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Olivia Rosenberg
Dr. Courtney Werner
EN 102-26 College Composition II
2 February 2016
Professional vs. Student vs. Me
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a writer is defined as someone whose
work is to write books, poems, stories, etc.; someone who has written something. A writer can
be someone from all walks of life and backgrounds, age, and gender. Writers can be a third
grader researching about their favorite animal or explaining their favorite story or book, or a
writer can be a professional with several doctorates in language and rhetoric with multiple books
published which received esteemed acclaim. However, these two seemingly different writers, as
well as other writers, including myself, share similar characteristics.
A writer, as a professional, has characteristics and ideals any other professional of a
different field should have as well. A best selling author or poet is more than likely charming,
diligent, and hardworking. A professional author can have novels of multiple genres that were
edited and revised by a team and proofread and analyzed by assistants and such. Novelists use
clear and expressive words to connect multiple ideas all while using a clear voice to portray these
thoughts. A writer is not just limited to being an author or novelist; a writer can be classified as a
poet, songwriter, biographer, researcher, analyst, columnist, or an other kind of writer that
portrays a story that took up (or not) numerous amounts of time and late hours to complete.
As for a regular college student, these characteristics may vary slightly. Typically, a
college student tends to procrastinate their writing, so yes, they will be up at late hours of the
night doing their work, which may, however, cause little to no time for proper editing,

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proofreading, and revision. Assignments given to a student in a basic language, rhetoric, and
writing English course contain an analytical objective, which requires critical thinking, or
extensive research on a specific topic which is expected to have appropriate citations. In some
cases, a college student writes solely for a good grade, rather than for their own personal passion
as a professional writer or author does. However, there are many college students who realize
their natural skill and ultimately their passion for writing while taking an English course.
Like any other student must do, I had to write several different papers, essays, stories, and
other writing pieces throughout my years of early education all the way to college. In
elementary school, my fourth grade class wrote, illustrated, and sent to a local publisher a book
of idioms. Starting in middle school, I experience my first full length essay. As I got older,
writing assignments became more complex with stricter guidelines and requirements. Over my
high school career, I have been assigned explanatory, persuasive, analytical, critical thinking, and
research papers. Similar to a professional writer author or a fellow peer, I have hard working,
confident, and expressive attributes that allow me to write a exquisite paper as well as receiving
a good grade. In order to write an exceptional paper, I constantly go through my writing to
revise and edit it multiple times, and may even ask a peer or friend to go through my essays to
get a second opinion or to find any mistakes that I have missed. One major down side I have to
my writing style and etiquette is my tendency to procrastinate. Although I have realized that I
work well under pressure, procrastinating late at night can hinder my optimal performance as
well as focus on the assignment. Procrastinating an assignment can also prevent me from
properly reviewing my work and correcting any errors if necessary. Being in mostly honors and
Advanced Placement courses in high school, majority of my writing assignments were
analytically based, which required critical thinking in order to successful argue my ideas and to

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answer all parts of the essay question accurately and completely. Critical thinking assignments
allow the student to user higher level thinking as well as the developing of the skills needed for
proper critical thinking: reasoning, evaluation, problem solving, decision making, and analysis.
The characteristics of a successful writer are prevalent in professional authors, my peers
and fellow classmates, as well as myself. A writer is any one with the ability to put words
together, form a story, answer an open ended style question, write a song or poem, and many
other different variations. A writer has an undoubtedly wide range a young child just learning
to write their name to a professional author with an award winning novel series to a founding
father creating the Declaration of Independence and Constitution. A simple one word yes or no
written answer may classify a student as a writer.

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Works Cited
Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster. Web. 02 Feb. 2016. <http://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/writer>.