My Writing Career

Kristine Climaco

       Reading and writing are important subjects that students are required to learn throughout their years of education. These English classes are important for teaching students how to read and understand information, as well as use proper techniques for writing in order to communicate well with others. As I was growing up, I enjoyed my English classes because I got to read different works of literature and enhance my skills in writing.

Bookworm

       I was a child who grew up with the love of reading. Since I was a shy and quiet girl, it eventually became my hobby to read books, especially the genres of fantasy and adventure. Some of my favorite books included the Harry Potter series and The Chronicles of Narnia. There were even times when I was so indulged in the stories that I stayed up past midnight in order to find out what happens next.

Developing My Writing

With all the reading that I did in elementary school, I was able to gain more knowledge with grammar, sentence structures, and the overall good flow that comes with writing. By the time I entered high school, my siblings had branded me as the “nerdy” one in the family.

During high school, I was able to enter college level classes, including AP Language and AP Literature. There, I continued to develop my knowledge in English, and improve my way of writing. One type of writing that we learned to make is called an essay. We learned about essay structure, its content, and different types of essays.

 Writing Essays

·        Essays must have an introduction, a body, and a conclusion.

·        Writers should brainstorm first, in order to plan out the content.

·        The introduction must have a captivating “hook’ in order to catch the reader’s attention, and a thesis statement, which summarizes the topic of the paper.

·        The body must have at least three paragraphs with supporting details.

·        Each paragraph has a topic sentence, with four or five other detailed sentences that support that topic.

·        Essays end with a conclusion, which basically summarizes the main point of the essay.

·        Some types of essays include compare and contrast, cause and effect, and argumentative.

·        The tone should be written based on the audience.

After learning how to write essays in high school, I was able to get good grades in my writing assignments. I recently had to write essays for my Biology and Chemistry classes, both of which I got A’s on.

Expression and Creativity

Aside from schoolwork, I also enjoy writing in order to organize my thoughts and express my creativity. I often write down my thoughts when I feel dejected, unmotivated, or overwhelmed. This usually happens when I have a lot of schoolwork, when I am having a tough work day, or when I have lots of errands to do. With writing, I am able to have a reflection on different aspects of my life, my emotions, and the reasons why I might feel a certain way. Writing helps me with metacognition, allowing me to find the specific reasons for my problems and possible ways I can act to resolve them.

As someone who read a lot of fiction in the past, I also get ideas for stories and possible plotlines. It is my hope to one day write a fiction novel so that others can enjoy my stories as well.

From a young girl until now, I have taken many English classes in school that helped me get to the level of writing that I have today. I learned about grammar, sentence structures, literature, and essays. I read a lot of books and took AP English classes that helped me develop my writing. However, I believe that there are still many areas that I need to improve on, which gives me motivation to continue learning. My writing experience in the past gives me an optimistic disposition to my current Communicating Across Context class, in which I look forward to learning new concepts and skills. I am sure that I will be able to use these skills within society and in my future career.