English 1010 Experience

“Write. Rewrite. When not writing or rewriting, read. I know of no shortcuts.”
—Larry L. King

Writing effectively is a collection of skills that constantly require maintenance and the acknowledgement that expansion of those skills is infinite. Just as learning is something that never ceases, as long as someone lives there will be a continual progression in an author’s methodology and approach. The flow of ideas with reading and writing as the conduit will never go out of style.

What you write will forever influence others and be subject to criticism and judgement from readers. Before taking this writing class I was always proud of my somewhat rough-around-the-edges, cerebral, and stylistic individual voice in my writing. My tone was one that I rarely ever thought who my readers might be, a voice that was influenced and expressed for myself.

 There is something to be said about your individual voice as a writer, but there is also something to be said about a writer that is also willing to set the scene with the audience in mind. To write in many sets of dialects to reach whomever the target audience was, and not necessarily hold their hand, but to hold their attention and peak their interest. To express yourself in a way that transfers efficiently for the reader in mind. My restaurant review on the sushi bistro “Sushi Express,” was one of those assignments where that theme really connected with me. It was a format that I still had the ability to stylistically express myself the way I like to write and read others that inject plenty of flair into their subject. However, all of that style will fall on deaf ears if you do not consider your audience and explain your subject in the best way for the majority of readers. What better way to be inclusive towards something you’re passionate about? Surely if you were talking to a friend you would take the time to explain something you’re passionate about to them. Cover your bases and consider the reader constantly so you can uplift them to your level.

In my restaurant review there were a couple instances that I ended up revising my paper through peer review, gaining that perspective of what my potential audience might be and gauge their understanding of Japanese cuisine. With content and the off-putting stigma attached to the term ‘raw fish.’ I made sure that I revised my restaurant review to start off with the in-depth description of a type of roll that has no raw ingredients and is cooked! I have also made small punctuation and grammatical revisions from peer review. I learned the power of the semicolon, one of the best heroes to help in the battle against my run-on sentences and independent clauses.

Here is the passage I was sure to bring up with the audience in mind, as well as utilizing the semicolon quite masterfully.       

“One of the obligatory rolls I always order is definitely one jackpot of a sushi roll; appropriately named the Las Vegas roll, this roll is for the very skittish and picky eater that has never tried sushi before, or has previously had a bad sushi experience. This roll does not consist of raw fish; it is a Tempura-cooked (deep fried) sushi roll. Inside you will find bit of spicy tuna (mild sriracha and real akami tuna), a moderately sized sliver of ripe avocado, a segment of soft white cream cheese (to complement the spicy tuna), along with a precise thin cut of crisp cucumber, and some imitation krab that is a dominant component of the ever-popular California roll; all of this rolled in sushi rice and deep fried to a light golden outer crust with a decoratively rounded zig-zag of their fabulous spicy mayo on top. Then what do you have? You have an impressed and content friend sitting across from you, wanting to pull the lever for this Las Vegas roll again and again.”

I believe that adding this description early was a good example to start with to break the ice and disprove the notion that all sushi is raw. I also made sure to explain the similarity to the California roll that is widely known and liked by even the most unadventurous people that have tried sushi. Adding the semicolon where needed was very vital to setting a flow to my description that has a lot of different words, catering to the reader to help them understand, conjoining fragments to add detail to my description in a structured way.

    Throughout this class, I also learned how to utilize MLA citation. This knowledge served me very well in writing my research paper on The Stigma of Mental Illness for my Politics class. (Which can be found at the link provided)

       This class has also helped me keep many factors in mind when I compose e-mails in my day-to-day work setting. The e-mail project lessons provided formal details that are not practiced often enough, but valued quite a bit when put to good use. I always make it clear to whom I am addressing in e-mails, and refer to them in a professional manner if I am not quite familiar with them enough to simply address them by their first name.

My restaurant review can be found here. Or you can click the banner below. It addresses my strengths stylistically with my personal voice as a writer. It also shows the shift and expansion in my mentality as a writer; by learning to write for my audience rather than only writing for myself.