused on the topic (if the work is analytical). By being able to write well, one can convey their thoughts to others so that they may be able to change how other perceive things to be and it helps to be able to write something when you are in a professional environment.

For me, the easiest part of writing is being able to speak freely, much like writing my own thoughts down in a post like this, which I sometimes enjoy because there’s no pressure to overthink or anything, just write. The hardest part for me would be, as previously mentioned, is my ability to interpret and critically analyze a text, which is something I have tried to improve on but it just never clicked right with me. Lastly, as said before, I am undecided, but personally I believe that writing in some careers differ, where some may require a report on a problem or even observation, so the genre would be scientific or political, whilst other careers may not have much writing involved and more of short messages. But by being an effective writer, it can help formulate your writing in a professional manner and be able to get straight to the point while saying all the information that is needed.

Hello everyone, I’m Miryam Juárez (she/her), my intended major is Social Work.

After reviewing the syllabus, I am looking forward to being able to share my ideas and get input by others despite the class being online, however I am nervous about the amount of essays having to be done due to the fact that I work and don’t really have a great amount of time to do my school work, I’ll manage though.

Writing differs with everyone. Each individual has their own style of writing unique to themselves however there are qualities of writing that make it “Good Writing,” such qualities are but not limited to  how captivating the persons writing is, the vocabulary, the amount of context you incorporate to get the audience to understand you, how clear and cohesive your writing is presented, and how clear the grammar is. In order to write well, one can experiment with their writing and allow for someone else to read and get their input on how well they wrote. One could also read essay papers and analyze how well they wrote the paper and try to incorporate some of the elements of the essay into their own writing. Being able to write well is important because writing is an important form of communication especially in our society now. Writing can go from making invitations for your birthday party, to emailing your coworkers, to coming up with a social media posts, it is crucial because it allows us to express ideas.

The easiest part of writing for me is being creative and descriptive when it comes to expressing ideas or coming up with ideas. I prefer creative writing because you don’t need to necessarily follow a rubric or need to focus on answering a prompt, it allows you to get your brain flowing with ideas. The hardest part of writing for me is not being repetitive and making sure my points are clear, being able to incorporate different types of rhetoric is also a weakness of mine. I don’t like having to follow a rubric or having to answer a prompt because I feel that I’m locked with what I’m able to and not able to write about. I do understand that’s not the case and it is something I’m working on and hope to improve in this course.

As I stated before, my intended major is social work, and in social work writing is important. I have an understanding that in social work you are required to write many reports about patients based on your analysis of them and explain what you believe is best for them. Being an effective writer is important in this case since you would have to be able to express your beliefs strongly so that you can get the people a top of you to agree with what you believe is best for the needs of your patients.

Hello my name is Cordelia Vohnout (she/her), and I intend to major in dance.               

Something that caught my attention on the syllabus is that we will be able to record our thoughts on readings and share them with the class. This is exciting to me because I really enjoy discussing literature with my classmates and I’m glad that despite the fact that this is an entirely online course, we will still be able to discuss with each other. I am a little nervous about the amount of essays we have to complete in this course because I’m used to having one essay due every three months, as opposed to one due each month. Writing essays isn’t something I necessarily struggle with, however, I do get overwhelmed easily and I hope that I’ll be able to stay on track with my writing.

The qualities of good writing are simplicity, strong or unique vocabulary, and personality. Writing should be easy to follow but also unique to the person who’s writing it. In order to be a good writer you should know how to get to the point while also clearly explaining all your ideas. If your ideas are well developed and presented clearly they should be interesting to read, while also being understandable. Being able to write well is so important because writing is a main form of communication. We write every day whether it’s on social media, for homework, or a personal journal, we’re always trying to convey our ideas to each other through writing and being adept at it makes communicating with others much easier.

I keep a journal which I try to write in at least once a week and whenever I go on vacation I always write down the days events, so I would say that informally journaling is the easiest type of writing for me, but I also like to write stories. Writing about myself or a character I’ve created is my favorite type of writing because it’s therapeutic to get out my feelings on paper and in the case of writing stories, creating characters and worlds is fun because you can create any person, situation, or world you can imagine. The most difficult part of writing for me is writing about things I’m uninterested in. When I’m passionate about a topic writing comes naturally to me, however, when I’m forced to write about something that I’m not particularly interested in the writing becomes more of a chore.

I’ve been dancing for years and I intend to make it my career after college. While theres not necessarily any writing involved in dancing itself, writing definitely has a role in the dance world. Dance journalism is something that many dancers do alongside their professional career or after they’ve ended their careers as performers. Dance and writing are also both art forms, which means theres a lot of potential to use writing creatively or to develop an idea to later choreograph. Dancers and writers have a lot in common because they both take an idea existing in their heads and turn it into something physical that can either be watched or read. Conveying ideas or stories to others is the goal of both writing and dance, the only difference is the medium.

Hello, my name is Yesmely Medina (she/her),  I’m undecided in what I Intend to major in.

A few things that I am excited about in this course are learning new techniques and strategies that can help me improve my writing skills and will help me achieve a new style of writing. Allowing this course to help me express myself clearly in a formal and professional way. What I fear about this course is that it will make me feel overwhelmed because I am used to a distinct style of learning, being that it is an online course the programming is more complex than what I am used to. I am afraid that this style of learning will not allow me to grow as a writer because I require a lot of demonstration. I’m nervous that I’ll feel helpless with assignments and won’t be able to comprehend what I’m learning. I’m worried that I won’t be able to write coherently in this new style of learning since I’m more used to a visual style of learning. 

Some qualities of an excellent writer are someone who expresses themselves on any topic in a very detailed and fluent way. An outstanding writer makes any reader intrigued by using words that can catch any reader’s attention by their choice of words. A talented writer is specific and explains what is trying to be said. It is significant to write well because it allows a person to express themselves and it is an attribute that is used in the actual world. It is important to know when to code-switch and write professionally that will help a person gain more knowledge on being a wonderful writer and being effective in my career path. 

The easiest part of writing for me is that I am very detailed in my writing. When I’m writing about a topic interesting to me, I can write freely about the topic and express myself very well. The hardest part about writing is that I have trouble expressing myself in topics I’m not interested in, which mainly leads me to lack understanding of how I can write effectively. 

I am currently undecided on what I want to major in but being an effective writer can affect my career opportunities because writing is not only being able to express yourself on paper or document, it also affects an individual’s form of speech and how they’re able to present themselves as a person. For instance, if I were to attend a job interview with an unprofessional resume and form of speech I would present myself ineffectively. This can lead to many career opportunities being taken away from an individual because of the way they present themselves in writing and speech.