Improve Your Writing

A Writer’s Reference

Being an international student, one of the many reasons that has led me to choose the United States of America was the fact that this experience will inevitably improve my English skills in all different aspects. Unlike many of the students here, English is my second language. Thus, I am not entirely familiar with the fundamentals of writing. I found sections C1, C2 and C3 immensely useful and enriching. Diana hacker has broadened my horizon and opened my eyes to new things.

Those sections highlighted many of the useful methods and skills that I often overlooked. For instance, I have always tried to incorporate well-established ideas that the reader would be familiar with in my articles in order to avoid debate and criticism. Furthermore, I occasionally tend to deviate from the intended purpose of the article due to poor planning and lack of a strong thesis statements.

In A Writer’s Reference, Hacker was able to establish a clear understanding of what writing is about; “Writing is a process of figuring out what you think, not a matter of recording already developed thoughts.” (3). A successful writer expresses thoughts and feelings in a unique way; challenging concrete ideas with logic, theory and hypothesis. You can always swim against the current as long as you don’t drown your believes and values. I have learned that writing is about exploring yourself and unwinding the interconnected chains of ideas and thoughts within yourself. [C1-a]

A good writer is also a good listener. Communicating with people from various backgrounds, plays a vital role in constructing a well-structured piece as it enables the writer to observe and analyze different point of views. Talking and listening would also give room for the audience to criticize and comment [C1-b]. Criticism should not be taken personally, neither should it be taken lightly. Revising with comments is one way to improve the quality of...