Journals for Years and Use

¶ … journals for years and use them to exercise my brain, jot down random thoughts and observations, and work out personal problems on paper. Somehow I find that writing my thoughts and feelings down first helps me be a better conversationalist. I am less prone to ramble or get caught off-guard and more likely to have coherent ideas and cogent arguments. When I write I feel like I am in a trance sometimes, a pleasurable feeling that lets me temporarily cut off the outside world and retreat to the peace of my inner mind. Because I write often for personal reasons, writing for formal occasions also proves to get easier with time. Writing essays for school has not always been an easy task for me. No matter how much time I spend writing in my journal or writing emails to friends I usually struggle with academic writing. Academic writing does not flow as well. I have to choose each word carefully and make sure my punctuation and grammar are correct. Moreover, when I write formal essays I cannot say whatever is at the top of my head and hand it in. I have to formulate a clear thesis, think about all the points I need to address, and then maybe draft an outline. Then I have to edit my work, rereading it and even occasionally reading it out loud to check for problems. The process of writing formal essays differs significantly from the way I write in my journal.

In my journal I can be myself. I can let my ideas flow freely on the paper, without needing to worry about spelling or grammar. I can write about anything I choose and because I assume no one is reading my work I can address controversial topics. My stream of consciousness style of writing is totally inappropriate for most academic essays, which is why I believe that my school writing does not accurately reflect my talents or abilities as a writer.

I do not intend to become a professional writer but I might have to write short pieces for work such as business letters, cover letters, memorandums, business reports, or ad copy. Therefore, I know I need to hone my academic writing skills. When I write essays for school I try to keep in mind the objectives of the assignment but I also use each exercise as an opportunity to improve the way I write in a formal setting. The tone I use is unnatural in academic writing. I sound nothing like I do in person when I put my words on the paper. When I edit my work, I become self-critical because I have not yet found my formal voice or at least a formal voice I feel comfortable using.

A rely a lot on other people's writing to guide my academic essays because I learn a lot by reading. The tone scholars use to convey their ideas seems almost universal. I encounter similar diction and sentence structure when I read academic articles. Some are more formal than others, and some scholars are better writers than others but all seem dedicated to communicating their thoughts in a way that other scholars and students understand. Since I have been reading more scholarly work, I have noticed a vast improvement in the way I write my papers. My grades have improved as a result. Writing term papers is not as taxing as it was before and the writing seems to flow faster than it used to when I first started writing a lot of formal essays.

Still, I prefer to write for myself. When I use my journal I feel like I am taking time for myself to reflect on my feelings. Otherwise, I might not have any way of learning about myself. I do not chat to my friends a lot about how I feel and writing is a therapeutic outlet for me. Eventually I would like to infuse my academic writing with the personal tone that comes through in my journal writing, if a personal tone is appropriate for the assignment. Otherwise, I will need to improve my formal writing skills for when I need to take myself out of the essay.

Blending the best of my journaling and my intellectual skills is the aspect I need to focus on most as I seek to improve my writing. It will take some time, as I get used to the rigors of academia. I might need to take some writing classes if it helps me to see where I go wrong in what I compose for class. Receiving feedback is probably the only way I will understand the bad writing habits I have and to adopt good ones. Reading more will also help me improve the way I write.