Taking Stock of Your Writing

Narrative Essay #1

1. What was my main point or thesis?
1. My main point when writing was to try and share my experience with literature and literacy in a way that conveyed the emotional attachment I had to the piece and show how another person’s literacy can have a profound effect on your own.

2. Who was my audience? What did i assume about them, and their needs? How was my writing affected by knowing my audience?
1. My audience was mainly Sonia, but it also included several peers who might read it when I have posted my final draft on the blog. My writing was absolutely tailored to the audience with my vocabulary, structure, and even the topic I was writing about. I made my paper more formal, while following format and structure rules to fit the essay style. If i had been writing the same story for friends, my diction would have probably been less elevated or formal than it is in the essay.

3. What feedback did you get while writing, and how was it helpful?
1. During the writing process, I received feedback in the form of annotations and commentary from other people in the class. The specific comment that pointed out how I was unclear about the meaning of my paper in the beginning was really helpful, and allowed me to expand and put in the missing meaning.

4. What was interesting to me as I went through the writing process for this paper, and what did I learn from it?
1. I found that while I was writing, it was much easier than other types of papers to gain motivation for writing, or to draw inspiration. It felt easier to write because I was able to be completely honest about my opinions and experiences, and also felt more in control about where my paper was going. I learned that I prefer to write honestly and allow the story to flow more naturally, and also that even though I struggled with it in the past, I feel like my writing is definitely more effective when I trust myself and my experience.

5. What questions do I have for Sonia concerning the paper, what would I like her to focus on, and what did I feel like were the strengths and weaknesses in my writing?
1. I would like to know why this is important to Sonia specifically that we share our experience with literacy, and also what she would write about for her literacy narrative. I am not sure what I would like Sonia to focus on in my paper, or even what I think the strengths or weaknesses are. I tend to be very overly critical of every single thing I write or do, so if I were to start talking about the weaknesses in my writing, I would probably say everything about it could be changed or rewritten so it was better.