Practice was paying off and my confidence with new and challenging subject matter began to grow as well. This was evidently displayed in my series of writings about the poet Charles Simic. Simic, known as an elaborate and often obtuse poet, provided some serious challenges to my ability to read a piece of writing and apply my critical thinking skills to this selection. In order to successfully accomplish this task, I began to notice how two forms of logical thinking effected my cognitive abilities. Before dissecting or digesting any of Simic's work, I made sure that I knew the meanings, or at least the dictionary's version, of the words contained in his poetry. This habit soon began to spread to all parts of my life. I no longer would use words that I did not know the meaning of, and would always make a note to find the definition of a word that I had never heard before.

My mind was now ready to discern between objective and subjective reasoning with proper grammatical constructs firmly established in my thinking processes. Understanding that both inductive and deductive reasoning led to logical and clear thinking. By melding these two centers of my mind, I could focus on the complex and emotionally charged writings of Simic.

Looking at my introductory paragraph in Simic and Solitude makes me beam proudly of my hard work. Although it may be quite long and verbose, I seem to blend both an artistic, or subjective, stroke with an objective description of the historical facts of the narrative. This is best demonstrated when I present the crux of the paper's argument in the opening: " it is difficult for Simic to speak about his childhood during wartime Belgrade using prose, as he barely refers to his

That is precisely why Simic became a poet: because the best way for him to express himself was not through any other medium, " ( Simic and Solitude, 2). This is backed up by the second essay on the subject and its introductory paragraph: " the poetry of Charles Simic is phantasmagoric and real at the same time. The poet creates poignant paradoxes related to personal experiences of alienation, isolation, and identity. Simic's images often seem arbitrary, but it is their overall effect that matters more than their individual impact.
In both of these examples, it is obvious that brevity and simple statements are at the heart of my writing. This allows for the insertion of interesting words like " phantasmagoric" without overwhelming the piece. Gaudy writing can be very distracting. Using some restraint says as much about the writing and disciplined demonstration of this fact can forge powerful pieces of writing with artistic flair.

Conclusion

The writing process that helped me further develop my critical thinking skills is documented in an incremental progression in my writing portfolio. The path way to better reading and writing skills is a simple journey if one is willing to sit down and practice it like anything else. Discipline alone will not work however. Creative insertions of emotion in my writing appear to assist in making the written work more attractive and effective in capturing the attention of the reader and should be kept in mind as well. Either way, a personal approach to writing…