grad essay - large nameless quiet friend

�7#o�#K��.�� x�. Ny*��ykyy�yyyyyyMy Major courses: Sophomore Composition (U.M.K.C.) Introduction to Drama (U.M.K.C.) Introduction to Fiction Beginning Fiction Writing Introduction to Literary Studies Regional and Social Dialects The Writing of Fiction (302) The Writing of Fiction (303) Medieval English Literature Survey of American Literature (I) Survey of British Literature (I) Survey of British Literature (II) Twentieth-Century American Literature The most valuable English classes I have had at the University of Missouri-Columbia have been the ones in which I felt a sense of exploration rather than a need for specific information. The goal was not, as one professor put it, �to learn everything there is to know about Antony and Cleopatra,� but to learn how to read everything insightfully, to learn how to write clearly. These classes included Introduction to Literary Studies, with Douglas Hunt; The Writing of Fiction, with Trudy Lewis; and Twentieth-Century American Literature (Contemporary Fiction), with M. Gilbert Porter. Introduction to Literary Studies helped me tear down a long-standing wall between me and classes about literature. Having been somewhat opinionated about writing since prepubescence, I entered the class defensively. I still carried vestiges of a childish attitude that classes about literature and writing would only �mess up� some kind of natural sense I thought I had. I was amazed and gratified to discover in the class a feeling of reading as exploration. Once, when called upon to share with my classmates how I had gone about writing a paper that had turned out well, I discussed how I had come to think of the process as an adventure game such as one plays on a computer: you have to look patiently at every clue in every room of the castle, turn over every stone, dive into any stream, confront ogres and dragons without fear. And eventually, you start to see patterns, and so a thesis is born.... The class helped me understand how writing a paper�or writing anything, I suppose�is playing a role, and clearing your mind so as to focus sharply on that role is exciting and rewarding�it can take you places you never imagined before. The Writing of Fiction stands as one of the most stimulating classes I�ve ever had. Perhaps the most valuable aspect of this class was practice. Every class period, we would write extemporaneously in response to questions on the blackboard. This practice helped me combat my fear of making immediate decisions about putting words on paper. The focus of the class was on classmates� helping each other. Critiques centered on what aspects of a student�s piece were working well, and what aspects seemed to want improvement�not on what was good and bad. In a different fiction writing class, which I had before this one, the focus seemed to be on what not to do, and on how to write �a publishable story in the �90�s.� In Lewis�s class, we tended to accentuate the positive, which made the whole process of reading and writing considerably more bright and free. We were encouraged to experiment; writing need not be imprisoned by current fashion. I do not mean to imply that I learned to write �just whatever.� We explored tradition and myth, the structure of stories, the function of storytelling, various authors� attitudes toward the writing process�subjects which had often intimidated me before suddenly became intriguing and relevant to my own work. Twentieth-Century American Literature, which I am taking now, has helped my writing and thinking become markedly clearer. Having written for this class some papers to fairly exacting standards, I feel I can make grammatical and thematic sense much more efficiently now. I look back at some of my written work from just last semester, and I wonder, �How could I have missed that error?� I have abandoned any remaining prejudice that writing should be easy�and in deflating that illusion, I have found writing to be more fun, less threatening; I see it as something I can work on, concretely, on purpose. In addition, exploring various contemporary novels, comparing and contrasting their elements of realism, metafiction, post-modernism, humor, etcetera, has supplied much food for thought about different ways to approach a subject. In delving into characters� views of their worlds, I have found new perspective on my view of mine. What sets these classes apart from others is how I will take them with me. I have had many fascinating and educational classes. Every class I have taken is a vital part of the whole of my experience which has brought me to where I am now. I cannot say exactly how each class will continue to affect me, consciously and unconsciously. But I can imagine asking myself, as I pursue my writing after graduation, �What would Doug Hunt say about this piece I�ve written which is probably not completely honest or supported?� Or, as M. Gilbert Porter might ask: �What part of this piece could possibly be misunderstood?� Or, versus a case of writer�s block: �What�s a question Trudy Lewis would have asked us to write about?� These classes equipped me with a lot of sharp, new tools. The most important tool is an attitude, an attitude not of right and wrong, but of exploring possibilities; not of limiting myself to the correct words, but of relishing the way words feel, and seeking out new ways to play with them, and thus to interact with my community. 561-590 Writing Assignment for Assessment of Graduating Seniors 561-590 uv�so a thesis is born�. The class helped me understand how writing a paper�or writing anything, I suppose�is playing a role, and clearing your mind so as to focus sharply on that role is exciting and rewarding�it can take you places you never imagined before. The Writing of Fiction stands as one of the most stimulating classes I�ve ever had. 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