Reflective Letter

------Transitioning from the style of writing that I did all my life up until this class to this style called analytical writing has been a long and rocky road. At first I was unable to understand the process, why it is so well recommended, why it was so different, and the list just continues to go on. Sometimes I still find moments that I doubt this and want to go back to the way I used to write because to me, that way sounds better explained, but I quickly realize that although it is well thought out and explained in depth, that doesn’t necessarily mean that it is a better way to be said, nor a more justified way of explaining the subject matter.
------At the beginning of this class, one of our first assignments was to write about what we had thought to be our writing philosophy. In this, I wrote about how I have been writing in a style that I am very much comfortable with but that I was hoping that through Writing 101 I could have the chance to explorer the many styles of writing, atleast a few, due to the amount of time. I thought that for me, I would flourish more as a writer if this had been the case and so for a while, I was very unhappy with the class because I did not feeling like I had been getting the most out of the class. But then one day I realized, maybe that was not the purpose in Writing 101, maybe it was to explorer analytical writing and make old habits old and improve on the new habits. In a way, it taught me that I need to be more patient and wait for what is ahead and give it time, because I should not always go into things with my own expectation before I even understand what it is about because all that did was leave me unsatisfied.
------When I was first introduced to this idea of analytical writing I had many thoughts of it on both the negative and positive side. To me, it was a great way to use source material and get in on the conversation using my personal thoughts. I had previously thought that it was important to explain the subject at hand in a thorough in depth explanation, containing as much information as possible, while maintaining the follow. I had always felt like everything there needed to be there for the follow to sound right. I had always thought that by doing it in this style and manner that I would be able to connect with my reader on multiple levels, maintain consistency and flow, and have plenty reasons towards my point, making it an understandable and in-depth. From the very start of essay one, Craig had pointed out to me that my style was a form of word vomiting on the page. At first I was unable to except that because all along anyone who read my work always seemed to like it, it got me the grades, I was very comfortable with this style, and I felt like analytical writing could be a mixture of that and quoting because it would allow me to maintain my voice all thorough my paper. After all, everyone’s way of writing is going to be different than anyone else’s, even if they are following the same guidelines, formats, or styles. But I soon realized that I was over doing it. Craig had a point in saying that it was too much because as someone who is not the biggest fan of reading I can relate to not wanting to read a paper that is six or seven pages long. I would way rather read a paper in three or four pages and get many of the same ideas from that. By writing in the style that I did, many times the read may have not gotten through all my points because there was just too much. Although I really liked the first way that I wrote my essay for essay one, as time has passed I began to understand the idea of analytical writing verses my own style and how analytical writing is much more beneficial.
------When my second essay came around, I felt as though I had a greater understanding and I thought that I had gone in to my paper following all the advice that I had been given up until that point. I made sure that I was not rambling on, that every point had quote(s) to back up my theory in order to ensure everything in my paper was there for a reason, and I followed my thesis throughout my paper, making it clear, concise, and arguable. But when I had gotten my paper back I was very upset and confused. It was very hard for me to distinguish the difference between the advice that we, as a class, had been given and just saying the same point over and over in different ways. I really felt like I had been following what Craig had told me all along, there was improvement from the first essay and my confidence was there more, so to me, a fifty percent was not at all what I thought that I had deserved, but I also recognized that I still have a lot of work to do.
I can now look back on my learning experiences and know that I have only started on this path of discovering analytical writing and what it has to offer. I have begun to apply it and figure out what can and cannot work with this style of writing. I feel as though there are undoubtedly advantages to applying this style, both for this class and as I go on in my college education, and quite possibly my career. In the end, although these writings to do not fit with my writing philosophy or the way in which I had formerly written, I have noticed a positive change in myself and in my writing, but I know that there is a long road ahead and lots of room for improvement.