As a bookworm, I have always had a deep love for literacy. From a young age, I have been drawn to the power of language to convey ideas, emotions, and experiences, and I have always enjoyed the process of putting words together to create something meaningful and impactful.

For me, writing is a way to explore and understand the world around me. Whether I am writing fiction or non-fiction, I find that the act of writing helps me to clarify my thoughts, process my feelings, and make sense of my experiences. Writing allows me to express myself in a way that feels authentic and genuine, and I find great joy and fulfillment in the process of creating something that is entirely my own.

In addition to the personal benefits of writing, I also love the way that writing can connect people and bring them together. Whether I am writing for myself or for an audience, I find that the act of sharing my writing with others can foster meaningful conversations and create a sense of community. I believe that writing has the power to bridge divides, create understanding, and inspire positive change, and this is something that I am deeply passionate about.

Overall, my love for writing is something that has sustained me throughout my life and has given me the opportunity to explore, express, and connect with others in a meaningful and profound way. I am grateful for the many opportunities I have had to write and share my writing with others, and I look forward to continuing to do so for many years to come.

Taking this Fiqws Killer stories class was a transformative experience for me as a student writer. Before taking the class, I considered myself a competent writer, but I had never really received any structured or formal instruction on the craft of writing. As a result, I often found myself struggling to express my ideas clearly and effectively, and I often felt frustrated and discouraged by my own writing.

However, everything changed when I took this Fiqws writing class. Through structured lessons, exercises, and assignments, this class helped me to develop a much stronger foundation in the principles of good writing. I learned about things like structure, organization, style, and literary tool, and I practiced applying these concepts to my own writing through a variety of exercises and assignments.

But perhaps the most valuable aspect of my FIQWS writing class was the feedback I received from my instructor and peers. By sharing my writing with others and receiving thoughtful and constructive feedback, I was able to see my own writing from a new perspective and to identify areas where I could improve. With this new understanding of my strengths and weaknesses as a student writer, I was able to focus on specific areas for improvement and to make significant progress in my writing skills.

As I applied for this FIQWS killer stories class, I had many things in mind such as ways to develop my writing skills, being introduced into different writing styles and literature and being given the resources to develop my writing skills. I also had goals coming to this class and although some of them weren’t done, I hope in the near future that I am able to develop them and to come across other opportunities such as this FIQWS class.

NEW SKILLS AND TOOLS

Taking this FIQWS writing class was a valuable experience that taught me a number of important skills that have helped me to improve as a student writer. Some of the most valuable skills I learned in my class include:

1. Structure: One of the most important skills I learned in my writing class was how to structure my writing in a clear and logical way. I learned about things like the importance of an introduction, the role of transitions, and the use of paragraphs to help guide the reader through my writing. By learning how to structure my writing effectively, I was able to make my ideas more coherent and easier for readers to follow.
2. Organization: Another important skill I learned in my writing class was how to organize my ideas in a way that made sense. I learned about the use of headings, subheadings, and other formatting tools to help organize my writing and make it more reader-friendly. By organizing my ideas in a clear and logical way, I was able to make my writing more focused and easier for readers to understand.
3. Style: In my writing class, I also learned about the importance of style in writing. I learned about things like tone, voice, and word choice, and how they can impact the effectiveness of my writing. By learning how to use style effectively, I was able to better convey my ideas and make my writing more engaging and compelling for readers.
4. Feedback: Perhaps the most valuable skill I learned in my writing class was how to seek out and use feedback to improve my writing. By sharing my writing with others and receiving constructive feedback, I was able to see my own writing from a new perspective and to identify areas where I could improve. By learning how to use feedback effectively, I was able to make significant progress in my writing skills.

Other tools and skills I learned about was :

1. MLA Formatting: MLA (Modern Language Association) style is a citation and formatting style used in academic writing, particularly in the fields of literature and the humanities. It is widely used in high school and college classrooms, as well as in academic journals and other publications.
2. Citations: Citation in literature refers to the practice of acknowledging the sources that you have used in your writing. This can include direct quotations, paraphrases, or ideas that you have taken from other sources. Citations are important because they allow you to give credit to the original creators of the ideas and information that you are using in your writing.
3. Transition words: Transition words in literature are words or phrases that are used to connect ideas and help the reader follow the flow of a piece of writing. They are often used to signal a shift or change in the direction of the writing, or to show a relationship between different ideas.
4. Rhetorical concepts: Rhetorical concepts in literature refer to the techniques and strategies that writers use to communicate effectively with their audience. Rhetoric is the study of effective communication, and it involves analyzing how writers use language, structure, and style to persuade, inform, or entertain their readers such as ethos, pathos, logos etc.
5. Analyzing and Revising drafts and essays by sections and going through them in class

RESOURCES

As a writer, it is important to constantly strive to improve and develop your skills. One of the best ways to do this is by using a variety of resources to become a better writer. There are many different types of resources that can help you to improve your writing, including books, online courses, writing groups, and writing tutors.

One of the most valuable resources for improving your writing is books. There are many books available that offer guidance and instruction on the craft of writing, covering topics such as structure, style, and revision. By reading these books, you can learn from the experiences and insights of other writers and gain valuable tips and strategies for improving your own writing.

Another useful resource for becoming a better writer is online courses. These courses offer structured lessons and exercises that can help you to develop your writing skills in a more formal setting. Many online courses also offer feedback and support from instructors or peers, which can be especially helpful for getting personalized guidance on your writing.

In addition to books and online courses, writing groups and writing tutors can also be valuable resources for improving your writing. Writing groups provide an opportunity to share your writing with others and get feedback from your peers, while writing tutors can offer more targeted and in-depth support for specific writing projects or areas of weakness.

In this class we used many resources, of which we never heard of prior to this class. such resources are :

• PURDUE OWL MLA –MLA Works Cited: Electronic Sources – Purdue OWL® – Purdue University

• CCNY ONLINE LIBRARY- A-Z Databases (cuny.edu)

• TEXTBOOK- About Writing: A Guide (blackboardcdn.com)

• A Writer’s Reference- ninth edition by: Diana Hackers

ANNOTATION’S AND WORKSHEETS

Annotating is the process of adding notes or comments to a text as a way to better understand and remember the material. This can be done through highlighting or underlining key points, writing summaries in the margins, or asking questions about the content.

Annotating helps students understand the material better because it encourages active reading and critical thinking. When students are required to actively engage with the text, they are more likely to retain the information and gain a deeper understanding of the material. Additionally, the act of writing summaries or asking questions about the text forces students to process the information and think about its significance, which can help them better remember and comprehend the material.

Annotating also helps students to identify the main ideas and supporting details in a text, which is an important skill for academic success. By highlighting or underlining key points, students can quickly reference the most important information when studying or writing about the material. It encourages active reading, critical thinking, and helps students to identify and remember the key points in a text.

This exactly what I have done throughout this class, especially in the reading part with professor peters. And the stories we read throughout the semester needed deep understanding as many of them had hidden meanings and mysteries and to find those heading meanings and mysteries you would perhaps need to read the text in a more figurative way rather than linguistically. Annotating helps us understand the figurative part of these stories and allows us to dissect them in a way that we may understand the authors message more clearly.

Annotation can also be done to gather information from the text to support your thesis in an essay and to gather information in a more organized way. In most of my essays, I would always annotate the text I will be using to prove my claims by sections, each section belongs to a body paragraph in my essay and this way of planning my essays has made the process of creating counterclaims much easier.

Here are some examples of my annotations that I used for my Critical Research Analysis essay:

Other than annotations, in class we did a lot of practice worksheets to help us learn new skills such as descriptive words, transition words, summarizing, citations and so much more. Worksheets can be a useful tool for writers to gain better skills in several ways. Here are a few examples:

1. Practice: Worksheets can provide structured practice for writers to hone their skills. For example, a worksheet might ask a writer to complete a series of writing prompts or to rewrite a sentence in a particular way. This type of practice can help writers become more proficient in their craft by giving them the opportunity to experiment with different techniques and styles.
2. Feedback: Some worksheets include prompts or exercises that are designed to be completed with the help of a teacher or mentor. This type of feedback can be incredibly valuable for writers who are looking to improve their skills. By receiving feedback on their work, writers can learn what they are doing well and where they need to improve.
3. Organization: Worksheets can also help writers to organize their thoughts and ideas. For example, a worksheet might ask a writer to brainstorm a list of potential topics or to outline the main points of an essay. This type of organization can help writers to better structure their writing and to create a clear and cohesive argument.

Overall, worksheets can be a useful tool for writers who are looking to improve their skills. By providing structured practice, feedback, and organization, worksheets can help writers to become more proficient in their craft. Here are some examples of worksheets i practiced during class with my peers:

Ending of a Wonderful Journey

I developed as a writer a lot towards the end of this FIQWS course. I had somewhat of a foundation in writing when I initially started the program, but I still had trouble with topics like structure, organization, and style. But thanks to the class’s well-organized lessons and exercises, I was able to hone my abilities and turn into a more assured and capable writer.

The input I got from my instructor and classmates during the writing session was one of its most beneficial elements for me. I was able to evaluate my own work from a fresh perspective and recognize places where I could improve by sharing my writing with others and getting helpful comments. This class truly was a wonderful experience and I hope that you also saw my journey and learned something from it. I hope that this would also be a turning point for you as writer just like how it was to me. I would totally recommend this course for any beginner writer as it was perfectly organized to cater toward many students such as me who began this class with barely any skills as a writer. thank you all for reading my blog/portfolio and I hope you liked it. Bye 🙂