Good writing skills are necessary for enhanced communication in life and this course has enhanced my ability to write and express myself through the medium of writing. When I began the course, I was not able to understand what to write and how I should begin my essays. But now, I have learned that the essay or paper must be divided into three important sections, the introduction, the main body and the conclusion. I have now begun to use this format in writing and have now learned to focus on the opening line or paragraph of the essay or paper to invite the attention and interest of the reader.
In my essay relating to the ‘qualities of good parenting’, I have used the techniques which I have learned in writing and have divided my paper into several paragraphs. But first and foremost, I wrote a rough draft with the points which I would be including in my essay. By doing so, I was able to develop various themes around which I would write. My essays are now free of grammatical mistakes to a very large extent, though I still feel the need to improve myself a little more. I have now learned to divide my essays into paragraphs to explain different points and themes by first introducing them at the beginning of the paragraphs and then expanding upon them.
However, I do not yet know how to reference and use citations in my essay, something which I have noticed in the essays of some of my friends and colleagues. I have realized that I have yet to learn how to reference and cite these sources in my essay to make it look like an academic paper, which is based on evidence, rather than a personal viewpoint. Most of my essays are personal interpretations of my beliefs in life and rest greatly on my experiences of life, not on references and articles. As such, my papers appear more like school compositions rather than high-quality essays which could benefit other readers as well. While I am using certain references and articles as sources, I have not yet developed the ability to acknowledge my sources through appropriate citation styles, which are missing from all my works, and without which my writing appears more like term papers, rather than appropriately referenced and cited research papers.
The best improvement I have noted so far from comparing my previous and present works is the development of ideas in separate paragraphs. I now begin my essay with an introduction following which I develop my essay from the important points. These points are well explained in three paragraphs, following which I conclude the essay with the final paragraph. Thus, I have developed the ability to write an essay with five paragraphs, including the introduction, body consisting of three paragraphs with three different points and the final or concluding paragraph in which I sum up the points of the entire essay.
As such, my writing skills have now improved greatly from what they used to be and I now realize the importance of drafting, writing, editing, and revising my paper, to remove any errors, grammatical or spellings from the paper. Paragraphing the essay is an essential aspect of writing so that the essay flows logically rather than appears like a confusion of ideas stacked together. My writing, though not completely perfect, has now greatly improved through this writing course because of which I have now developed the ability to express myself as clearly as possible through the written medium.