Post 07: High School Writing and College Writing

     I believe high school writing is much simpler than college writing and doesn't require complex thinking or analogy. For me being taught how to write an essay in high school was, at the time a hassle, but compared to college it's as simple as simple can get. That's not to say college writing is the hardest thing in the world if anything it has advanced my writing skills and I've learned how to improve my writing to go from writing like a high school freshman to an undergraduate in college.

    In high school, you're taught the basics of what an essay is and the different types of essays like, argumentative, informative, and expository. They teach you a simple technique called RACE to help organize your essay. and along the way, we are introduced to MLA and how to cite evidence to back up any claim you had within your paper. For the most part, teachers did not allow students to write in the first person to seem formal and to avoid "I" and "you". 

    When it comes to writing in college the stakes are higher and the writing is more advance, but the good thing is you have free will to write in a style that's comfortable for you. Learning that using "I" in your essay can add to your essay, from Kate McKinney Maddalena's essay Why First Person Is Important in College Writing she says, "...there are some well-chosen places where “I” can give your argument more objectivity and intellectual integrity." (183). Learning that my essay can help persuade or inform my readers about what I have to say makes writing a little easier for me and saves the hassle of thinking I have to sound like a robot just to convey a message.

    Even though the two academic writing levels have their differences they still share similarities in making sure to use MLA correctly, knowing the basics of organizing your thesis, and using rhetoric in your essay. High school students prepare their skills in writing for college to be able to write clearly and formally. College writing is just a step up from high school writing using more techniques and having more knowledge on how to execute it better.

Comments

  1. Savannah CaudilloJuly 8, 2022 at 11:31 PM

    The freedom given to you when writing college-level essays is a double-edged sword. That is to say, you can make any choices you want, but because of the lack of standard, you are more harshly judged for said choices. Do they help or harm your work? Are they relevant? If not, your paper quality could go down, but if so, your grade will thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  2. joshua byrdJuly 9, 2022 at 6:01 PM

    I believe high school writing was just to get students prepared for college writing, that is why they stuck to the basics.

    ReplyDelete

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