growth

My Growth As a Writer- Final Draft

jkevans1

 To quote the renowned philosopher Voltaire, “Writing is the painting of the voice.” From a young age, I have always enjoyed writing. Whether it be digitally or physically, writing has always brought me comfort and relief. It is the medium by which I am able to express emotions I am afraid to say aloud. I would even go as far to say that it is one of my most prized possessions. However, I will be the first to confess that I am by no means a great writer. Nevertheless, I have always tried to improve. I have always strived to hone this craft to the best of my ability. Throughout several years of academia- elementary school, middle school, and high school- I have observed gradual, minute improvement in my writing. However, I have never been so confident with the quality of my writing as I have over the course of these past four months of writing 101. I feel this improvement to be specifically attributed to my utilization of diligence, consistency, and peer review.

It brings me no little amount of amusement to say that peer review is, by far, the most advantageous tool that helped improve my writing. I once detested peer review because I thought it fruitless, embarrassing, and condescending. This may be due to past experience; peer review has never significantly brought me improvement. However, during this past semester, I can proudly attest that peer review has changed my writing habits for the better. The constructive criticism that peer review brings helps me in a myriad of ways. Thanks to the objectivity of my peers, I am able to view my work from different perspectives, which allows me to elaborate upon, or fix, certain ideas and notions. For example, it has often been stated by my peers that I could improve upon my fluidity to give my work more structure. I have always struggled with this because I find it hard to eloquently link certain sentences or ideas with their proper partners. Before peer review, I feel I would frequently approach a creative roadblock. I would sporadically write strong sentences and paragraphs, and then have no idea where to put them, or how to connect them. After peer review, however, I gain helpful, objective insight that allows me to overcome this writer’s block, and adequately phrase my intentions. Moreover, I am a very talkative person, and it often shows in my writing. Peer review has rescued me from my reputation for verbosity, and has offered concise alternatives that adequately display my points. Where I flourish in word count, I fail miserably in brevity and fluidity. Peer review, overall, has brought me priceless qualities, enlightenment, and a tad bit of pride. Having an audience helps me identify and evaluate my strengths and weaknesses.

The other indispensable tools this class has presented me with would be diligence and consistency. Consistency and diligence have been the most effective and reliable method of improving my writing skills. The more you practice, the more you grow. Consistent, diligent practice allows you to see your growth and your shortcomings, along with your stylistic tone and habitual writing tendencies. It also aids in molding your identity as a writer. For example, if I compare my work from the beginning of the semester, which was an analysis piece of David Brook’s New York Time Op-Ed, to my most recent paper, a personal Op-Ed, changes in my writing tendencies can be clearly distinguished in that there is more conciseness, style, and clarity of tone. By practicing more, and with honest effort, my faults become glaringly apparent and, consequently, can be addressed and improved upon.

While the concept of writing well and often is not hard to grasp (it is simply practice), the execution is particularly difficult. Diligence is highly lacking in today’s modern, convenient world. More often than not, especially in academia, people will do only enough to satisfy the needs of the task. The same quality of work will not result from obligatory effort as it will from voluntary effort. That is to say a fundamental truth: we learn by practice. However, it is hard for students, especially college freshmen like me, to become motivated enough to practice, let alone to do good practice. This laziness is something I once gladly indulged in. However, as my growth as a writer became steadily apparent, I realized the importance and the impact of trying your best. By motivating myself to try my best, I began to realize my full potential. Thus, consistent writing, combined with genuine effort, or due diligence, regardless of the motivator, will inevitably result in noticeable change.

It is a rarity to literally be able to look back upon your growth. That, I believe, is why I hold writing so dear- why it is so beautiful. It is an everlasting reminder, a figurative tool by which you can gauge your growth: from where you once were to where you are now. This class has allowed me to showcase the improvement of my writing abilities, which I owe in no little part to peer review, consistency, and diligence. To peer review, I accredit my style and growth. I will always treasure peer review in that it gave me an audience which appraised and revealed my strengths, weaknesses, and idiosyncrasies when I was blind to them. Thanks to this tool, I am able to dauntlessly accept criticism. Moreover, by implementing due diligence and consistency, I have learned immensely about my capabilities and tendencies as a writer, and am able to bring my full potential as a writer to realization. It is because of these tools I can, in short, effectively expand upon my ideas, think objectively, provide structure, and exercise brevity. It is because of these tools that I have improved at all. This semester has proved extremely valuable in helping me realize the importance of introspection, and will remain forever fundamental in my development as a writer.

“Getting Started” Questions

jkevans1

I have grown as a writer this year in that I now give my writing its due diligence, with genuine effort. I believe peer review and consistency have been fundamental in my growth. My lack of motivation at the beginning of the year, along with my tendency to properly structure my essay to ensure clarity, have constrained my growth.

As a writer, I feel my main strengths are my expansive vocabulary and my eagerness to learn. I will use these strengths to continue to grow by expanding my vocabulary even further, and by studying the given constructive feedback.

I feel I am weak in that I struggle with brevity. As a person, I am usually long-winded, and I feel this comes across clearly in my writing- my inability to wrap up a paragraph or essay. It is important for me to strengthen this so that I don’t lose the attention of readers, and that my main point is always known. I will practice conciseness by elaborating only on key points to fix this weakness.

To ensure that I am a life long learner, I will continue to engross myself in books on various topics of life, and to always approach problems with an open mind that is ready to learn.

I would like to be a neo-natal nurse practitioner, which would involve informative, data based writing, as well as informative essays at UMMC’s nursing program.

A common theme I see is improvement. I feel I will adequately be able to incorporate and show how I have grown from past assignments to present.

Multimodal Project

jkevans1

During the multimodal writing project, I have discovered yet again a myriad of strengths and weaknesses. This project truly highlighted my writing abilities, in that it forced me to reshape my essay while keeping the basic structure, or fundamental points. It was, I will confess, difficult to condense a 1,450 word essay into 500 words. However, greatness lies on the other side of fear, so they say. After accomplishing this writing task, I have discovered that it is more difficult to write opinionated pieces than it is to write formal essays. I feel this may be because I have always written, for the most part, nothing but formal pieces: analytical essays, research papers, synthesis papers, etc. Maybe I have been trained to like formality. I think I did well in my conclusion, which was the hardest part. It was the hardest part because I had to condense an already condensed version of my essay into one paragraph. However, the fact that I succeeded shows that it was, in hindsight, not as difficult as I imagined. If I had more time, I would have redone the wording a little bit, because I feel the essay could have flowed smoother. Additionally, I would have chosen even more multimedia for the piece. The synthesis essay (or homework assignment) truly aided me in this project. It helped me link my view(s) with the author that I mentioned. This project, to me, was a test on my comprehension of my synthesis writing and the application of it.

“Reclaiming Individuality Amidst Social Media’s Tyranny” Final Draft

jkevans1

“Reclaiming Individuality Amidst Social Media’s Tyranny” Final Draft

Reclaiming Individuality Amidst Social Media’s Tyranny

11/04/2020                    Multimodal Project

By Jamya Evans

A saying of online life goes, “Every day, the internet picks a hero and a villain, and you hope that neither one is you”. Social media, an envisaged tool created to bring communities and different types of people together, has instead torn us apart. Instead of harmony, it brings contention and oppression.

Social media was once praised for its history of supporting and showcasing individual distinctiveness, upholding individuality, and for its boundless freedom of expression. Now, it has forgone inclusion. Now, it is criticized for limiting expression and thought that does not fit within the view of the majority, and pressuring people with fear. As acclaimed New York Times author David Brooks says, “ Many people carefully guard their words, afraid they might transgress one of the norms that have come into existence.”. How do we stand against this accepted oppression, if we are unable to even speak our own thoughts without fear of reproach? Here is a video on shame culture in social media. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORhwrL71dYc

The answer lies within. It is up to us to stand firm in our opinions and beliefs, and to not sway with the shifting judgments of the crowd. For instance, have you ever felt condemned, ignored, or attacked after expressing or questioning a seemingly undefined group or cause? It is then possible that you might have felt the wrath of social media’s shame culture. For example, if someone were to voice their support for the shut down of the musical app “Tik Tok” on twitter, they would most likely be mocked, ignored, criticized, and/or cyber-bullied, because most of the population enjoys this app. Another term for this is “cancelled”, or “cancel culture”. It is where a person is disregarded or condemned after expressing an unpopular or opposing view. This can be deemed as a form of shame culture, in that it is ostracizing and punishing people in order to rigidly enforce the acceptance of the majority’s opinion. New York Times Author David Brooks eloquently and concisely describes this problem, and offers an affective solution, which is: to decide for yourself, to reclaim your mind. We must make this claim on our minds, because striving to become like everyone else will inevitably lead to pain and/ or confusion. Conforming will just delay the inevitable existential crisis that comes to all who do not know who they are.

A girl is trapped inside of a screen, emphasizing and embodying today’s society, and how we are trapped within social media.

Inside all of us is the intrinsic human need to relate , to be understood. Sometimes we will do whatever it takes to do just that. Even if it means forgoing our beliefs, or verbally abusing others for the praise of a majority. In doing this, we lose sight of our inner compass, and become absorbed into the crowd to avoid exclusion. To avoid being a follower, you must take your life into your own hands, and decide. You must stand on ideas of your own, and stick to them. Be understanding, but unwavering. Be kind, but firm in your beliefs. And decide: whose life are you really living? Make a final stance, and avoid conformity by setting your own course, by considering compassionate action, and by choosing individuality.

 

 

About the author:

Jamya Evans is a freshman at the University of Mississippi currently pursuing a degree in nursing. She graduated from Ridgeland High School in Ridgeland, Mississippi, in May of 2020. While she has written over two dozen analytical essays in her lifetime, she attributes her recent writing improvements to her college writing 101 class.

“Reclaiming Individuality Amidst Social Media’s Tyranny Draft 1”

jkevans1

A saying of online life goes, “Every day, the internet picks a hero and a villain, and you hope that neither one is you”. Social media, an envisaged tool created to bring communities and different types of people together, has instead torn us apart. Instead of harmony, it brings contention and oppression.

Social media was once praised for its history of  supporting and showcasing individual distinctiveness, upholding individuality, and for its boundless freedom of expression. Now, it has forgone inclusion. Now, it is criticized for limiting expression and thought that does not fit within the view of the majority, and pressuring people with fear. As New York Times author David Brooks says, “ Many people carefully guard their words, afraid they might transgress one of the norms that have come into existence.”. How do we stand against this accepted oppression, if we are unable to even speak our own thoughts without fear of reproach? 

The answer lies within. It is up to us to stand firm in our opinions and beliefs, and to not sway with the shifting judgments of the crowd. For instance, have you ever felt condemned, ignored, or attacked after expressing or questioning a seemingly undefined group or cause? It is then possible that you might have felt the wrath of social media’s shame culture. For example, if someone were to voice their support for the shut down of the musical app “Tik Tok” on twitter, they would most likely be mocked, ignored, criticized, and/or cyber-bullied, because most of the population enjoys this app. Another term for this is “cancelled”, or “cancel culture”. It is where a person is disregarded or condemned after expressing an unpopular or opposing view. This can be deemed as a form of shame culture, in that it is ostracizing and punishing people in order to rigidly enforce the acceptance of the majority’s opinion. New York Times Author David Brooks eloquently and concisely describes this problem, and offers an affective solution, which is: to decide for yourself, to reclaim your mind. We must make this claim on our minds, because striving to become like everyone else will inevitably lead to pain and/ or confusion. Conforming will just delay the inevitable existential crisis that comes to all who do  not know who they are.

Inside all of us is the intrinsic human need to relate , to be understood. Sometimes we will do whatever it takes to do just that. Even if it means forgoing our beliefs, or verbally abusing others for the praise of a majority. In doing this, we lose sight of our inner compass, and become absorbed into the crowd to avoid exclusion. To avoid being a follower, you must take your life into your own hands, and decide. You must stand on ideas of your own, and stick to them. Be understanding, but unwavering. Be kind, but firm in your beliefs. And decide: whose life are you really living? Avoid conformity by setting your own course, considering compassionate action, and choosing  individuality.

Daily Write #13

jkevans1

After reading my professor’s kind, and very helpful, comments, I have added more information from my second source in order to relate it to my third source. Additionally, I have tried to cite in places where I could not, or did not, paraphrase. I have also added a works cited page. Thank you so much, the comments were very illuminating and helpful!

Daily Write #11

jkevans1

Based upon my peer’s comments, I will place my thesis statement better, or re-organize it to fit the flow of the paper. Also, I will add information about what shame culture is, because reader’s may be unfamiliar. I will also move this information to the introduction or first body paragraph.

Analysis Unit Reflection

jkevans1

Regarding the analysis essay assignment, I have discovered that I do not enjoy analytical writing. I felt very pressured and constrained; it was hard to expand on topic sentences and the thesis without being repetitive. I now know to value creative writing assignments when presented with such. If I had more time, I most likely would have been able to squeeze out more ideas, or better explanations, that support the author’s claim. I have indeed done this multiple times over, and the experience gradually worsens. I am simply not a good analyzer. Even in life, I’ve found that it takes immense concentration for me to evaluate or analyze a situation, or even my emotions. I have to take time out to focus on just that, otherwise, I will lose interest and become easily distracted. I think I can attribute this to my lack of creativity in writing. Although the overall experience was not favorable, I do have a better idea or understanding of how to proceed if I were to write another one in the same manner. In most areas of life, I would consider myself a “perfectionist”. However, when it comes to analytical writing, or anything in the world of academia that I find unmotivating, I will become hurried and rushed. This assignment was good for introspection. As for the paper, I feel as if I did good. I can not say that I think I did my best, as I stunted my own potential. Time- wise, I gave this paper more effort and energy than any of my other college assignments so far. The peer review, I must say, helped significantly on my paper. I was able to revise my paper based upon other people’s objective comments. This was an enormous help, because I seem to be unable to take things out of perspective. Additionally, everyone, including my professor, was very king and helpful. Overall, I am proud of having completed the milestone that is “my first college paper”. This was a very helpful learning experience, academically and personally. Thank you.