Critical Thinking and Writing Assignment: Writing Self Assessment

I have to admit, when I learned I had to take Seton Hill University’s Seminar in Thinking and Writing, I was nervous. My forte is business communications: writing clear and concise memos and reports, letters that are short and to the point, and procedural manuals that utilize very little critical thinking. The type of writing expected in an English composition course requires introspection and deep analytical thought, which is much different than with what I am familiar. Although this course proved to be as difficult as I initially thought, I feel my writing skills have improved noticeably.
The most challenging process was overcoming the critical thinking aspect. As an unruly teenager, I had no problem questioning authority, teachers, and my parents. As I became a mature adult, I realized that by preaching my unconventional beliefs, I sometimes isolated myself from people. To fit in with my community, to be accepted by my family, and to set examples for my children, I subdued this way of thinking and tried to function like the rest of society. I began to view things not in “black and white” or wrong or right, but in objective, boring gray.
So years after trying to suppress my probing nature, I found myself needing to regain critical thinking skills and recapture a voice I had long ignored. The objectives of this course forced me to get back in touch with my analytical attitude so I could see cultural issues for what they really were. By discussing these issues with my classmates, I realized everyone has a different perspective and it was all right if we did not all agree on the issues, as long as we were respectful of one another’s opinions.
Another area I struggled with was organization, which is usually one of my strong points. In composition writing, it was hard for me to organize all my thoughts into one central, fluid idea because I have so many differing thoughts about the subject. It would often inhibit me from getting my paper started. The “free writing” technique and the practice of outlining were probably most valuable in my writing process.
Free writing helped me to get started on this paper, something I wish I had tried in previous papers. I did not try to correct my grammar halfway through a sentence or even keep similar thoughts in the same paragraph. I just wrote whatever came to mind in whatever order it surfaced. Not until I had several notebook pages did I attempt to enter it into my word processing program and I did not make any revisions until all my thoughts were typed out. Prior to trying this technique, I would just sit and stare at a blank word processing page waiting for something to come to me. I also felt pressure to produce a squeaky clean, beautifully formatted and finished paper from scratch in one sitting. By free writing first, this stress was eliminated.
Outlining the main ideas helped my papers to become better organized. I could see the visual succession of my thoughts in a coherent order. It became the template for my first draft and it was easier to incorporate all the tidbits of information that composed my papers. Microsoft Word’s comment feature was also very helpful by allowing me to keep track of my sources, set up citations, and temporarily store pieces of writing for later use.
After figuring out how to get a better start on my writing, the revision process became much easier. I learned that sometimes it is best to walk away from a paper for an hour or even a few days and come back to it later. I have been able to catch mistakes this way and it keeps my ideas from getting stale.
My favorite piece of writing was the research paper because I was able to choose a topic that I am passionate about and I enjoyed the actual research process. My topic had an abundance of information available so I had to be very selective in choosing my sources, trying to use those that would provide the most impact. The oral presentation was my least favorite activity but probably the most rewarding. Speaking while on the job is not normally an issue for me but being evaluated solely on my speaking performance as well as my chosen persuasive argument was nerve-wracking. I am sure the experience provided good practice.
As much as I dreaded taking this class, I realize now that while critical writing is not my strongest point, I enjoyed the challenge. This type of writing does not come easy to me but I put forth all my effort. I did not complete this class without flaw, as I would have liked, but I learned and reworked skills that I can apply and improve upon in the future.