What Am I Learing Through "The Essay Of Place?"
After writing, editing, and reading your own and others' Essay of Place, what do you notice about your writing that is different from other writing assignments? Techniques? Strategies? How will you write now? Other thoughts? Please complete this blog response today.
posted by Greg T at Friday, February 28, 2014
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This writing evoked a lot more thought about what really matters to me and why. In other writings I'm given a subject to write about and it's usually something I don't care about. I end up just writing what I think will get me an A and don't really think about it. This assignment made me realize why I love something, even if some of the things we were suppose to address about our place were too cheesy or didn't make since.
After comparing the essay of place that I've written and compared it to others from around the class, I've noticed that one thing is similar in all the writing, all these places have a special meaning and it’s a place that has great value to them. The descriptive words used in these writings were high quality and it’s evident that they carefully did this assignment according to the instructions to the syllabus. Just hearing the way some people describe these places makes me want to get away everything right now and go visit the places they speak of. The writers around me used some strategies while writing this assignment, one of which was doing their best to describe the place to hook the reading and to make their place appealing.
There are many ways I have learned to critique my writing through this Essay. Learning how to use linking verbs minimally. Along with fixing grammatical errors that can hinder a papers full potential. Using descriptive detail to the extent that was used in the essay I have never really used before. So overall I have blossomed into a better writer because of this one assignment.
After reading a couple Essays of Place I noticed a few things different form mined. Some of the essays started with the description of the place in a lot of good sensory imagery. While some of the essays threw the reader right into the action in the middle of an event that also used great sensory imagery to convey to the reader the detail. Most of the essays contained metaphors to help describe the detail of their scenery or of a person at that place. I enjoyed reading all of them because they all did a great job of taking me mentally to that same place that they know and love through sensory imagery, dialogue, metaphors, etc.
I learned how useful and important descriptive imagery is when used correctly in essays. It provides more of a connection with the passage, allowing for more integration into the story. More descriptive language helps you feel the story more, make it more applicable to your life and past experiences. Also, the Essay of Place has taught different techniques of descriptive writing, and different styles.
I notice that a lot of the essays of place are similar in the ways to put together even though the places are so different. I notice that I included some of the writing that others didn’t, like the object point of view. I think I were to do this assignment again I would change the way I write and try to change more and use even more description and just try to work more vocab in. I think that if we do take a little different approach to writing then we can get very skewed and different results which maybe for the better of worse.
After writing, editing and reading others Essay of Place I notice that I need to be more descriptive in my writing. Certain essays we incredible they really took you to a whole other would you could see the place right in front of you. But, some essays we lacking. They had amazing places but I couldn't see it. I will write, not for me anymore, but for the reader. Even though I can see what I'm describing my audience might not. I will do this by using more similes and adjectives. I need to also clear my head when I write. When I was writing this essay the words didn't come easily due to stress and over thinking things. I found that I enjoy writing when I am not being graded. So I need to look at these assignments as just fun and not grades.
The Essay of Place assignment was a lot different than most writing assignments assigned in school. The instructions were very minimal which allowed me to be more creative with my essay and write it how I wanted it to sound. Doing so enabled me to bring out my inner writer, I was able to immerse myself in my place and depict how it was as if I was there through words. Most writings are limited to a page but this one was to three pages. This again allowed me to put everything on the paper without worrying about the overall length. The idea of writing with such detail was different and a little hard at first since normally that’s not how I write. But after going through the process I’ve realized that writing this way is more interesting to read than a long bland essay. Although I can’t write in this manner and most of my essays when I get the chance I’m going to try and be as descriptive as I can.
The essay of place to me was a really weird essay to write. Some of it was how much I used the work "I" which usually I'm told not to use ever and there was a lot of description that took place in the essay. I had took look some synonyms up and find different words to use to make the essay better but usually I would not look up anything for the essay. It was kind of a weird spin, it was more interesting to write though. When I write for my other classes it's about history or someone else's ideas. It was kind of cool to write about my own life and not have to use any references or anything. It was refreshing to have an essay just be about the writing and not about the facts of something or all about the why.
I learned that a lot of people wrote about places where they went to vacation for, and then there is me writing about going paintballing. One of the papers was really drawn out and really detailed. He went into detail about how the entire trip to Red Rocks is an adventure, and described how Red Rocks has every tint, hue, and shade of red in it. Whereas the other was very brief, it had a very short memory of the vacation, and then went back to describing the beach. So there were many different approaches to this assignment, which I feel made it interesting, because we all had the same prompts, but we all have totally different products.
My writing is very short, choppy, and all over the place. I don't put all my thoughts together in one paragraph, I just write them wherever I can when I think of them. But after everything we've done with the Essay of Place, I will put my thoughts into a well thought out, organized paragraph. I will also come up with a theme for the paragraph or essay that I'm writing so that it can all flow together.
After going through the 5 step process of writing my Essay of Place, and having the privilege of reading a couple of my fellow classmates's pieces, I've noticed a lot about their writing and my writing when it comes to describing a place that holds true significance. This writing assignment was substantially different from other assignments right from the beginning. The format of the essay wasn't just some template or outline to write with, it was separated into different types of assignments nightly. This not only made the assignment seemingly easier to tackle, but it also made for an interesting combination of ideas and thoughts and perspectives that all came together after the essay was complete. Looking at the emotion, description, and vivid imagery and detail that not only I, but my classmates put into this piece makes it clear to me that writing is, and always will be better and more thoughtful when you write about something that matters, something that demands emotion and recollection and reactions from you, because those things will demand those emotions from the reader as well. Lessons learned from this essay are also applicable to other classes and other essays, even if it's just the short answers. To make the writing better no matter what subject it's on, or what class you're in, the appeal of the writing and the emotional portrayal and reaction to the writing will always be better if you write about it in a way that shows that you care, and that it matters.
The writing was easier but one of the harder writing I've had to do. It was easier because it was a topic that I enjoyed and it was something I knew a lot about. It was harder because it asked for a lot of content that I've never really tried to include in my writings before so it was tricky incorporating certain things into the Essay. I have definitely learned to become a better writer and have learned how to make my writing more descriptive and better as a whole.
I noticed many people had some choppy sentences but also had their essays flow nicely. I think I should attempt to make my writing flow even smoother. Having other people proof read your essay helps considerably getting rid of the choppiness. I think from now on I will write more relaxed, calmly, and flowing because the mindset in which you write greatly affects your writing.
By comparing the essay of place I've written with others of the class I realized that this assignment provoked more thinking and descriptive language than usual. Normally essays are about something that doesn't include a special place someone has grown up in or discovered as they got older; it makes the essay more meaningful which is an important skill to develop as a writer.
After reading and editing other' Essay of Place, I noticed a few differences between my writings and others. The way events and places were described and visualized varied among us. Some people described things in a way that put you directly in their place. Others used metaphors and similes to give you a sense of the intensity/characteristics of their place. Since they were about places people are passionate about, I think the essays turned out better. Now I will try to write in a way that a complete stranger could easily put themselves in my shoes. I will avoid using "is" and "was" and other similar phrases as much as possible. I will attempt to "show not tell" and appeal to all senses possible.
After reading through about four essay of place articles not including my own, I have read through a lot of very good essays. The world play used by some people is amazing and allow you to smell or feel the place that they describe with their words. I did notice that there were not a lot of the things that were in the prompts that make it to the final essay. Things like saying i rember or one word sentences. I think that having the prompts and trying to write in different ways are good but I think that putting too much restriction on a writing about freedom is counterintuitive or even ironic. I understand in the final you do not have to follow these things but you do have to write five pieces of literature all following different restrictions and those do get graded which makes this a very long and difficult assignment.
After reading through other essay of place papers written by my class mates I feel I have learned a lot. They were all very descriptive and detailed and it felt like I was actually in the place that they were talking about. It made me realize that I need to add more detail into my paper. A lot of the papers that I read were all pretty similar because they all had a sense of belonging in them. But overall, I think this project has inspired a lot of creativity and given a lot of inspiration.
After writing, editing and reading others Essay of Place I notice that the papers I read and the papers I wrote were more descriptive and had more thought put into them. Most of the papers I read, you could feel and smell the place they were trying to describe. Usually a student is given a topic to write about and they just go through the motion to try to get an A on the paper. The essays we had to write had very little limitation to what we had to write to. It enabled us to put more thought into what we had to write.
After writing the essay of place I noticed how much detail is very important, it helps the reader really get a taste of what you actually love about your place. After using different styles of writing. I need to branch out and use different styles. Such as one word sentences, i had never really used one word sentences because i thought it wasn't good writing, but now i have learned that it just has to be used right. and in the right context. Also writing from different point of views or from a different perspective is really neat to think of. And when going into detail you want the reader to get to feel and be interested. I still have lots to improve on my writing.
While writing my essay of place, I’ve learned to be more creative and descriptive in my writing. I noticed that in my other writing assignments that I haven’t been putting as much thought and emotion into it as I have been in my essay of place. This essay has helped me become more descriptive in my writing, and it has allowed me to put more thought behind each word.
I feel that I actually got into this writing assignment more than I got into any of the other writing assignments. I liked this one because I felt a really personal connection to the place I was writing about, as was intended. When I was writing, I didn't really even have to plan it that much-- I just closed my eyes, thought of my grandmother's farm, and let my fingers go on the keyboard. Although I didn't really plan, there was a technique involved that I didn't really mean to implement. I noticed that my writing style on this was much different than the writing styles I've had on other papers, and I think it was a combination of the fact that it was a descriptive essay instead of a persuasive or expository essay, and the fact that I felt a very personal connection to the paper itself.
After reading others essay of place, it was neat to understand the kids we don't usually talk to in the class/ don't know that well perspective. It was very interesting to read about the various places, and the forms of writing and creativity were all very unique.
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