The Evolution of my Writing and the Importance of Context

For most of my life, I’ve had the same process; I sit down with a pen and paper—or more recently a laptop—and stare at a blank page until finally I—under threat of deadline— belt out a piece of writing that I’m proud of. I infrequently constructed sentences with grammatical rules in mind and instead opted for what felt right and persuasive. In the grand scheme of things, my writing is a bit childlike. 

My first-semester struggle meant realizing that much like voice and authenticity, structure, grammar, and cohesion should be important persuasive elements in my writing. My previous disregard for the structure was a result of my process. I wanted a great piece of writing but refused to give myself the time to improve it.  As a result, I struggled to even begin writing because I was fearful of a piece that wouldn’t represent my voice. Incorporating formal structure and sentence construction allowed me to write more freely because I understood their persuasive impact. 

Yet, here we are a semester later and I still have a similar worry. I’ve found some methods, particularly brainstorming, outlining, and writing a tentative first draft. But with my expanded understanding of the importance of traditional writing and a more experimental style comes a new set of questions and concerns. How should I balance proper and improper style to create something that is both academic and has my voice? That is the reason I decided to take this specific class. The utilization of blog posts/digital format, as well as our exploration into multigenre writing, will—at least I hope—help me begin to understand the proper contexts for using different persuasive techniques.

 When we were discussing an Eloquent Rage in the first semester our professor came to a conclusion that resonated with me. Brittney Cooper has vast experience writing academically, yet Eloquent Rage is not an academic text. She adjusts her writing style depending on the context. That is one skill that I would love to develop. A skill that would make me not only a far better writer but a more well-rounded person in the future.