I have always endeavored to improve my essay writing,
because it can always be enhanced! Over the past couple years, I have developed
some strengths. For example, writing a strong essay question is something I
have become proficient at. I can find a good idea to use for the thesis based
on the given reading material. I have also
become adept using good transitions between sentences and paragraphs. It does
take multiple revisions for me to get these right though.
However,
I also have several weaknesses as a writer. I have trouble not switching from
past tense to present tense; I have to constantly reread my essay out loud
to make sure I haven’t switched tenses in the middle of a paragraph. I also
have to be careful about not writing "run on" sentences. I know we were taught
how to avoid this in elementary school, but, even now, I use so many commas and
semicolons that some of my sentences go on forever! Once again, reading the
essay aloud to myself helps me to find these errors.
One
goal that I have this semester for my essays based on the tips and points in
our reading material is: to improve the “voice” of my writing. Sometimes my
writing may make sense, and have the proper connecters, but when you actually
read it, it doesn’t sound natural, or flow quite right. My goal is to be able
to recognize when this happens, so that my writing sounds more consistent. I’m
hoping to improve this by working on my diction, so that the language sounds
more natural to people when read aloud.
