REFLECTION

We are closer to the end of the semester and it is time to clarify where I stand as a writer. For this, I am designing my portfolio and writing my reflection about how I have improved as a writer, if I have. I will describe my writing styles and compare some of my recent writings to my old pieces. My reflection will answer some questions like How do I write?, How do I select my subjects, and How has my writing process changed? FREE WRITING: HOW I WRITE AND HOW HAVE I CHANGED I was first introduced to free writing in the English class by CGR. What I have come to notice is that a bilingual person can not only read, write and understand two languages, but can also think in two languages. Before this semester, my writing style was a bit different than what it is today. For example, when a subject of an assignment was introduced to me, I would think about the contents of the subject in Hindi, my mother tongue. My process of writing a paper would go this way: First of all, I would think what I should write. This thinking is usually done in Hindi. After the thinking process, I would translate the thought into English. Many times, it becomes impossible to form a sentence because the meaning of the sentence would change as soon as translated. However the translation turns out, I would write it down on paper before I lose the translation from my head. Since I wanted to explain how this process works, I have included my Cover Letter, which I wrote at the beginning of the semester, in my portfolio. Following is one of the examples where I had to think, translate and write:

The above writing serves as an example of how I used to think, and write. This process was lengthy, tedious and sometimes nonproductive. It was not until CGR introduced me to free writing when I thought this process can actually become a bit short, easy and productive. The constraints laid on me for the free writing assignment has positively affected my writing habits. Having only one hour to write non-stop without any distractions was a helpful. Since there had to be no distraction, there was no time for me to think in a different language and

translate the sentence into English. All I have to do is writing. Even though it has some errors,
the following paragraph is a good example of how my writing style has changed in past couple of months.

With saving time and energy, assignments like free writing gave me a chance to understand and implement a new way of thinking. Also, free writing gave me a chance to open myself up without having a second thought in mind. All in all, I would say free writing assignments have improved my writing skills to some extent if not large.

THE NARRATIVE: CHOOSING SUBJECT, DESIGNING TEXT AND USING SPECIFICS "Close your eyes, and Imagine you are in a hot air balloon that will take you to your past..." This is how one of my English class started, and that is when the idea of narrative was first introduced to me. Writing process for narrative brought some challenges and difficulties with it. What should be my subject?, Who am I writing it for?, Is it too personal to share? etc. Choosing a subject is one of the most critical parts of writing for me. It defines my priorities and ability to choose. After choosing the subject, the first thing I like to do is check if it relevant to the topic. Choosing a subject for my narrative was a bit troublesome. For the matter of fact, two of the drafts for my narrative were exclusively written to choose a subject. One of them is shown below.

I rejected the draft because I felt like the incident did not have enough content that would make the narrative better than it could be. My first draft was a bit puzzling and unclear. Many times the first idea is the best idea. But I learned that sometimes, the first idea is nonproductive and useless. It wasn't until CGR introduced us to the idea of "Show, Not Tell" when I realized what went wrong with my draft. As soon as I became familiar with the concept of showing, not telling, I started working on my actual narrative. It wouldnt be wrong to say that I go through trial and error process for choosing my subjects. Once I had chosen my subject, it was just a matter of designing my texts and using the specifics. While writing the drafts for narrative, it became real tough to recall memories from past. Old memories came to me in bits and pieces. When we were doing the hot air balloon activity in class and other students were writing what the recalled, I was sitting there thinking, How can I recall an incident that happened 10 years ago so quickly? Sometimes, I will only remember how an incident started and how it ended. This is when choosing the right

subject comes into play. At such times, I would think about What would have happened in such
scenario? and just move on with the story. For example, I had no idea what Ms. Kirkman exactly said while she was explaining the project. So I made up her dialogues to sound like they were real.

At the end, making up specifics turned out to be a good idea. Writing an Introduction for a paper is the hardest part. So in order to get a perfect introduction to my paper, I would write the whole paper first without the introduction. When I am finished writing the paper, I would select the best paragraph from the paper and make that my introduction. Following is the example of how I shifted to my story after introduction paragraph.

WEEKLY WRITINGS: RESPONDING TO AUDIENCE There are over 7 billion people in the world and every person is associated with some sort of group, ethnicity or race. There are several different cultures and civilizations in present world. Everybody has their own way to deal with things and understand them differently. Every group has its own different way of thinking. For example, one group will have a different perspective on god than any other group. Weekly writings gave me a chance to look at the world through a different perspective. Personally, weekly writings have helped me to communicate with audience that knows what I am talking about. For example, every student in class was giving one single article to read. So when I was to write a response, every student will know what I am talking about. There is absolutely no need to introduce anyone to the topic. To be more specific, the audience doesnt need an introduction paragraph. For example, the following weekly writing does not need an introduction because I know that my audience is prepared for my thoughts.

Also, I am the kind of person who likes to be specific and to the point. There is no reason to confuse my audience by using weird vocabulary words when I can explain the topic in simple words. Hence to be simple and realistic I think of myself as an audience and try to gain a different perspective on my own writing. If my audience, for example in this case, is mature enough to understand, I will open up to them.

HOW DO I REVISE? In my first semester at UNC Charlotte, I took an Introduction to Engineering class. We had to write technical reports and lab reports for the class. After writing a draft, it was required for every student to have a peer, roommate or friend look over the draft and make corrections where necessary. After writing 3-4 papers and reports, it became a habit to have someone look over my drafts.