Reflective Essay Sample on Writing Skills How to Progress

Reflective Essay Sample on Writing Skills How to Progress Writing skills are very fundamental skills for all kinds of purposes, but especially when writing essays. It is very difficult to write a good essay without the proper writing skills. Although everyone claims he or she can write a good essay, many people lack the needed skills that make an essay a polished piece of writing. The difference between professional writers and the everyday person is that the professional writer has writing skills that makes his or her essays stand out. Writing skills are very essential when writing any kind of an essay. Many students do not possess the good writing skills that are very important. Students should admit to themselves that this is among their greatest weaknesses and seek help from professionals who are very competent in their essay writing skills. Good writing skills involve the ability to write an essay that is free from grammatical errors, with a good content as well as style and structure. A good writer must understand and progress through the writing process, which includes prewriting, writing, revision, and proofreading. Part of the writing process is in knowing who the intended audience is and the purpose of the writing. In many cases, students fail to understand their audience or how to relate to that audience. If the student knows in advance that the writing is to target a specific audience, then the student needs to know what interest that audience and what kinds of opinions that audience is likely to have on certain subjects. Students start writing their essays without first identifying their audience which is very wrong. Another fallacy that students often commit is failing to create an outline that will assist them in organizing their thoughts, thus ensuring that no points are left out when writing the essay. An outline helps to ensure that the essay has a clear flow and that every point is well explained. Besides the outline, students must take seriously the use of good grammar as well as utilization of appropriate stylistic techniques. Essays written by professionals are always reader friendly because the professionals make use of headings, subheadings, and listing whenever possible. These strategies help the reader to follow the writer’s train of thought. Moreover, readers find it easier to read a page that has been broken down to small paragraphs than a page with long paragraphs. An essay that is easily scanned is quite attractive to the reader. These are some of the writing skills that many students do not possess. Although professional writers utilize these strategies, students can learn them as well. However, they must spend time and diligence in understanding what makes good writing, and then they must practice. How to Write a Reflective Essay on Writing Skills An individual who wishes to become an accomplished writer must learn to reflect on his writing. An effective strategy is to develop a writing portfolio. This is a collection of writing the person does over a period of time. Part of that portfolio is writing reflective essays. For example, if the individual writes a story, he can then write a reflective essay on that story. He can critique himself on his plot structure and character development. He can discuss what he was trying to accomplish and how well he succeeded. If the individual is critiquing his general writing skills, then he might choose a piece he wrote at the beginning of the school year and compare it to a piece he wrote at the end of the school year. He might note improvements he has made in vocabulary development, sentence structure, organization of ideas, and development of a thesis. In summary, the purpose of a reflective essay on writing is to examine one’s own writing to identify strengths and weaknesses and to establish goals for improvement.