This is the last piece we had to write for Writing Studio. It was a reflection of our semester in the class.

Writing Reflection

I feel as though I have improved steadily during my time throughout writing studio at Ringling College of Art and Design. I believe I have been on the same literary skill level for a good while now but before could always get away without fully utilizing it. College though, is not a place to not give 100%. This class made me feel like I really can be an excellent writer when I actually take the time and write something to the best of my ability. Now I do not feel like I have learned much on the side of technical writing skill but I think I have learned how to best utilize the skills that I already have. Although I do not feel as though I have learned much in the way of technical writing skills I do feel like I have grown as a writer. I pushed myself on everything I wrote and now am much more confident in my writing abilities.

The three formal papers where all very different and worked the writers mind in different ways. I found the hardest of the three to be the second formal paper. It was a long term comparative research paper and was much more demanding than the past few papers. I found the most enjoyable formal paper to the first where we had to describe a piece of art work in beautiful, descriptive, flowing language. I found it fun to be able to use my imagination and describe in a creative way what was going on in the picture. The formal papers where the main assignments, since they lasted longer, that I feel helped me improve the most as a writer.

Now one thing I disliked from the class were the online discussion posts. I felt as though the system was buggy and annoying to use and I found the online readings that we were meant to discuss were drab and repetitive. The group and individual presentations were unenjoyable as well. I think the class did not spend as much time preparing for them as they should have and thus they were slightly juvenile and only scratched the surface of the topic they were presenting.

The final portfolio criteria was clear as day. It said exactly what items to put online. The guidelines for the portfolio were actually great. They were simple and made it easy to choose what pieces. As writer I am picky about what work I feel was successful so it was not hard to choose what pieces to put online.

Overall my experience in writing studio was good. It pushed me as a writer while at the same time not taking up all my time that I could be doing art. I feel more confident in my writing and know that I have the ability now to write an excellent work of literature. The projects were clear and overall interesting. I do not have many complaints about writing studio and Ringling College of Art and Design.