TOW #27- TOW Reflection

Through this course, I have not only grown as a student, but also a writer. Simply reading through my TOWs and seeing several of my boring, lackadaisical pieces of writing, I have truly seen how I have, "Started from the bottom, and now [I'm] here," (Drake the rapper). TOWs, although I originally thought they were mundane, truly have helped my writing grow. In terms of a progression of writing, through my TOWs I think I have substantially improved my introductions, as well as found my voice in my writing. Previously, I had thought of writing as formulaic, with a question-hook, thesis, and then 3 body paragraphs however through TOWs I have been able to intertwine my own style and rhetoric into a cohesive, much more interesting piece of writing. This progression of my own style is apparent in my TOWs as originally I had not really paid attention to style or opening statements, but now I spend a lot of time mastering my own rhetoric. In addition to improving my own style, I think that I have learned to be more concise with my writing as previously I would make the same point several times in order to get a point across. Through continual, weekly writing, I have been able to grow and work on my repetitious self. In terms of mastering skills, I am not one to believe that I have mastered something. In saying this I mean to say that there is always room for improvement, and I am continually using my skills to progress and grow as a writer and a student. However, if pressed to squeeze out an answer, I'd have to say that I have mastered the art of obtaining solid, relevant information. Often times, I try to shove too much information into a piece of writing simply because I think it is all relevant. However now, I've learned that the cliché that "less is more" truly holds true for much of my own writing. As noted, I feel as though I can continually improve my writing. More specifically I think I need to still work on my conclusions, and thesis statements. Throughout my TOWs I have continually ended them by saying that the piece helped changed my perspective, or gave me a new outlook on some aspect of life. While this holds true, in terms of style, these conclusions are mundane, and "cookie-cutter" as they didn't lead to further discussion or inquisition. Going along with the theme of junior year, there were many highs and lows with my TOWs. Quite frankly sometimes I just wrote without giving much thought to them simply because I had so much other work to get done. However, the other times where I put thought and effort into these TOWs, I was able to refine my comparatively crude style of writing. So while on one hand TOWs were, on occasion, simply done for completion, for the most part, they were a true aid to the growth of my writing and style. 

Get it? Its a TOW-truck