Katie McCarthy Project 1

Learning to write is a process that starts in kindergarten and continues throughout elementary, middle, and high school. It involves learning the alphabet, vocabulary, grammar, and eventually writing essays and research papers. Despite some struggles, the writer was able to improve their writing skills with the help of teachers and peers. They had a favorite writing experience in their senior year, where they were able to apply their skills to a criminal law class. Writing has also helped them connect with others, both in school and in their personal life. Overall, the writer reflects on the importance of the little steps in learning to write and how it has shaped their journey. While learning to write comes with many challenges, it can be enriching. Learning to write goes back to kindergarten, maybe even preschool. It starts with learning how to hold a pencil, the alphabet, and sounding out words. I can recall one thing that made learning the alphabet a lot easier. In kindergarten, each student would have a letter on a mat in the classroom and we would all go around saying the letter. It made remembering the letters easier and more fun to learn. Not only in kindergarten, but throughout elementary school, we would have books where we would copy letters down and perfect our handwriting. However, perfecting my handwriting did not succeed. This whole process of learning how to read and write was the base of my writing skills. There was so much history to my knowledge of writing and some of it I wish to not remember. In second grade, we would cut pieces of paper with different words on it to learn new vocabulary. I would get home each night and be quizzed on them. That was my first ever homework and I thought it was terrible. Fast forward, I now know that was probably the easiest homework I have ever had. All of this shows the importance of the little steps to learn how to write properly and how the big writing process helped me overall. For the rest of elementary school, each year we would learn new pieces to our writing process such as bigger words and better grammar. Going through middle school and learning how to write a thesis and put a whole essay together was a big part of the process of learning how to write. Going into ninth grade thinking about writing, and I recall thinking it was a strength of mine compared to math or science, however it turned out to be one of my weaknesses. But I was able to learn. All the frustration while writing got even worse when you were put to write in high school. With the help of teachers and peers, I was able to improve my writing. Every piece of advice or feedback helped and it carried into each assignment. My favorite piece of writing that I have done throughout the past few years is an interesting one. During my senior year of high school, I took a criminal law class and was able to research the SCOTUS case of New Jersey First TLO of 1985. I was able to take everything I learned in my writing classes and put it to use in another class. So much went into the piece, including research, collaborating, and putting it all together. Additionally, I was able to present it and everything I had learned. A big reason this was my favorite so far was likely because it was graded more on content rather than writing skills. Still, I was able to use my past writing skills and it came out fantastic. I can still recall one teacher that left an impact on my writing. She was able to help me so much and teach me in a way I understood and was able to help make changes and it made a big difference in my writing for me. I think the history of writing with learning to write is important to me because it makes me reflect on what I have learned and everyone who has helped me get there. It also allows me to use everything I have learned and put it to use in other classes and in real life. Connecting this to community while reflecting on my writing journey, one thing that helped me so much was discussion with peers. We would do discussion boards and in each class it would bring us all together so much and we would use our writing to convey messages, debate with others, or simply give feedback. Giving peers feedback helps you learn even more and with the feedback you are giving it helps you to understand your writing even more. All the feedback creates a bigger discussion and proves how much writing can be used to create community within people. Not only has learning how to write helped me in school but it has also had an impact on my home life. Being able to communicate with others through writing has helped strengthen my relationship with others. While going off to college and having friends all around the country, the use of writing has become handy. Whether it's just text, snaps, or through Instagram, we are all still able to stay in contact and not miss each other so much. Lastly, my experience with writing has impacted my life over the past three months due to my sister moving overseas. Due to the time difference, we are not able to talk very often, so I have been able to write letters and stay somewhat connected to her. Although it's not ideal, I am making the most out of it and writing has been quite fun. I have gotten to learn a lot about my writing styles outside of the classroom as well. Overall, looking back on my experiences with writing has made me realize how important the little steps are and how much they help get to where I am today.