What I Learned In Composition Class

Composition has been monumental in helping me realize that I wasn’t as good of a writer that I thought I was. Throughout the semester, my papers gradually improved in grades, but also in quality. Prior to this semester, I was unaware that visualization was even a thing, and thought that showing not telling was for frivolous floosies who didn’t know how to write anything meaningful. This class has changed my perspective on the importance of imagery and creating a better experience for the reader.

The first paper I wrote for this class was the Name Paper. I remember sitting down at my computer and cranking out what I thought was a masterpiece. I got the facts on the paper, made a joke or two, and had a concluding sentence that would make Mark Twain quiver. Of course, when I hit the submit button and turned in this work of art, I knew I was going to get an A. That's why when I checked the grade book and saw an 81, the only thing I could think was “Man this new teacher must be some kind of an idiot.” Nevertheless, I would later discover that I deserved that” grade because wow was that a bland paper. There were no transitions, no figurative language, and it was very impersonal. In fact, I'm surprised that Mr. Rauch was
I had been “blessed” with a broken ankle about 3 months before we wrote this paper. While I was pacing around my room, skulking about how unfair my life is, it hit me. My broken ankle could be the key to getting me into college. I looked at the prompts for the common application and saw one of them was to discuss an event that signaled adulthood. By some miracle of God, I was given an event that accomplished just that, and it was still fresh in my mind. This time, when I sat down at my computer, I was sure to make it as interesting as possible for Mr. Rauch. I filled it with transitions, figurative language, an onomatopoeia; anything to make my writing less