Writing is very similar to baking a cake. The first thing you have to do is make sure you have all of your ingredients. For baking this means cake mix, oil, eggs, water, baking pan etc. For writing this means an introductory sentence, a thesis, a claim, evidence, analysis, and the list can go on forever.

After acquiring all of the ingredients, one is able to start mixing everything together carefully. Keep in mind, you want to mix the cake ingredients so that they mix well when blended. For example, mix dry ingredients together and wet ingredients together. This is the same way I start to mix my “literary ingredients.” I add each element so that it flows well and makes since to the reader.

After mixing you are ready to bake! Baking for me while writing means getting my essay/paper peer reviewed a few times to get a fresh point of view and to make sure it is free of errors. This equivalent to taste testing your batter before putting it in the oven. Just to be extra sure everything comes out right.

Once your cake is done baking it is time to ice! Icing a cake does not make it only look great, but taste great too! At this point, I make sure  that I have a correct bibliography as well as in-text citations to go along with them. This is essentially the icing on the cake.

My writing is similar to baking a cake. It is simply a process, where everything must be done correctly in order for things to come out right.

Through out the writing process and the writing assignments throughout the semester I have been able to develop my writing skills tremendously. Furthermore, I have been able to refine minor writing  skills like comma use, sentence fragments, and creating descriptive/informative titles. Later lessons in the semester like pronoun case helped clear up elementary/high school confusion. At the end of the semester I will be able to use everything I’ve learned throughout the semester to edit my paper and correct anything I lost points for the first time. I’ve noticed that I always lose small points for things I know, like commas and following MLA guidelines.  I think it is extremely important to review previously turned in essays because you can learn from mistakes and more importantly grow as writer.

Hey Sis,

After a long deep thought process, I finally decided on a research question. I recently read some tips/advice on how to form a good research question. These tips included things like not making it a yes or no question and making sure it is something people actually want to learn about. I also chose my topic because I do not know much about it. My research question is as follows: How does poverty affect academic achievement and student performance? How can proper student funding improve student performance? This topic is important to me because I think it is necessary to note how some students are underserved and do not have the same opportunities as their more affluent counterparts. As a result of this it is unfair to judge students’ performance without considering important factor like growing up in poverty. Furthermore, it is even more shocking to look at the link between poorly funded schools and student performance. It just so happen that impoverished students also attend schools that are not properly funded. This to me is a very important issue and deserves the attention of media as well the general population. I am very excited to learn more!

With Love,

Big Sis

Hey Little Sis,

Hop you are doing well! How is 5th grade treating you? I currently have a dilemma. I have a big writing project coming up in my Rhet 105 (english) class and I have no idea what to write about. I want to write about something interesting, something that I won’t get bored with, and something that I have not written about before. I remember in high middle school I wrote a huge research paper on abortion (pro choice or pro life), but now I want to do something completely fresh and something that is not dated. I was thinking about writing about the Black Lives Matter movement or the Prison Industrial Complex. I think these topics are something everyone should be knowledgeable about. On the other hand, cousin Kyla gave me the idea about unpaid college athletes. This is a very popular topic nowadays and I think it will be really cool to research since I attend a big 10 University. What do you think will be more interesting to read/research about? I need your help. Best of luck with school, gymnastics, and cheerleading!

Best,

Jahzae Wooten