Mark Thacina
ENGL 21007
Prof Von Uhl
5/18/22
A Theory of Writing
As a student my whole life I never enjoyed the process of writing or becoming a good reader/writer. It never intrigued me and my scores would always be low when it came to writing essays. Before taking this class ,“Writing for Engineering”, I was not really excited about it at all and did not really know what to expect. I never shy away from a challenge so I took the opportunity to give the class a try. To be fair I am glad I took this class because it broke down the theory of writing in a completely different way and introduced me to new techniques in writing. Not only did my understanding of the theory of writing improve but also my understanding of what I am reading. For instance readings such as Ed Yong’s “How the Pandemic Defeated America”, The New Yorker’s “How to Build an Artificial Heart”, and The New Yorker’s article “The One-Traffic-Light Town with Some of the Fastest Internet in the U.S.” are just a few of many articles that helped in my understanding of writing techniques.
My definition of the theory of writing is the intention of the author that brings the audience together to formulate thoughts and interpretation from reading that author’s piece of literature. At first my theory of writing coming into this class was to keep the audience interested in your writing. This is true but too vague of a concept. There is no interest without the intention to create that certain interest. The intention of the writer is what counts and is what creates the meaning of his/her writing for the audience to perceive in their own way. As I progressed in this class I was able to identify what a piece of writing can consist of. There are many forms of writing. The main ideas of writing I learned over this semester are the different types of writing such as a formal and informal work of writing. For instance, the formal works we did this semester such as the letter of introduction, Memo, Lab reports, etc helped me accept the fact that my formal writing needed improvement. On the other hand, the informal writing pieces such as the reflections, free writes, technical description, theory of writing, etc helped me learn the fact that writing is not something that should be taken too seriously. It is a state of flow in which you engage with the writing however is deemed appropriate for that certain topic you are writing about.
One thing that has contributed to my theory of writing the most this semester is the peer revisions and editing. This is something that was very underrated in my eyes when I first started taking this class. The involvement of others such as my classmates helped with the bias issues I had with my writing. It unlocked many new perspectives that helped expand my range of knowledge in my own writing and techniques others writers use in their writing. It was like opening a new lens in my perspective of writing and helped me realize a lot of my writing pieces such as the lab report and technical description lacked certain details, transitions, stronger thesis statements, etc.
My theory of writing helped on how I created my knowledge through the intention in which I built from the experience of this semester. Reading articles on a daily basis and doing the free writes allowed me to practice my writing techniques and gain knowledge. While the assignments we did allowed me to test those writing skills and put them into play. When you enjoy the topic you are writing about and want to get a certain message across to your audience that is what forms good intentions and great writing. You do what you love and love what you are doing. For example, the lab report this semester helped me gain a lot of knowledge on the topic and the writing techniques used since it was a formal writing piece and I enjoyed much of the factual based evidence represented to me. At first it was difficult to break down but what is experience without a challenge? The experience of facing challenges like these is what made me eager to write the best piece of writing I could.
This theory of writing can be applied to both inside and outside the classroom. This theory of writing is adequate for early writers who are trying to improve their writing. It allows for the writer to formulate meaning through their writing and create a message for the audience allowing them to interpret a piece of writing in their own way which they can learn and branch from in their own writing. Not only can this theory improve your writing but it can also improve your view on the world around you. The power of intention is what drives us as humans everyday in order to create meaning and enjoy the power of choosing what we do and how we do it. If you intend on becoming a better writer you will, if you tend to become a better teacher you will, if you intend on becoming a better athlete, friend, son, you will. The power of intention is one of the greatest powers a human being can have. The control to manifest your thoughts into a reality. This theory of writing is not only applied to becoming a better writer in the classroom but becoming a better human being inside and outside of the classroom.
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