Do Hyun Lim/First Post/Tues 9-11

∙ Write about a pleasant experience you have had with writing. How did this experience affect your attitude toward writing?

During my 7th grade (I went to an American school at that time), my class wrote an essay about global warming in science class. Then, it was to be submitted in a Humanities(English) class where we would be getting corrections for second and third drafts. After I submitted my first draft, the teacher, to my surprise, presented my paper in front of the whole class. She said it could be an example of how essays should be written. I had put a lot of effort in that paper but I have never expected this, as I thought my writing level was just average. I was happy to find out I had some potential and this event gave me more confidence in writing even allowing me to enjoy it.

∙ Describe how writing was taught in your previous schooling by answering some or all of these questions: How often did you have to write? What kinds of topics did you write about? Give one or two examples. What kinds of comments did the teacher make on your papers? What was considered more important: the content of your papers (your ideas) or correct grammar and spelling (how you expressed them)?

I have spent my middle school and two years of high school at an American school, so I think I had more chance to do English writing than my peers. But writing was not exactly my hobby so I did not do any writing other than what the school has assigned me. I wrote many essays and reports. They are about expressing my ideas, thoughts and describing what happened. The kinds of comments teachers made on my papers varied. In classes like English, I got an average score since I did not like literature and got most of my ideas on the internet at that time. In my science classes, I did better because I was interested in it, and I was always better at describing than expressing. Looking back, I think more emphasis was put on the contents of the papers rather than grammar and spelling. However, I tended to care more about the latter since it was more visible when I made the mistake.

∙ Have you ever done any writing for yourself only – letters to friends or relatives, journals, diaries, poems? If so, explain how this writing was different from the writing you did for school assignments.

As I mentioned in the second question, I do not like writing very much. I do not write any blogs, letters or journals, only emails occasionally. However, recently I figured that writing helps me organize my ideas and can affect many people when used correctly. If I become skilled at writing, I believe it will become useful in the future. This is because writing can be used for various purposes such as writing for myself for organizing ideas, or for persuading other people. Although I know its usefulness, I have not started any writing for myself other than taking notes on my cellphone.