My love for writing began in my third grade English remedial group, where I ended up after failing the benchmark test. Just a year prior, I had moved to the United States and started learning English. While I was happy with my progress until then, I quickly felt discouraged from this failure. At the time, … Continue reading Bilingualism: Its Impact on Writing in your Native Language
As a writing consultant and creative writing student, I have supported students and peers working on (quite literally) countless first drafts all across the board: literary analysis, lab reports, creative nonfiction, personal statements, fiction, cover letters – you name it, and I’ve probably looked at a first draft of it at some point. Which is … Continue reading First Draft Blues
“Personal Statement.” Two simple words when separate, yet when they’re put together, they create an intimidating task. It’s one of the pieces of writing that relies on you to talk about yourself in detail. You have to be the one to take control and lay out all your achievements, ambitions, past experiences, future career goals, … Continue reading Getting Comfortable Writing About Yourself
Dialogue: the most fun part of reading and the bane of my writing. Tackling dialogue can be intimidating, with too many worries about “is this in character?”, “is this something someone would say?”, or “is this something I would say?”. Despite all this, dialogue is an interesting way to convey a character's voice, move the … Continue reading Dialogue in Personal Statements and Narratives
Cultural sensitivity has become more relevant in all kinds of writing due to the impact it has on readers. Because of that, it is important for cultural sensitivity to be accessible to everyone. The best way to define cultural sensitivity is the awareness and knowledge of other cultures and their respective identities. Cultural sensitivity in … Continue reading Making Cultural Sensitivity Accessible to Everyone
It can be frustrating to feel disconnected from the institutional processes that so heavily impact our lives. Maybe you’re passionate about a certain political cause and feel like your representatives aren’t taking appropriate action, or maybe you’ve noticed an ongoing issue on campus that needs addressing. It’s easy to become disillusioned about your ability to … Continue reading Writing a Letter to a Representative
As a Writing Center consultant, I often encounter students who strive to make their work sound “smarter” and more sophisticated. While this inclination is understandable, the quality of your writing does not rely on how extensive your vocabulary is. The importance lies in being able to convey your thoughts in a clear and impactful way. … Continue reading Finding Your Voice: Embracing Authenticity in Writing
Approaching any sort of writing can be incredibly intimidating, but poetry often feels like an especially inaccessible practice, reserved only for those with some sort of mysterious, rare, natural-born talent. As a result, many of us discount poetry. We feel like we don’t fit the mold of what a poet seems to be, so we … Continue reading The Case for Notes App Poetry
The scene starts like this. You’re a little kid, sitting in your car seat in your mom’s car while she pulls up to the Burger King drive thru. You tell her you want the kids' meal and she relays that information into the speaker, speaking as clearly as she can. She has a little bit … Continue reading The Importance of Understanding ELLs
Throughout my time as a consultant at the Writing Center I have found one specific problem that comes up for many students across many different disciplines. This problem is simply how to begin writing without all the fear that comes with it. Oftentimes students will tell me that they don’t know how to start, or … Continue reading Write for Yourself, Then for a Reader
from the writing center at virginia commonwealth university 