Workplace What Makes a Good

¶ … Workplace What makes a good writer? Is it the ability to craft correct grammar, or the power to move audiences and prove points? It seems to be a combination of the both. In courses like English 102 help provide an environment for people to practice their writing skills and learn valuable lessons that will help them in the careers, even if those careers have nothing to do with English. English 102 will provide a good and thorough foundation for both my academic and professional careers.

It is crucial for people of all industries to learn to write, because effect writing is providing a sound argument that can help inform and persuade others, which is essential for any career. Writing is a crucial element today in almost every job position. More and more jobs are requiring some sort of writing, whether it be notes in the field or more complicated reports and memos that are meant to inform the rest of the office on a certain subject.

In fact, the research shows that over two-thirds of salaried employees here in the U.S. have writing responsibilities (College Board, 2004). When it comes down to it, candidates and employees who write well tend to be favored in all industries. As such, it is important to get a good foundation for writing styles. This includes academic and argumentative writing, but also memo and other business style writing in order to help in the career field later on after graduation.

Writing can not be ignored as a something for the journalists or novel writers; it is a major element n the business world today. This class will undoubtedly help build my writing skills that can later be used in my professional career path. There are a number of important elements that are crucial to being able to write a convincing argument. Hacker and Sommers (2011) discuss the concept of the thesis as being the main focus of a variety of writing styles.

The thesis is the main point of an argument, or the road map for the analysis that comes ahead. Without a strong thesis, there is no way to understand an argument broken down on the simplest of levels. A strong thesis can persuade, making it a powerful tool in writings of all types. Everyone from the lawyer to the salesman has to learn to make claims and back them up. Understanding the thesis is a way to formulate stronger arguments and more persuasive claim in any industry.

I feel that this class will be a good environment for me to test my argumentative skills, taking advantage of the good feed back I can use to adjust my thesis writing skills. My main goal here is to learn the foundation of a strong argument, and be able to make a thesis for almost any question or concern. Additionally, my writing experience up to this point has been written without a true sense of who the audience was.

Another element that Hacker and Sommers review in their textbook is the concept of knowing who your audience is and how to adjust your message to fir the unique nature of that audience. Essentially, in the past, I wrote what I thought, with no second thinking of who the reader was going to be. Yet, in professional business writing, one has to be clear of how to approach an audience. You could be writing to a potential client, or even your boss.

Knowing how to manipulate language in order to better approach particular audiences is a skill I feel like I can work harder to develop. As I plan to write in more of a professional context, there is a direct need to understand how to persuade and get very different types of audiences engaged in my writing content. This is something I feel like I can really gain some insight on during the length of this course.

Finally, there is another element I know that this course will help me improve on. I have writing experience mainly in a different grammatical and syntax style when comparing to other American students. When I first began writing more academically here, I found it a hard adjustment. Growing up in England, spelling and some grammar elements are quite different. The small spelling differences, as well as other grammatical differences, can be sneaky.

I do not feel confident all the time writing in an American context, and find myself second guessing my writing. This then tends to have a negative impact on the writing itself. Taking this course will help me not only strengthen my ability as a writer in general, but it will provide me a stronger foundation in American writing.