Anthony T. Brenes Writing History Response My writing career began with a rough start. In elementary school I struggled greatly.

I was continuously frustrated and was unable to grasp the material. When I took my first standardized writing test in third grade, the results came back as unable to be scored because my writing was so poor. In fourth grade, because of motivation from my parents and a teacher Ms. Scott I began to read more advanced books. Ms. Scott was a great influence on me and pushed me to perform at my best. She taught remedial reading and writing, and it was in her class that I began to read more difficult books that interested me such as mysteries and fantasies. As I read, more things began to suddenly click in my mind. I became engaged and read several entire series in my schools library. Once I began reading more, I began to excel in other academic areas especially writing. This was because as I became exposed to new writing styles they gave me as a student more ideas for my own work. I had an explosion of academic improvement and everything fell into place. By my fifth grade year, I was placed into classes for advanced students. It is amazing that within one year I went from being a below average student to an advanced student. This experience of being pushed academically by Ms. Scott is one that I think has greatly contributed to my success today. Elementary school was a critical time and if it were not for her I may have continued to struggle throughout school. Writing still remains to be the subject that I am least confident in, but I have learned that I am capable of succeeding from my previous experiences as long as I work diligently at it. My writing career in middle school was much less eventful. I continued to take classes for advanced students and performed well but did not experience the same significant level of improvement as before. Two teachers who did influence me during this time though were Ms.

Coke and Mr. Hughes, both of whom exposed me to new writing styles. Ms. Coke was an English teacher and exposed me to descriptive creative writing which I greatly enjoyed. She had us try new things and use our imagination to write fictional fantasies. Writing creative ideas from my own mind drew me into writing as I documented my ideas on paper. Mr. Hughes was a science teacher that exposed me to a more technical form of writing involved in projects such as science fair where I had to present my work by writing reports on the background information, process I took, and the completed results of my project. Participating in activities such as science fair was critical for me since I am pursuing a degree in Civil Engineering in which technical writing is a key aspect. Becoming exposed to technical writing in middle school laid down the foundation for my future success in science subject matters. Once I reached high school I experienced another explosion of academic talent. It began in my sophomore English class where my teacher Ms. Garvey stressed the importance of grammar and punctuation. I greatly valued this since none of my previous teachers had. This significantly improved my writing as I learned to use punctuation and grammar to further support my ideas. Punctuation can drastically alter the meaning and ease of reading of any written piece. After taking a course with Ms. Garvey, I began to better utilize both grammar and punctuation as writing tools. Previous to her course, I did not value them greatly, but now I do. Additionally in this course I completed my first research paper where I learned how to collect and organize information to support an argument. These same skills were later further developed in my AP English class also taught by Ms. Garvey. Ms. Garvey has had the largest influence on me as a writer thus far. Taking her classes significantly improved both my reading and writing scores. I took the SAT before and after her class and my scores improved greatly between the two exams

because in her class I learned how to better analyze literature and to properly utilize punctuation and grammar. Ms. Garvey also helped me with writing I completed outside of classes. She assisted me in writing my college and scholarship applications and resumes. I would write a first draft response and then she would go over them with me and help me edit and improve them. I owe her greatly for the time she spent working with me and the valuable skills she taught me as my English teacher such as supporting my ideas with examples and elaboration. Ms. Garvey showed me how writing was necessary and useful across different disciplines, and how it can be applied to real world situations. Since I have begun college, most of the writing I have completed has been technical. As an Engineering student, I will continue to have to produce technical writing pieces from this point forward. I have learned a great deal of new things already about technical writing including new formats, writing concisely, citing sources differently, and incorporating data in order to support a conclusion. Technical writing must be my main focus and I must become proficient at it. As an engineer, it is imperative that I am able to communicate ideas to other engineers and to individuals that lack a technical background alike in order to be successful. In general writing is my least favorite subject, but I understand its importance and its application. I still continue to struggle in English courses to this day, but my experiences thus far have led me to believe that I am a very analytical writer rather than a creative writer. In the past I have succeeded most in the areas where I am able to analyze information and organize my thoughts rather than generate original creative ideas. However, thinking in this way may be useful to me working in the field of engineering. When writing I like to approach it by first organizing my thoughts into a rough outline and laying out a plan for the piece. I then use this as

a template to form my thoughts and expand upon my ideas as I progress through the writing. Once I finish a first draft I review it and edit it in order to ensure clarity and effectiveness. Although writing may be my least favorite subject, I am motivated to do well in it and excel because I realize its importance and application.