Briana's Introduction

When I started this class I hadn’t written an academic paper for close to 10 years.  It was terrifying to think about having to write something other than poetry or stories. Before I started the class I tried to recall the knowledge I had previously gotten about how to write a decent paper, and there was pretty much nothing left to recall. It had been so long since I had written anything academically that I had forgotten what the rules were. So needless to say walking into Writ 101 was scary, even though I considered myself to be a writer.

One of the first few things I learned in Writ 101 was the importance of free writes, and how they can really help build rough draft into a better paper. I also learned about how important it was to discover my writing process and to use that knowledge to either build on my strengths or figure out what my weaknesses were and try to change that part of my process.

The first paper I started to write was the Life Place Essay. It made me really think about so much more than just how the paper should be written. It drew attention to things I did not know where as important to me as they turned out to be. It made me want to write papers for more than a grade. This paper gave me the confidence I needed to write the next few papers for the class. I am so proud of the work I’ve done, and can’t wait to share it, and for others to see the journey I went on to get them to a polished and revised draft.