Dear reader,
After having been in my FYS: Warm Regards and That’s All: On Letter-Writing for about two months, I’ve learned a lot about my own writing and learning process.
When the semester first began, I had confidence I would do well in this class because overall, I believe I am a strong writer. I’m very good at putting ideas to paper in a way that is both appealing and informative to the reader. Beyond academic writing, I also enjoy writing in my free time, allowing me to get even more practice and become a stronger writer overall.
With that in mind, I still had (and have) a lot to learn going into this class about writing and becoming an even stronger writer. One exercise in this class that we do frequently is weekly writing. Every week, each student writes a post on their own blog, reflecting on what they’ve learned in class that week. Blog posts are not essays; they are not lengthy summaries with a solid thesis, but a concise write-up about what we as individuals learned from this week’s classes. These weekly writings have benefited me greatly because, prior to this course, most academic writing that I did were for assigned essays. Due to this, I was used to writing lengthy papers with a definitive thesis and large word count. In contrast, blog posts are meant to be relatively short and ‘to the point’. Writing a weekly blog post has helped me make my writing more concise, less redundant, and, in many ways, easier to read.
In terms of things I didn’t know before that I now know because of this class, there are a lot. For example, I didn’t know a lot about censorship during World War Two before learning about it in this class, though now I not only know a lot about it, but I also have formed a strong opinion on the topic. Additionally, I really knew nothing about love letters during World War Two, at least not to the extent that I do now. The fact that a couple fell in love before even meeting each other, just talking through letter writing, is mind blowing to me. I also didn’t realize how important of a role letter writing played in the World War Two war effort, giving soldiers something to keep up their morale. Furthermore, I’ve learned a lot about letter writing within labor and death camps during the Second World War, specifically how positive people can be during a time of such immense tragedy.
Something I actually found surprisingly challenging in this class is leaving feedback on my fellow classmate’s assignments. This is something I’m just not used to doing, and I found it challenging to leave constructive feedback without sounding either too harsh, or too phony. Though, as I’ve continued doing it throughout the semester, I’ve found it easier to leave feedback on my peers’ work.
Finally, I think I’ve achieved many of the class learning goals. I’ve come to understand the historical and psychological aspects of letter writing that shape cultures and experiences, I have a much bigger appreciation for the practice and nature of letter writing, and I believe I have developed better analytical writing skills.
Based on my own blog portfolio of writing, class participation, and work completed, I believe my grade halfway through the semester should be an A minus. By the end of the course, I’d like to end with an A to an A plus. I think the best way for me to achieve this grade is by making sure to keep up with my weekly writings and make sure I utilize what I’ve learned thus far into my writing.
Best wishes,
Molly Terdiman
Leave a Reply