Story Audit

Looking back through my work this semester offered insight into myself.

Contrasting my essay on Dean Koontz, which lacked several important writing forms, to my relatively organized and effective multimedia essay shows my progress throughout this course. My stylistic and thematic choices however are consistent across the four essays, which is either a blessing or a curse. Assessing my writing has made me realize that my thoughts are an extension of my progressive, consistent personality.

One amazing thing about humans is their capacity for growth, and my progress throughout this semester exemplifies my growth.

Reading through my initial essay for this course, its quality shocked me. There were no in-text citations for Innocence, which mortifies me now. The core idea similarly appears only at the conclusion of the entire essay. The core idea was only vaguely stated as “it does not seem so naïve an idea to have wisdom, peace, and love, Dean Koontz’s idea of human innocence” (Dean Koontz on the Idea of Human Innocence). Throughout this semester, I learned crucial writing techniques that immensely improved my skills. I went on to review my multimedia essay, my most recent piece of writing. It was more organized, and it flowed better as a result. There were correctly cited sources and evidences that supported my thoughts through strong analysis. My growth throughout this course demonstrates wonderfully the human capacity for change, but that is not to say that some aspects of my writing remained consistent.

Humans distinguish themselves as individuals through their style, which is true of my writing identifying me.

Stylistically, all of my essays start with flashy vocabulary to attract readers and establish my intelligence. Words like “nondescript”, “fusion”, “vie”, and “pervasive” appear in the opening sentences of all of my essays, from the beginning of the semester to the end (Dean Koontz, Insight of the Transition, A Leader among the Institutionalized, Use the System). Depending on the audience, it can be effective or unattractive, and that may be an issue of my individuality that can be changed. Another trait common in all of my essays is the presence of media that doesn’t serve a true analytical purpose. Aesthetic media can be good or bad, but I included it as a component of my thought process. I have also always included some moral conclusion for the relevance of what I am writing, as I am trying to do in this audit. It is part of who I am to think about the moral implications of opinions, and so it is present in my writing.

Writing encompasses the writer’s human nature.

The progression of one’s writing shows growth and stability in their personality. I demonstrate my accumulated learning and my incorrigible devices in my essays. My writing stems from my identity. At the semester’s beginning, I wrote that I am interested in hearing other people’s stories, and I enjoy that my writing’s progression throughout this course tells some of my story as a human being.     “Human Beings” Photograph. “The Philosophy of Human Nature – The Smithsonian Associates.” The Smithsonian Institute., 6 April, 2013. Web. 11 Dec. 2015.