Reflection Paper: Becoming a Skilled Writer Requires

Throughout the course, I embrace the use of large-scale revisions. They help with reorganizing ideas to achieve coherence and bring order in the delivery of main points. I have learned the importance of revising my papers. I can identify and correct mistakes and therefore increase the quality and overall delivery of my work. I also need to increase engagement with my peers through responses.

My future work needs to incorporate thesis statements. Thesis statements act as a guide for the reader. They give a general idea of what the work is about and provide a lead that the reader can use to follow the flow of ideas in my work. This course has helped me practice the various styles of writing and formatting, which I will also use to improve my work. The APA and MLA formats are the most commonly used and differ in structuring and citing other people’s literature. Throughout my writing, Turnitin has been an essential tool. It checks the similarity of my work against its database and gives an originality score. The originality score is a measure of the integrity of my work. Some writing requires ideas to be supported by external scholarly sources. Giving credit where other people’s work is one way to become a better writer.

Different audiences require different writing languages. The official may be applicable for writing used for official purposes. This must follow a prescribed format depending on the content being written. Writing for unofficial purposes may not follow official form or structure; the language may also be unofficial. In the future, I anticipate writing for work colleagues, workplace supervisors, family and friends, academic instructors, and academic peers. Work-related writing may be just organizational communication, through emails, memos, or any other form that my work would require me to write in. Looking for new jobs also requires writing application documents. Some employment processes require applicants to write to demonstrate their aptitude and communication skills. Writing for work colleagues may be formal such as work-related consultations or informal exchanges.

The language format depends on the audience for whom I am writing. Formal communication must be done in strict adherence to official writing techniques. It does not have to follow APA or MLA formatting since both are used for academic writing. However, some basic principles, such as using a thesis statement, may be necessary to help the reader follow coherence in thoughts and ideas. In all forms of writing, it is essential to use appropriate language and observe grammatical rules to make the work readable and understandable. It is also essential to use simple language by avoiding overusing bombastic words. I will improve my writing skills by properly punctuating my work.

My future writing will be made better by preparation.  Some of the questions I might ask my future audiences to connect my writings with them include who they are, what they expect to know from my writing, how they connect with the subject that I write about and how I can make their reading more interesting.