As early as I can remember when it comes to writing in academia, I was ingrained with the five-paragraph format as the only acceptable writing structure.
For as long as I can remember, I've used the five-paragraph structure for writing assignments in school. Throughout high school and middle school, my written assignments consisted of an introduction with a thesis statement, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion.
for my writing assignments
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In these writings, it is crucial
When writing these sorts of documents, one must
berattacks on critical infrastructure. However, I do not attempt to resolve the debate. Instead, I propose that the debate does not need to be resolved because, given the uncertainties involved, the only responsible position is to prepare for and defend against the worst-case, gravest threat imaginable
However, I do not attempt to resolve the debate, as doing so seems beside the point. What's important, I argue, is preparing for and defending against the gravest threats imaginable.
op-ed
for a class?
Although I had done many presentations for mock clients, this was my first writing directed at real-world clients that I could see on the screen
Although I had written many presentations for mock clients, this was the first piece directed at real-world clients that I could see on the screen.
The most valuable strategy that I learned from my freshman writing class was to take something personal from your life and turn it into inspiration and motivation.
can you elaborate? what how to makes this discovery meaningful? it wasn't part of the assignment direction you received, I gather. you figured it out on your own. what does this tell you about handling seeming daunting or unpleasant writing tasks?
most of my writing falls into three general categories: (1) freshman writing course; (2) general education courses; and (3) cybersecurity courses and internship.
so, the categories are courses? what about types of audiences? or types of aims?
However, upon further reflection,
maybe use a different transition?
My writing itself runs the gamut in terms of tone, audience, purpose, and so on; nevertheless, it's clear that my college writing output falls into three basic categories ...
At first glance, the great diversity of writing projects makes it difficult to reach generalized conclusions.
that's good!
To me, everything is more enjoyable in sandwich form. This is why, today, I have decided to break down my history as a writer into a sandwich recipe. It will be much more enjoyable for everyone involved, trust me.
Consider making a stronger case for your chosen approach. it shouldn't appear arbitrary, as the your reflection may appear a bit hokey as a result.
You say "to me," but what if readers don't have the same attachment to sandwiches?
You could say, for instance, that if "you are what you eat," then you're a sandwich, which means that when it comes to understanding your writing, it's useful to think in terms of sandwiches!
.
take-aways:
--organizing analogy has potential but doesn't quite land (see notes above) --audience consideration (how your concerns about audience factor into recipe creation
but they are packaged as if they are unobjectionable facts
how so?
To date, this is my largest challenge as a writer. I bite off more than I can chew, in sandwiches and essays. I am still on the quest to craft the perfect recipe for my writing:
maybe consider diverse recipes, as audiences differ in the tastes.
My professor encouraged each of us to infuse our pieces with our personality.
why? for what purpose?
was feeling
choice: present progressive or present tense?
Firstly
Just say first, second, third. These words are ALREADY adjectives; adding -ly is redundant.
My favorite aspect of the writing process is finding a way to entertain the reader
how do you determine how much to incorporate? how to determine the kind of humor to use?
prolific
word choice. maybe you mean successful, widely read, or celebrated? or maybe ambitious or expansive?
When I love what I am writing about, my voice conducts the essay like a hearty piece of buffalo chicken.
and when you don't it's ... bologna?
The vast majority of my academic writing has been persuasive essays and research papers and, while sourdough is delicious, it is redundant and boring in excess
I'm not sure the analogy totally holds up for reasons mentioned previously. Maybe you could say that you're uninterested in using the good bread for banal sandwiches? So in the case the papers you're examining, it's Wonder bread all the way?
opinions depicted in the paper were spoonfed to me in the assignment.
how? by what means?
prompt left no room for creativity
why? please elaborate. show don't tell.
standardized
what do you mean?
These papers also typically possess a strong thesis statement and a noticeably weaker concluding paragraph that is essentially my thesis statement run through a thesaurus a few times.
okay, but this structure, you're saying, doesn't work particularly well. so then how is it like bread? or is the point that it isn't but should be?
clear formula for the structure of my academic papers
some key element or ingredient holding them together?
Therefore, there were not many points of view to be challenged
sure, but you had to understand the contours of the conversation in order to situate yourself in a position of neutrality. what were those contour? what ideas? what major figures? what debates?
I tried to keep an open mind for the audience, but I still fell into the same trap that most college students do: writing for your professor.
what ideas did you engage with? who's responsible for them? who's already in the conversation. don't those people constitute at least a portion of your audience?
outside research, readings from the course with my own opinions, and an overarching theme surrounding ethnography. Typically, I would have loathed this type of paper because of the prompt’s vagueness
seem pretty specific to me ...
One of my favorite pieces of writing I’ve ever completed at USC is a hybrid analytical, research, and opinion paper produced for a Master of Anthropology course in the first semester of my Senior year.
Word economy:
One of my favorite pieces of writing I’ve ever completed at USC is a hybrid analytical, research, and opinion paper produced for a Master of Anthropology course in the first semester of my Senior year.
.
pay attention to verb variation
I asked my TAs to help guide me through this process and did some outside research to understand the process of creating a critical film analysis.
can you elaborate? show rather than tell?
For CTCS 466,
This is inferred. Cut.
which was not that difficult of a format to complete.
right. but what about the fact that it does have a strict format. how did you respond to it as opposed, say, to how you react to other writing conventions?
WRIT 150 was fun, but it was safe. I felt safe, resulting in me not applying myself as much as possible.
word economy:
WRIT 150 was fun, but it was safe. Consequently, I failed to apply myself as much as possible.
It was creative, about my hometown, and something I was passionate about — environmental protection.
in what way was it creative?
An average experience of me writing “I agree with [classmate’s name] on [insert random topic], but did you consider [insert random question]” in response to a blog post can be seen below.
nice. but it would be useful, too, to include an actual excerpt
I’m tasked with a prompt where I can tell a story and narratively express myself. Writing means so much more to me when it represents who I am
i would think that a vague prompt would make this exceedingly possible
vague prompt
doesn't vagueness suggest open-endedness? possibility? if not, why not?
what makes it uninteresting if it's vague? vague suggests there's room to bring into things that are of interest to you.
The language is sophisticated, but not too specialized that it’s hard to read
The language is sophisticated, but not so specialized that it’s hard to read.
Despite using sophisticated language, my essay maintains the reader's interest by avoiding the use of alienating jargon.
To that end, the text aligns itself with the voices of all of the scholarly articles it presents.
or with none. again, you needed to determine where the neutral space was before moving forward.
aiming to inform the audience about UAVs rather than to persuade.
okay, that means you had to become familiar with the major figures, points of view, and debates before knowing where to situate yourself. i gather you took a neutral position. doing so meant you needed to understand the contours of the debate to identify that neutral piece of real estate your ended up inhabiting.
The democracy metaphor in my first writing project is a blatant example.
okay, so you've learned that your writing prospers when you make a plan and follow it.
sophisticated yet easy to read
audience oriented?
.
Lots of talk about structure, none about audience.
“black perspective on racism”, then the “normalization of racism”, and concluding with the “impact of racism”
and why is this problematic? the points of focus seem arbitrary and could probably be presented in any order without changing much about the piece overall.
However, the essay’s arrangement is eerily similar to the three-paragraph structure everyone learned in highschool.
yes. even in boarding school. amazing how pervasive this "standard" has become.
my writing structure was underdeveloped, which meant a lot of my early work remained unfocused
structures are contingent on genre conventions. what structures are you talking about?
I began my essay on social media with a general statement about how, “the concept of liberty and popular sovereignty came to be the zeitgeist of the late-1700s in America.”
excellent uses of an example -- showing as opposed to merely telling
.
take-aways:
--audience awareness: push yourself to recognize the audience's position. what do they know? what do they assume?
--organization: paragraphs often contain multiple ideas, which leads to underdevelopment
--phrasing: occasionally jumbled (syntax, verb choice)
My goal was to show my passion and drive for achieving a higher education and what I would contribute to the program for the rest of my career.
how? what was your understanding of the context? the conversation you were entering into? How did you position yourself with that conversation?
My intention with this writing was to not necessarily persuade the reader’s I should be accepted into the program, but rather show them I am passionate about this and genuinely want to learn more about pursuing a marketing career.
phrasing. let's edit this together:
My intention with this writing was to not necessarily persuade the reader’s I should be accepted into the program, but rather show them I am passionate about this and genuinely want to learn more about pursuing a marketing career.
I began the paper with a question, “Coke or Pepsi?”.
Good. Showing as well as telling.
academic promotional genre
not really a thing. the genre is: personal statement
c,
no comma needed
literature
literature is fiction, poetry, plays, etc.
The video essay was uniquely challenging from a written essay as you could not sit there and edit mistakes or take your time thinking about what to produce. Sure, you were granted unlimited attempts to reproduce the video, but I found having to restart this process continuously took an ample amount of time.
how are you defining video essay, here? did you improvise? or read prepared remarks?
apply.
you leave this matter unresolved. consider excluding info you're unprepared to expand upon
, however
use:
; however,
when following a complete sentence
Applying for Graduate Schools
here's another jarring shift
but not as a student-athlete
this is news; readers may find this surprising/jarring
I faced during this paper
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Most interestingly,
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We were assigned
new paragraph?
students were told to write as if they were having a continuous conversation, where there is no direct beginning and end of paragraphs
can you elaborate?
also, consider avoiding the passive construction here.
was being required
consider revising this passive construction
The hardest change for me was to totally erase the typical literature I had known for years and transform it into a story for the consumer's enjoyment.
not sure i follow your meaning
From essays to press releases and memorandum’s, I was writing for a different purpose than an academic paper
awkward phrasing:
From essays to press releases and memorandum’s, I was writing for a different purpose than an academic paper
…
no biggie, but place a space before ellipses start
I have never considered myself a great writer, let alone a good one
Transpose:
I have never considered myself a good writer, let alone a great one.
When using this formulation, start with the more modest adjective.
Also, consider moving this sentence elsewhere; it doesn't quite connect with the remainder of the paragraph.
After the three of us fought personal battles with Biology, my brother, sister, and I learned STEM did not run in our blood.
a bit confusing. maybe keep the focus on you in order to clarify where we are in the timeline.
My life
Cut
personal stories into my work
what kind of stories? how do they fit in to the overall conversation? what are the contours of that conversation? who are the major voices? what are the major arguments? with whom did you align yourself? whose work did you build on?
The work of writing I am most proud of is my final paper for my past university’s WRIT 150 equivalent.
should i understand this as the start of part 2?
This cover letter was an optional submission, however it is strongly encouraged, so I would argue this was more of a requirement than a choice.
phrasing -- consistent verb tense
This cover letter was an optional submission, however it is strongly encouraged, so I would argue this was more of a requirement than a choice.
I have inundated myself with
cut
While in the process of writing this essay, I had an insightful conversation with a local that I included in the paper.
new paragraph
I wrote this paper yet again with other members of the class, benefiting in the same ways.
new paragraph
this essay was a strong paper due
... this paper succeeds thanks to thorough research ...
what's the difference between research and purposeful investigation?
I wrote the majority of this essay with other students from the class. We found
new paragraph?
One restriction I found to be limiting was the requirement to be
new paragraph
also, phrasing. ease up on your use of the verb "to be"
Share“You need to drop my class” was what I was told on my first day of college in my previous university’s equivalent to WRIT 150
awkward phrasing. slow down. maybe turn this into more than one sentence. avoid passive constructions.
"You need to drop my class." To say I was surprised by these words coming from my college writing professor would be an understatement.
because personal stories are what I found most interesting, and that is how I wanted to put the majority of my research into.
whose stories? how did you find them?
This essay was required
new paragraph?
Many
new paragraph?
is often overlooked
by whom?
One essay I was particularly proud of was
too much "to be"
In the course I took instead,
the lower-level course?
and I would get that sweet A and call it a day
wow, really? what criteria were your instructors using?
My formula still serves as a guide when I have no idea how to approach an essay.
lol, why not ASK? why not look into the genres (autobiographical reflection and contextual analysis)?
So, here I write this three hours before the due date time. I did do one rough draft yesterday
wow. this approach is profoundly disrespectful of educators attempting to work with you in good faith.
so
Is this supposed to be your Part 2 response?
myself the energy
why did you lack the energy?
Op-Ed only being a few pages really hindered
all genres have conventions
ism
cut
political gridlock left us with watered down laws
vague
and go against the partisanship of what ails our country
verging on word salad here
I understood that my Op-Ed was not the front cover of a New York Times paper,
awkward phrasing
including language that made it clear I was speaking emphatically towards the American citizens
what language? why not refer directly to your text to SHOW what you did rather than merely tell?
reincorporate
word choice?
since my reference to the Citizenfour film and Einstein’s reflections on capitalism are perhaps not at the forefront of my intended average citizen’s mind.
did you talk to your prof about how to balance assignment requirements with your desire to address "average" americans?
This limited the scope of my writing to academia again
lol, how does engaging with the ideas and research of others limit the scope of your writing?
“it is what it is” mentality that neoliberalism defends
how? according to whom? by what measure?
neoliberalism
i hope you defined this term for your audience of "average" Americans
and lack
and a lack ...
more lived experience
more lived by whom?
ed
cut
stream of consciousness into some structure, yet I still utilized the genre of the Op-Ed to talk more matter of fact
how does this method, which is based solely on your own memory and knowledge of the issues being discussed, providing readers with a more direct take?
I hoped to speak in a way that could engage with the average American reader suffering the same political apathy I had, and I intended to be more direct than the traditional critiques of America that deviated from its root issues.
phrasing/word economy:
I sought to engage politically apathetic Americans by directly discussing the root causes of America's problems that traditional critiques typically avoid.
what do you mean by "traditional critiques"? can you provide an example? how do such works "deviate" from the root causes (as you see them)?
to speak more forthcoming
phrasing.
consequential to its failure in international affairs
what failures, specifically, are you talking about?
U.S. failures to address its internal perspectives
what do you mean by this?
The principle of the course was to hold opinions on domestic and foreign issues
really? to hold opinions?
mini Op-Ed
op-eds are already pretty mini, are they not?
presenting facts for interpretation
what's an example of this kind of writing? what genres call for it? when have you produced this kind of writing for an audience?
squeeze a topic I wanted to address in a limiting prompt
limiting? i thought you said the prompts were vague. doesn't this just come down to you resenting assignments that ask you to support points of view?
Exploring a genre of writing that could not use the formula
what formula? you mean to school essay formula?
shaping that into a positive experience seemed disingenuous
why? you're so fortunate. think of the opportunities this experience affords you.
heavy imposter syndrome
how did imposter syndrome affect your performance in Writing 150?
I procrastinated to the final day it was meant to be due
tighten. avoid over-reliance on "to be" verbs.
.
i don't understand the resistance. you're here, you got in. why not trust that the people trying to educate you at USC know what they're doing?
my work here really did not matter, only the final assignment did
to be clear, it matters a great deal. assignments clearly thrown together at the last minute or that show no engagement with class concepts will earn you lapses in professionalism -- at least in my class.
or claiming that my opinions were not as prevalent as my use of evidence
prevalent? your instructor lamented the lack of opinion in your writing? really?
high school, USC refused to let my AP credits
why would it?
assignments?
yeah, grading contracts don't accommodate the purely transactional point of view your espousing here.
…
add space before elipses
what really got me here was my application for the screenwriting program
how do you know? can you elaborate on the conditions? also, presumably this document was non-fiction. what formula did you use to compose it?
After all, it got me into USC,
oversimplification. surely last-minute, formulaic essays didn't "get you into" USC, otherwise it would be MUCH easier to gain admittance to this institution.
.
remove
my essays the day before or the day it
maintain grammatical consistency: essays (pl.) / it (sing.)
I used this method for everything in high school
Maybe give your reader a bit more context. Autobiographical Reflection gives you enormous leeway; however, readers unfamiliar with the parameters of WP1 would already be lost.
The point of view I’ve expressed throughout the piece is mainly those of a fan engaging with a work, and that of a student of film and screenwriting
okay, but what are the contours of the discourse surrounding visual design in TESB? what's the conventional wisdom? what are the prevailing points of view? the debates? the figures animating these debates? where, specifically, do you fit in?
As a writer, I have come to trust my instincts as a writer,
how about as an editor?
was
wow. so much "to be"; so many passive constructions
After
another massive paragraph. ACK!
Moving forward, I intend to make a change, approaching any writing I do with the same level of enthusiasm and care that I would my fiction writing.
nice save.
This can be reflected in the paper, where the analysis focuses primarily on these two themes
can be reflected?
focused on those themes to what end? what do you mean can you elaborate? maybe show and discuss some of what you composed?
These essays, the first example of which being my final research paper in Intro to Cinema in which I analyzed the development of the Thriller genre with the comparison of two films, one classical and one modern
These essays, the first example of which being my final research paper in Intro to Cinema in which I analyzed the development of the Thriller genre with the comparison of two films, one classical and one modern -- **where's the rest of the sentence? **
revision (still needing a verb/object): These essays, such as my final research paper for "Intro to Cinema" in which I analyze the development of the Thriller genre by comparing two films, one from the 1960s and another from the 90s, show ...
so much of the issues in other courses regarding a lack of research were not as much of an issue
did you read this piece before you submitted it?
... so much of the issues in other courses regarding a lack of research were not as much of an issue
Screenwriting major, one would expect that writing essays would come naturally
why? screenwriting is COMPLETELY different.
I wrote four
new paragraph
better educate myself on social issues
not really the job of the course, though. these themes comprise discursive contexts within which to write. they're not classes on subjects other than writing.
When
new paragraph
It
new paragraph
clear negative
clearly -- use the adjectival form
I took
this is a ridiculously long paragraph. looks like paragraph composition wasn't part of your training in other writing classes.
My time at USC will always be defined by the writing I did while attending the University
word economy:
My time at USC will always be defined by the writing I did there.
my
the
arbitrary or an improper use of my time
the grading criteria you just articulated sounds fairly arbitrary to me
creates a small pond within a larger ocean where students are surrounded by people who share the same love of film, and all time is spent studying and analysis of every aspect of film, from it’s history and cultural impact to the ins and outs of physical production and screenwriting.
couldn't a student of any major say something similar. especially students with majors within the professional schools?
Unlike a traditional STEM or Liberal Arts education, SCA
this formulation doesn't work grammatically. you're opening phrase sets up a specific noun phrase:
Unlike a traditional STEM or Liberal Arts education, film studies provides ...
because of writing
a certain kind of certain. not really the same thing as non-fiction academic or public writing
larger part of the greater whole
awkward. maybe just say "part of the greater whole."
often felt
why past tense?
.
who are the voices within this conversation? what are the contours of the discourse? where do you fit in?
My chosen vocabulary was particular in how I wanted the piece to be compelling and exciting but read as if I were speaking to the reader in real time.
can you show rather than merely tell?
In which gymnastics and women are impacted, and those concerned can relate and use my paper as insight and be able to relate.
phrasing. let's look at this together:
In which gymnastics and women are impacted, and those concerned can relate and use my paper as insight and be able to relate.
very cynical
how do you know? can you elaborate?
impacted
word choice. try: affected
How Do We Protect The Innocent
use quotation marks
our
our?
perfect personal statement for my USC application
keep this experience in mind. what you've done here is transform a piece written in one genre (a journal entry) into another (a personal statement).
which I applied for
i don't follow you. you applied for feedback from a tutor?
I slowly completed my research paper and brought my rough draft to the writing center.
you're still discussing your final paper for Writing 100, right?
Once again, I left feeling defeated and not ready for college
why not? you're here to learn, after all.
needed to be improved
needed improvement
I was passionate and went home that day to begin my research and rough draft.
I was passionate and went home that day to begin my research and rough draft.
revision: I left class that day excited to begin conducting research on my topic and writing a rough draft.
As a high school junior, anxiously awaiting the beginning of college applications and soon to discover independence and freedom, the rest of my high school experience was taken away
phrasing. i'm a bit lost.
did momentarily rob
phrasing. try:
... robbed me (and everyone else) of vital life experiences.
.
This final paragraph could have provided a unique frame for the whole piece.
Writing was a means to escape when escape was impossible. Now that you've escaped, the purpose of writing seems unfamiliar, questionable. If writing isn't a means of escape, what is it?
.
ideally, this autobiographical reflection would examine a handful of the pieces briefly mentioned here. what do they contain? what do they reveal?
.
ironic. like your mini-thesis submission, this piece bears little resemblance to what the assignment called for, lol.
influences
on whom?
one of my most favorite courses I have taken at USC
word economy. keep it simple!
... one of the best classes I've taken at USC.
.
A good paragraph to focus on re: word economy
course of these
last
My dream job was, and still is, a film critic.
phrasing. try:
I dream of becoming a film critic, mainly because I'm a judgemental hater at heart. But that's not to say I'm incapable to praising art that I adore, that speaks to me, that I connect with.
truly
cut
as we like to abbreviate it as
cut
actually
cut
considerably less brain-power than reading a book
Ha, there's a great Ursula Le Guin piece on this subject called "The Question I Get Asked Most Often"
Yes, of course I was a nerd, bullied, low self esteem, the stereotypical agonizing coming-of-age middle school experience…
a bit clunky. maybe clean this up?
really
cut
with myself and my life
do you need to say both?
really
cut
seeks to invite
why not just say "invites"?
policing
is this a thing, policing scholars? do you mean sociologists?
y engaging with notable contemporary and historic policing scholars like Purnell, Lopez, James Kelling, and George Wilson and citing empirical data from Robert Gonzalez and Sarah Komisarow’s paradigmatic study on the impact of community monitoring in crime vis-à-vis Chicago’s Safe Passage program, the paper carves out my philosophical identity
great
A direct response to Derecka Purnell’s “Becoming Abolitionists,” the paper seeks to expand upon her insights and utilize Christy Lopez’s conception of carceral logic to frame them within the broader context of social justice.
great!
argument construction paper by genre
do you mean and argumentative essay?
Perhaps this is more apt: Embrace your identity in everything you compose.
a solid frame. but this piece would hit harder had it addressed some of the aforementioned issues.
My vocabulary feels richer and more personal, the piece feels more engaging, and the narrative voice is mine
why do you feel academic writing demands you abandon your voice? can you provide an example? show evidence of this being demanded of you? have can you show your reader that this is a real thing and not just vibes?
Perhaps, this detachment was the culmination of conforming to rigid writing guidelines for 15 years.
you harp on this a lot. why not give your audience a sense of what you would have done differently had it been up to you?
conventional
genres have conventions.
Multiple sections were better than anything I can produce now.
can you say more? perhaps show as well as tell?
inflexible expectations of academia
all genres have conventions. what makes the conventions of, say, the "college essay" more difficult to navigate than those of some other form of writing?
my major
which is?
As I reviewed my research paper about the Supreme Court’s decision in Bush v. Gore, my case analysis on the constraints on the Supreme Court in NCAA v. Alston, my internship application to USC Athletics, and my tribute to Manu Ginobili—an underappreciated icon in the NBA’s pantheon—I noticed a profound difference between some of these works and the words that once captured the unbridled joy of a kid that wanted to tell stories.
why introduce these works devoid of context? put yourself in your reader's shoes: would you understand what was going on in this piece?
my
a
draconian demands
why draconian? what, specifically, makes them draconian demands?