My name is Luis Cruz Martinez, my pronouns are he/him/his, and I’m majoring in Philosophy.

One aspect that appeals to me after reviewing the syllabus is that there will be peer review on our essays and writings because I appreciate people’s assistance in my writing a lot. On the other hand, I am a bit nervous about being required to write such long essays because I have written them in the past but the pandemic greatly affected my school year and I’ve been out of practice for quite some time now to say the least.  I intend to use this class to help me transition back into the habit of writing long essays since it’ll definitely be a requirement for some of my other classes. Additionally, I’d like to improve the level of my writing at the moment as well which I’m sure will happen.

I think everyone has a different opinion of the concept of a good writer but there is usually a general agreement on some requirements. One has to be able to convey their purpose in a way that clearly explains the concept they are trying to show but also doesn’t confuse the reader in the midst of the explanation. Another aspect of a good writer is being able to make an impact on the reader with their writing. It doesn’t matter how big or small that impact is, whether its just a small amount of new knowledge or something that changes their entire perspective on life, it just matters that the writing didn’t just do nothing for them. One has to simply keep writing in order to become a good writer but do many things along the way of that such as taking criticism from others, expanding their vocabular, reviewing their writing, and more. It’s important to write well so you are able to formulate your thoughts into an organized and condensed matter because sometimes you may fully understand something or have ideas in your mind that you have to be able to write down in a way so everyone else can understand as well.

The easiest part of writing for me is actually writing once I figure out exactly how I want to write it. The feeling of this flow like state happens and I find that I can often write long papers once I get how and what I’m trying to write. The process before then though can be difficult for me and oftentimes it can take some time to find exactly how I want to write something. I think I personally need to work on transitioning from one part of my essay to another because sometimes I can do it well but I know I need to get better at it.

I’m a philosophy major so it’s obvious that I’m expected to write on all types of different philosophies and my own personal take on several things in life as well. Philosophy is a major where I can be expected to write on many genres throughout my career. It’s expected to be an efficient writer for my career since philosophy can have some difficult concepts to grasp for both people in and out of the field so it’s important to be able to convey your words in a way that everyone can understand regardless of their knowledge on the subject. Oftentimes a person may actually understand the concept you are trying to explain but not in the way you are writing it.

Name: Evelyn Mosso Pareja 

Preferred pronouns: She/her

Intended major: Biology

After reading through the syllabus I can say that one thing I’m excited about is the fact that there doesn’t seem to be any exams. The reason I’m excited about it is because writing is not one of my strengths. I always tend to get distracted from the topic and end up writing about something completely different or just repeat myself constantly. One thing I’m anxious about is writing an essay and then presenting it to the class. Since again, it’s not one of my strengths so it’s very nerve wracking to think about it being looked at and revised by an entire class. Although in high school I have gone through that experience many times I just never got used to it. 

Personally, I believe that the quality of being a good writer is to stick to the main topic, meaning that the author/ writer doesn’t go off on a tangent. Another good quality is that the writer continuously supports their ideas with reasons and evidence. As well as catches the reader’s attention and explains their ideas in a way that their audience would understand and agree with. In other words the writer does have to be persuasive depending on the writing piece. 

The easiest part for me to write in an essay has to be the first body paragraph since that’s where I can thoroughly explain my idea and why I support it. Unlike the introduction where you introduce the topics and give the readers reason’s without giving it all away. Although an introduction is simple, I tend to overthink it or just get very impatient and just want to write about why I’m passionate about the issue.

The main genre I will be writing about in my intended career field would have to be medical. Since I intend to be a surgeon, my writing would be centered on medicine and  the state of a patient or details about a procedure. Being an effective writer can strongly affect my career both in a negative and positive way depending on my skill. The reason it can negatively affect my career is because if I poorly describe a patient’s situation or state, other doctors or surgeons can underestimate their condition or just gloss over a critical factor which can be the difference between life and death. 

My name is Kristina Gozar , and she/her is my preferred pronoun. The major I intend to pursue is architecture.

One aspect of this course that excites me is the themes I will be writing about. I prefer to write in a variety of styles and about a wide range of topics. I’m excited to write about topics that are outside of my comfort zone in this course. One thing I’m concerned about with this class is a shortage of words to write with. I’ve heard that you write a lot more in college than you think. It never occurred to me that they may have meant tens of thousands of words. I’m not used to writing in this approach, but it does pique my interest to see how far I can go.

Knowing how to help the reader understand what they’re reading is one of the qualities of good writing, in my opinion. This implies that it must sound just as interesting as it seems. A student’s paper may be a few pages long, but the most of it could be meandering sentences that no one else would understand. It’s also crucial to write properly since poor writing might cause you and others to become confused. I enjoy reading my own work to see whether it sounds right.

For me, the easiest part of writing is figuring out how to make it flow smoothly. If I’m talking about sea turtles, for example, I wouldn’t make the following line in that paragraph about books. But, if I did, I’d say that I read a book on sea turtles thereafter, because the paragraph is primarily about sea turtles rather than books. I believe I do well in terms of language and sentence structure. In my experience, the way I utilize more complicated phrases makes my work stand out more. For me, the most difficult aspect of writing is figuring out where to begin. I find the beginning a little perplexing since you don’t know what to talk about first or when to stop going into depth about the themes, if that makes sense. In addition, I need to improve my grammar because it has always been an issue for me, and I typically have someone else check it for me.

Design and building are some genres that I plan to write in the future. I’d have to properly describe the work I accomplished, which might be quite thorough and precise. This is critical since many characteristics of a work of art can be represented through words. Being a great writer may help you grow in your career by allowing you to stand out from the crowd. If my words are as wonderful as my design, I feel it will have an influence on me as a future architect.

Dayanna Peralta

Pronouns: she/her

Intended Major: Studio Art

After reading the syllabus, one thing I am excited about is getting to learn about the topics. Learning something from each topic will help me learn about something about them and getting to expand my mind in learning other things as well. Although a challenge I would face is trying to get the writing assignments done. Trying not to overthink the assignment and causing me to slow down and turning it in on time.

When being a writer, some good qualities would have to be knowing what you are writing about, how to get straight to the point, with facts without overwriting, how to track attention. Having these qualities can help you as a writer to make the topic more interested and not sound dull.

I am not so sure of what I am good at writing, although I could use some help in stating the facts, the evidence, and supporting it when it comes to writing. Knowing what is my strongest and weakest part of the writing is a struggle for me to detect.

Using any type of genre, in general, could help better my writing.  Learning to write in different ways could help me seek ways of inspiration in writing different art pieces I could learn about in my major. Or even write about pieces I get to do in my major classes.

Romeo Hu

Preferred Pronouns: He/Him

Intended major: English

After reviewing the syllabus, one thing I am excited about is being productive and focused as I get all my assignments done on time. One thing I am nervous about regarding this course is not being able to manage my time well because I usually wait last minute. Also, receiving weird grades is probably another thing to be nervous about. But besides that, I am mostly more excited than nervous because I really want to experience what college writing really is.

The qualities of good writing demonstrates the writer’s purpose and innovation. From my perspective, in order to be a good writer, the writer will have to be passionate about their topic. It is important to write well because it will bring the audience’s attention as well as provide specific information, which can also have a positive impact on them. To add on, a good writer provides a voice and sometimes display an image in the reader’s mind through writing.

The easiest part of writing for me is writing about any kind of topics I have experience with. For example, if I write about being a server, I can provide many information and evidence. I do well with expressing my experience over writing, while indicating some part of me. The hardest part of writing for me is the length. In general, I would get directly to the point but also have difficulty expanding my point of view. I need to work on elaborating as well as expanding my length of pages.

As of right now, I am interested in becoming an English teacher, therefore, I would expected to write all different kinds on genres. But I am mostly interested in non-fiction.Effective writing would benefit me with this career because I can pass on that experience and knowledge to others.

After reviewing the syllabus I am very excited to see that there will not be exams and tests. Exams and tests are my biggest nightmare, a couple of years back when I took my PSAT’s I had a nervous breakdown before I left my house though I studied months in advance for a practice test, my mind can’t wrap its head around the fact that it’s not the end of the world if I don’t get a good grade. If someone asked what my biggest weakness is it would be tests and exams because it brings me to another level of fear. One thing that makes me sort of anxious is writing long essays, I’m a very shy and perceived person, and I’m not the best at being vulnerable so writing something I am passionate about would take a lot out of me. But I am still excited to come out of my shell a bit more and see a better and more meaningful side of me.

My definition of good writing is a person that could change people’s perspectives or make an impact on someone’s life with just their words. That shows that you can organize your thought, beliefs, and words in such a way that people dream to be able to do. To me it’s not always about grammar it’s about the meaning and how it is portrayed. 

I’m very good at analyzing and getting to the point, if there is a question needing to be answered I can show the reading every example or topic to prove my point. Unfortunately, I am not a very descriptive person and I cannot describe looking out the window for example with as much depth as most. I think that’s what I have to work on most in the course.

I want to do something in business though I am not sure what exactly, there is definitely a lot of writing that will be needed. Whether it’s for pitching an idea or writing an email to a business partner. There is a lot of professional writing you have to know the right ways to make your ideas sound as important if not more important than the thousands of other pitches managers will be getting.

Hi everyone! My name is Aila Choudhary, my preferred pronouns are she/her/hers, and my intended major is computer science.

After reviewing the syllabus, I am excited to learn about rhetorical conventions and utilize my knowledge for written assignments regarding social issues. I am passionate in my advocacy for social reform, and I know that it is crucial to convey my opinions in the most optimal writing style because it helps emphasize and clarify my points. Therefore, not only am I excited to write about social issues, I am also looking forward to learning new skills that will amplify my voice when it comes to these issues. However, one aspect of this course that I am nervous about is the overall transition from a high school course to a collegiate course. I am accustomed to in-depth explanations and assistance in assignments as well as constant deadline reminders, whereas I know that in this course I will have to be more proactive about navigating assignments and paying attention to deadlines on my own. However, I am prepared to put my best foot forward regarding this change, and I actually look forward to the sense of responsibility and critical thinking that it will bring.

I believe the qualities of good writing are to write in a coherent and expressive manner. A well-written work should voice the information presented in a way that can be understood by the reader. In order to be a good writer, one should take the time to immerse themselves in the topic that they are writing about. This helps craft a unique piece of writing that truly reflects the writer’s thoughts. All of these skills combined help a person write well, which is important both individually and societally. Being able to write well helps a person become a better communicator, and therefore creates conversations that contribute to the betterment of society.

The most difficult part of writing for me is actually getting started. Properly introducing a topic is one of the most important parts of writing, and I often have so many ideas in mind without knowing how to formulate them into a proper introduction. However, once I am able to craft an introduction, the easiest part is writing body paragraphs that relate to the introduction in a clear way, as the introduction helps serve as a guideline for me to filter my ideas.

With a career in the computer science field, it will be important for me to know how to write technically. Computer science goes beyond just writing codes; it involves effective written communication and code explanations. Failure to write effectively can lead to coding errors with major consequences. Therefore, coding companies prioritize hiring a strong writer, which means fitting that description will lead to more job opportunities.

Thank you and I look forward to working with everyone this semester!

My name is Muhammad Ashfaq, a current freshman here at CCNY. My intended major for the following year is essentially trying out civil engineering and my preferred pronouns are he/him.

Upon entering this year, my main goal to accomplish while taking this course is to not only improve my writing, but ensure that I could refrain myself from repeating any terms, phrases, or ideas within any of my papers. As result, I am excited for this course to begin! Something I noticed upon reading the syllabus was that we would be writing a lot through the course of the year. Although I am interested in improving my writing and giving each assignment the best of my ability, I find that the amount of work that would be provided is pretty startling, especially coming out of high school only 2 months back. However, what reassures me slightly is noticing the “group work” aspect in which I would be doing peer review work alongside my fellow classmates. I find this quite helpful for me since I get to not only interact and possibly make friends with other people, but also get advice from various perspectives and viewpoints.

For me, the qualities that essentially make up a good writer is the amount of detail being given alongside the clarity of a particular form of writing. In my case, I try to explain as much as I possibly can whenever I am writing any essay. Whether it is to prove a specific claim or to simply address a civic issue, my essay must not only snatch the viewers attention but also must contain enough detail in order to keep my audience hooked. That way, anyone can understand exactly what I am trying to state and may lean towards my viewpoint or argument. After all, considering the mindsets of those who live in our current day society, people often look at their phone screens on a daily basis and take in information through simple instagram posts or tweets. As a result, a majority of individuals often find themselves less inclined to read an entire post’s worth of information and instead read over a quick 2 sentence post. Thus, the amount of information being offered must be as detailed and clear as possible.

For me, the easiest part of my writing is being able to convey my thoughts while also bringing in real world experiences or examples. Let’s take my poetry for instance. When writing a poem, I would first centralize what my poem would be about by surround it with a particular theme. Once I have my theme, I would elaborate it in detail in a separate google doc before starting the process of writing my first stanza. As I am writing, I am continuously over viewing my document while adding on my own personal experiences and any information that may seem relevant to my particular claim or topic. This way, I have a clear image in my head on what exactly it is that I have to write in order to make my poetry strong and emotional. This is usually shown within my writing as well as I often find myself separating my ideas before I even begin an essay or paper. As for the hard part of my writing, I would say it has to do with repetition as I had mentioned earlier on. This is an enduring issue that I am currently attempting to work on as I continue to write through the course of the year.

For my intended major, I believe I would be focused on writing research papers as my major is heavy on STEM. Thus, I would be expected to be well informed on my major while writing my papers. However, civil engineering is only something I am trying out at the moment, so I might switch out to a different major as time progresses. After all, my intended final goal is to become a teacher and a successful poet. Thus, I am currently unsure as to what I would be writing in the long run, but at the moment I am stuck with writing research papers. Finally, being an effective writer would definitely help me with my future career opportunities as I would be able to properly convey to others how I am not only educated, but also how I am able to demonstrate my ideas clearly and efficiently.