Reflection

Reading and writing never clicked with me as a kid, compared to some of the other subjects I was taught in school. I considered it too subjective, too "gray", too boring. With this impression for the past 18 years, I expected something similar for my first English Composition class in college. I was prepared to write informative or argumentative essays, the kind of writing I've only known. Surprisely, this course went in a completely different direction. We have read articles about the history of literacy and the myths of writing. During discussion, I have the opportunity to hear my peers' opinions and experiences with writing, as well as telling others my personal experiences. More specifically, in high school, my english teachers would take off points on my essay because I did not explain properly the connection between my evidence and my topic statement. As obvious as the evidence was regarding how it connected with my topic, my teachers simply followed the rubric. One of the readings that resonated with me was "What is Academic Writing?" by Lennie L. Irvin, more specifically the way he talks about the myths in writing. Some of my personal favorites were "Some got it; I dont-- the genius fallacy" and "The Five Paragraph Essay". As one can see based on my first sentance, I have yet to categorize myself as someone who can write. As for the "Five Paragraph Essay", one of my favorite types of writing has been the creative writing that college applications usually recieve. Even though that style of writing is unfamilar, it's relieving to be able to write outside the box and not have to follow the same format that I have been writing since elementary school.