Written Communication - Spring 2009 Overview

Written Communication - Spring 2009

In this class this semester, I learned about different writing styles. I learned how to write a narrative and descriptive essay, an analytical essay and a persuasive essay. Each was a little more difficult than the last.
In writing a narrative and descriptive essay, you are writing about a personal experience. When writing this type of an essay, one of the most important aspects of your writing should be in the details. You want to make the reader feel like they are there. You want your reader to see what you saw, feel what you felt, taste what you tasted and hear what you heard.
In analytical essays, there are several different ways you can write your paper. It can be cause and effect, comparison and contrast, classification, process writing, definition or a combination of any of these. In any analytical essay, it is very important to pick a topic that is important to you. You want to convey that importance in your writing to your readers. The main purpose of an analytical paper is to inform your audience about a topic.
In persuasive writing, it is also very important to pick a topic that you care about. You want to pick a topic, explain it to the reader, take your position, and persuade your readers in a non-condescending way to change the way they think or act about your topic. In persuading your readers you want to be sure to take and show your position, but also show the opposition and have rebuttals for those opposing views. You may also want to propose a solution.
In all forms of writing, it is a step-by-step process. You want to pick your topic, have a good understanding of your current knowledge on the topic and then do some research. Whenever you do research, you must make sure to quote your sources. You always want to make sure you are aware of your audience and what they may already know about the topic. A very important part of writing is knowing your readers. You always want to write a fist draft and get some feedback on it. You want to make sure that you have enough details and supporting evidence (if needed in the type of paper you are writing). You also want to be sure that you are clear in your essay as well as having a good flow; a good organization method to your essay. You want to make sure that your opening is attention grabbing and your closing is fitting to your topic. Then you want to revise your essay based on the feedback you received and correct any grammar and spelling errors. Then you are ready to write your final draft and publish your essay.
In this class, I would say the most difficult essay for me to write was the last essay, which was our persuasive essay. I found it the most difficult because you are trying to persuade your readers to change their opinions on a topic that you care about deeply. And you must do it in a way that is not argumentative (in a bad way). You must talk in a voice that is thoughtful. I think that is hard to do when you are talking about a heated topic.
Overall, I really enjoyed this class. I really enjoyed writing the essays we were required to write. And I especially enjoyed hearing all the different essays in class. I really like that there are people from all around the globe in our class and we get an opportunity to see the world through the eyes of others.