BLOG 5

When going into English 802 I had hoped to really enhance my writing skills to a higher level. English 701 assisted me a little bit with writing, but really was not anything that had a big impact on my writing abilities. I knew going into English 802 that my writing skills were definitely going to be put to the ultimate test, and they were. With the introduction to our first essay, and all the talk of semiotic and rhetorical analysis, I knew I was going to be in trouble since I had never really gone in depth with analyzing something, especially an advertisement. I did the essay wrong the first time around and this gave me a chance to really take a closer look at the essay to seriously improve it. The fact that I messed up the essay the first time was actually a good thing for me, because it gave me a chance to grow from my mistakes as a writer. The second essay also involved using semiotic analysis, but instead with studying a space then proposing a new idea to make it better. I also did this essay incorrectly, which was frustrating, but I just pulled it together like I did with the first essay and did it all over again. Since I had already had practice with failing at an essay and redoing it again, I had no problem going back and doing the second essay all over. Screwing up on these two essays, I think, was for the best because it allowed me to learn from my large mistakes as a writer. When the third essay came around I was expecting the worst, since I had no luck with the first two. Surprisingly I found the third essay a lot more interesting since it involved studying a movie and I love movies. I attacked this essay slowly, but surely to avoid making the simplest mistakes and it came out really good. Since I knew what it was like to rush writing an essay and have to redo it, I took my time as a writer and put my love for movies and patience on paper and it came out satisfactorily. Towards the end of English 802 I had endured all I could possibly endure with writing, so I was very ready to take on the fourth and final essay. This essay was by far the hardest since it had to be lengthy and involved difficult topics. I again took my time as a writer with this essay and carefully compiled good, scholarly sources instead of going to Google.com like I did in the beginning of the class. By having better sources and understanding of the essay, I believe I nailed it. It took a lot of time and concentration, but the result was successful. Overall I endured a lot through English 802 and it really helped to mold me as a good writer. I feel like English 701 was an introduction to English 802 and what it had to offer. Since I am done with English 802 I feel like I am ready to tackle any other essays thrown at me in the future. I just have to make sure I take my time, compile good sources, and analyze, analyze, analyze.