My Final Entry

To be perfectly honest, this course has been a real challenge. The medium of blogging was initially so foreign to me that I had difficulties writing. At first, I had absolutely no idea what a blog should contain. I thought that blogging was just for journaling thoughts, but now I realize that there is more to it than that. When done correctly, blogs can be as sophisticated as a formal paper. Even writers for The New York Times have blogs. I think once I realized that formal papers could be completely virtual and even contain the word “I”, this class became less stressful, and my writing improved.

When this class began, my attempts at writing a proficient post were dismal. The knowledge that my work would be read and judged by a larger audience had a profound impact on my writing. I found myself punching the backspace key more frequently because I was highly conscious of my word choices. For some reason, knowing that anyone in the world could potentially read my posts was extremely discomforting. Initially, I let this feeling of unease take control, and my posts suffered. They were short and lacked deeper analysis. I was so concerned with how I would be perceived that I refused to give my opinion. Eventually, it was this concern that actually improved my writing. Having an awareness of a larger audience made my thoughts more logical and concise. Additionally, I would have to say that this class has taught me to read critically.

Although this virtual medium improved my writing, I think I still prefer formal papers. My preference is solely due to my familiarity and comfort with the classic style of writing (i.e. type and print). Even though Blogspot offers a text box complete with spell check, I still chose write all of my posts in a Word document. For some reason a Word document has a certain aura about it. It evokes a particular style of writing. For me, that style becomes a formal one. The text window in Blogspot on the other hand, reminds me of instant messaging and therefore seems much less formal. I fell into this trap for my very first post. Instead of writing in Word first, I wrote directly onto the Blogspot page. Needless to say, my post was far below the standard which some of my classmates achieved. Quickly, I learned and my writing improved. I am not trying to say that I did not enjoy writing in a different medium. I only meant that this was a big change and it took some getting used to. Ultimately, I believe that this was a great class and I hope to take something similar in the near future.