Vences 1 Roberto Vences English 1101 Professor Padgett November 25th 2013 Writing Well-Written Works Truman Capote,

an American author, once said, Writing has laws of perspective, of light and shade just as painting does, or music. If you are born knowing them, fine. If not, learn them. Then rearrange the rules to suit yourself. Writing and reading is a way of communication and it serves a purpose in everyones life differently. Some people do it because of academic purposes and others may do it as a hobby or past time. Regardless of why people read and write, there is a variety of guidelines that are used in order to write a well-written paper and considered good writing. To write a well-written paper, writers must have an interesting subject, knowledge on the topic, and have fluency within the paper. First of all, writers must have a subject or topic that they find interesting and then establish territory. When writers establish territory and know that what they are writing about is interesting, it makes the process easier. Writing about something that intrigues you keeps you motivated as well as interested and makes you want to write a well rounded paper. For instance, when I wrote my rhetorical analysis paper that correlated with my complaint letter, I was highly driven on completing it because it was a very personal topic that kept me interested and on my feet. Writing my rhetorical analysis gave me the opportunity to analyze what I had written in my complaint letter. To illustrate, I wrote about how the three appeals: pathos, logos, ethos, connected with my letter and it gave readers a better understanding on the paper. Finding and occupying a niche that corresponds with the topic choice is extremely helpful. It gives writers the

Vences 2 ability to form an argument which positively affects their writing. In order to deem writing good writing, writers need to have a topic that they find engaging because if they do not, then their paper comes out to be very messy. Establishing territory not only helps the reader understand what the writer is talking about, but it also helps the writer to focus on that one topic. Secondly, writers need to have knowledge on the topic in order to write a well-written piece. Writing about something that you lack knowledge of will detrimentally affect your paper because if you do not know what you are writing about, then chances are your reader will not know either. Writers must hold accountability for what is being written and need to make sure that they do not write something that is incorrect. Furthermore, writing a paper where you actually have some sort of knowledge will be beneficial because you will be able to write a more complex and well-written piece. Being well informed of your topic or idea gives you the ability to write more. For example, I wrote a paper on one of Malcolm Gladwells quotes from The Outliers where I had to analytically talk about the deeper meaning of it. I was able to write a well-written paper because I had actually read the novel and it gave me the opportunity to show the knowledge I had gained throughout that time. Not only that, I was able to write a sufficient amount and it was very effective and persuasive. On the other hand, I once wrote a paper for another class where I did not know anything relating to the topic. The lack of information on the topic that was written about was apparent and my teacher knew it as well. Due to the fact that I did not know anything regarding to my topic affected me negatively and from that I learned to always understand and know what my

Vences 3 topic and ideas are about. To write a well-written paper, knowledge is a necessity and without it the writing would be affected negatively. Lastly, having superb fluency is highly important in writing a well-written piece. Fluency can include a variety of things such as sentence fluency, grammar, readability, and organization. Writers need to be aware that legibility is crucial when writing. Readers do not want to be confused by run-on sentences and incorrect conventions that make the writing inconsistent and hard to read. To illustrate, when my peers would ask me to revise their papers most of them had many grammatical issues that would make it hard to comprehend and read. Correct sentence fluency and structure helps the paper flow smoothly and makes it easier for others to read. If writers constantly revise their work and check for small errors, chances are that their paper will be easier to read and follow. For readers to comprehend what is written, correct grammar and punctuation is important. Without those conventions, it would be very challenging for readers to understand what is being talked about. Additionally, organization is extremely important. Writers need to be cautious when writing because they do not want to have a paper where everything is out of order. Creating an outline or a progress memo that correlates with the topic is beneficial because it gives you the ability to know how the paragraphs need to be structured and organized. Correct fluency is needed critically in order to for readers to comprehend what was written as well as to keep them focused. Writing serves a purpose in everyones life. It can be because of educational purposes such as essays and research papers or it can be served as a past time or hobby. Reading and writing are semi-important in my life because it is a way of communication. For instance, ever

Vences 4 since I moved to Charlotte I have to talk to my mum at least once everyday. Whether it is a text message or an email talking about in detail about my day, communication between me and her is significant. If I was not capable of reading and writing, I would not be able to communicate with my family and I would definitely not be where I am, academically, today. Reading and writing is used in everything we do. It can be as simple as reading the time or it can be as complexed as writing a ten page paper for your philosophy class. Both go hand in hand and without them it would be impossible to do everyday tasks. If you are not capable of those two things, especially in todays day and age, life will be extremely harsh and challenging. In summary, good writing is different for everyone. All writers have a variety of different perspectives on how to write a well-written paper, however, majority of them would agree on many of the guidelines that help them advance in their work. When I write, there are many laws that I abide to for the sake of writing a decent paper. Two of the most important laws that I always abide to are having a thesis statement and to avoid clichs. Both of these laws were learned through my teachers from all four years of high school and they are still used to this day. In order to write a well-written piece, writers need to have a topic that interests and intrigues them, knowledge on the topic of their choice, and correct fluency throughout their paper. By doing so, they will be able to advance within their papers and it will make it easier for readers to make sense of.

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