Diagnostic essay

Landon Ramirez Laurie Eckhart English 1301 25 January 2012 Diagnostic Writing Prompt 1. How comfortable are you with academic writing? I am quite comfortable with academic writing. I displayed exceptional skill in comprehensive writing when I was in high school, and I feel confident that, despite the time that has passed, my skills are still proficient. I have always taken pride in my spelling, and I have an obsessive compulsion toward proper grammar when writing in a professional manner. 2. What problems do you anticipate the need to address? Although I have my confidence, I do feel that my writings skills are a bit rusty and not on a par with what they once were. Formatting is a particular subject with which I will need to be reacquainted, as my last college was overly lenient when it came to the formats of submitted essays. 3. What would you like to get out of this class (i. e., personal goals)? There are several things I would like to achieve from this class. First, I would definitely like to improve my knowledge of proper grammar. I truly believe that, when trying to display an air of professionalism, the improper use of grammar can be a sign of mediocrity in a person’s character. Proper grammar use can aid a person to sound intellectual and competent. Secondly, I would like to extend my vocabulary. I have found myself sounding redundant too many times. I hope that knowing a vaster range of words will help. Lastly, and perhaps the most important, I would like to learn how to properly format a variety of essay styles. I feel undereducated in this area and would like to know more. 4. How motivated are you to change and improve your writing? I am very motivated. I know that having the knowledge of proper writing can enable me to rise above any competition in presentation, as well as save time in editing. Improving one’s writing skills is always beneficial, and I know there is always room to improve. I want to be taken seriously in the real world, so I figure that improving my writing can aid in achieving that result. 5. Include a descriptive story or two about previous experiences–good or bad. What shaped your current attitude about writing? Honestly, I must say that being in Pre-AP English classes when I was a young teen definitely helped shape how I write. I learned such a vast amount of important skills in those classes that it sometimes became overwhelming, but I would not trade that experience for the world. To this day I still remember the lessons I learned in those classes and hold true to them. Unfortunately, I was not able to study in the AP classes in my later high school years since I had studied abroad for a year, and was not allowed back into the classes when I returned. I then unashamedly attended regular English classes and excelled in them. The teachers and my fellow students were very impressed with me, and that was when I learned the true value of knowing how to write properly. Another major factor that has shaped my writing is my interest in the writing of certain contemporary authors and authors of the 20th century, such as Chuck Palahniuk, Kurt Vonnegut, Charles Bukowski, and Jack Kerouac. These authors have influenced my creative writing more than anything. Each author has his own unique style that helped me develop my own. Some of them break proper format and grammatical rules, but they do it in such effective ways that it enhances their writing. Seeing this enabled me to explore different ways of expression through words.