Writing Reflection

When I walked through the 11^th grade commons before exhibition, I read a piece of my writing from the beginning of the year. It was for the American Icons project, and as I read it, I couldn’t believe I wrote it. Full of repetitive sentences, constant “-ing” verbs, and way too many sledgehammer words. Immediately after, I went inside and read my Ampersand piece. I was astonished with the differences.

I realized that when you follow the writing tips, it fixes every problem you are having with your piece. When I eliminated “-ing” verbs, my piece sounded more professional and began to flow a lot better.

Example from piece:

Before

Men and women in their 50's and 60's left stocking shelves, working the register, bagging, all tasks which my parents described themselves doing when they were teenagers.

After

Men and women in their 50’s and 60’s left to stock shelves, work the register, bag–
all tasks which my parents described themselves doing when they were teenagers.

In my ampersand piece I also began to use evidence more to my advantage. My piece was about the teenage job market, and the recession's affect on adults. I use a lot of evidence, 99% from primary sources. Research papers by the Census, Department of Labor, etc.

Example from piece:

“Teenagers who deliver newspapers, bag groceries, or serve hamburgers in their after-school jobs are often more likely to go to college and have better lifelong careers. And make more money, too,” wrote Alexis M. Herman, Secretary U.S. Department of Labor in Report on the Youth Labor Force in June of 2000.

In the future, I hope to write fluently with all the writing tips in mind. Ampersand was my best piece of writing this year, and still, I made several revisions the whole way through. I continually referred to the writing tips list constantly, and in the future, I hope they stay installed in my head.