Anre Morain

Breanna Crowe

English 11000

25 November 2020

Throughout my school career leading up until now I have never seen such sufficient growth of My own writing in such a short amount of time, and yet throughout the semester I have seen significant growth in my own writing.Being able to achieve certain goals for myself that I honestly never thought attainable given the standard constraints of an english class. The experience gained in this particular english class is one to be held on to as I have never seen such progress before, in my own writing but also my peers. Especially in things that I have observed as my problems in writing for years, that I could never address because I felt I always had too little time. In all my highschool papers from freshman year to senior certain issues would persist, but in this class given the time to work on my own writing at my own natural pace they have all but gone.

The specific issues I am addressing are my mediocre often choppy flow and  organization, and my citation practices.These issues leave my paper as a whole stagnant and a little boring if I am being honest. This semester however even though some of these issues can be viewed in my first paper you can see the gradual progression of me and my papers. Even in little things I was progressing such as pacing, phrasing, timing, and vocabulary. Before I would have a tendency to forget to write portions of sentences or words as my brain would simply skip over them frequently and that typically results in my citations making no sense or my paragraphs having shoddy transitions because of the nature of my writing. This class allowed me the time to proofread my documents with the same discerning eye as say a highschool teacher. The importance of these two factors in my writing and the overall enjoyment of my writing is immense as they setup how certain arguments should be tackled and how certain phrasing needs to be organized, so for them to be out of sorts for so long on the mere pretense of something so malleable as a deadline makes no sense to me nowadays. I see the growth that came with flexible deadlines and ask myself why I ever settled for less. As if authors don’t get extensions for the sake of work quality. As if an art form doesn’t take time, practice, and repetition to master or become proficient in.

By going at my own pace I’ve found myself thoroughly reading the pieces we were assigned and genuinely using them to push my own writing further whether it be through analysis or the induction of literary techniques. The different rhetorical situations explored at my own pace allowed me to really engage and internalize my experience with the power of language and its role within a society along with my own drafting practices. This class specifically has all but forced me to see the value of sources that weren’t academic. “Whitey on the Moon” by Gil Scot-Heron specifically held so much to unpack that I honestly didnt believe was possible given the context of poem. I have spent years of my own life excluding such an integral piece of not only history but art in general. Now with any source there’s bias and none moreso than in art but these beautiful messages do not deserve to wither by the wayside because they are thought to be unprofessional. Such as this piece from Gil Scot-Heron’s poem.

I wonder why he’s uppi’ me?

(’cause Whitey’s on the moon?)

I was already payin’ ‘im fifty a week.

(with Whitey on the moon)

Taxes takin’ my whole damn check,

Junkies makin’ me a nervous wreck,

The price of food is goin’ up,

An’ as if all that shit wasn’t enough

A rat done bit my sister Nell.

(with Whitey on the moon)

Her face an’ arm began to swell.

(but Whitey’s on the moon)

The language used here and the story that lies within just that gives evidence of time and period, of struggle and perseverance, and of charisma. These sources hold such beautiful stories and given that my peers approve allow me to tell a beautiful story. With the constraint of Covid and Zoom classes the social construction of our individual essays have been solid and supportive when it comes to suggestions and criticisms.

To speak to my own experience this class has given me all I thought it would and more. To say I’m extremely proud of my own growth and happy with my experience in this class would be a massive understatement in my part, and while I may not show it outwardly I would argue that my appreciation is sown into my essays as they grow.