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Writing and the College Experience |
The college experience involves a lot of writing. For example, you may write essays, research papers, creative fiction, e-mail, response papers to readings, book reviews, and analyses. Since the only way to get better at writing is to write, a brief autobiography is required in this module so you can begin to develop college-level writing abilities. In this case, you start off writing as a subject matter "expert"- the life and times of YOU are a topic you know quite well. But it is also necessary for you to know yourself even better. By working on an autobiography you will not only be writing, but also doing self-assessment and self-reflection. An autobiography is personal and should reflect who you are. Be creative and be yourself. Here is a list of topics your autobiography will most likely include:
- Your name
- Your background
- Why you are in college
- What you want to accomplish
- Your goals in life
- Your strengths
- Your weaknesses
- What interests you
- A summary of the self-assessment forms you completed
- Your future goals and how you see your future evolving
- Your financial constraints
- Reflections on the following questions:
- How can I graduate with the skills I need?
- How can I obtain the finances I need in a way that enhances my education and life goals?
- How can I use my time most efficiently?
- How can I experience the social aspects of college in a way that most benefits my life goals?
This kind of writing is an opportunity for you to develop new ways of seeing, knowing, and creating meaning. Begin thinking about how you would like to tell your story and how the reader of your story might interpret it. Remember, a good writer always considers the audience or reader - writing is a kind of conversation or dialogue between writer and reader.
The objectives for this module will help you understand what you should expect from yourself. By the time you finish writing a short autobiography, you will have:
- completed self-assessment forms to help determine your learning style and personality type
- outlined your autobiography
- completed a first draft and revised your autobiography
- demonstrated correct punctuation and grammar
1. First, complete one or more self-assessment processes. Links to these resources are listed below. You should write a summary of your results after using these tools.
Learning Styles Questionnaire
http://istudy.tlt.psu.edu/ls/Questionnaire.htmlStudy Skills Survey
http://www.d.umn.edu/kmc/student/loon/acad/strat/study_strat_enr.htmlLearning Styles
http://www.mtsu.edu/~studskl/hd/learn.htmlKeirsey Temperament Sorter
http://www.advisorteam.com/temperament_sorter/register.asp?partid=1Holland's Personality Types
http://www.careerkey.org/asp/your_personality/hollands_6_personalitys.asp
2. Another tool available to you is "Writing Assistance" or OWLS. This is not a bird - OWLS stands for Online Writing Lab Sites. These helpful locations provide things like punctuation rules and writing suggestions. Take a look some or all of the OWLS listed below. If you like the OWLS, use them while you are writing your autobiography. Remember to use them for future writing projects and assignments as well. This list is just a sample of some of the OWLS that are available on the Internet. You can use a search engine, like Google (www.google.com), to locate additional resources.Purdue
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/Penn State Altoona Campus
http://www.psu.edu/dept/altoonalrc/owl.htmPenn State Hazelton Campus
http://www.hn.psu.edu/StudentServices/owl.htmPenn State Mont Alto Campus
http://www.ma.psu.edu/StudentServices/16685.htm?cn268Penn State York Campus
http://www2.yk.psu.edu/learncenter/owl.phpPenn State Libraries
http://www.libraries.psu.edu/instruction/students/rhetorical.htm
3. Next, read the autobiographies of our virtual students.
4. Now, complete these two activities which will help you to brainstorm ideas and think about what you want to include in your autobiography.
5. Next, choose an outlining strategy. First read the information about outlining, then look at the different styles of outlines and choose the one you prefer.
6. Finally, you are ready to write your autobiography. Using a word processor and all of the information you have collected and generated from the previous steps, write your autobiography. After you have finished writing your first draft, re-read it paying special attention to grammar, spelling, wording, content, and organization. Ask yourself the following questions:
- Did I include all of the requested information (the list of topics is at the beginning of this Web page)?
- Did I use information I learned about myself from completing the activities and on-line guides on study habits and personality types?
- Is my paper organized logically? Does it make sense?
- Did I check my spelling and grammar and consult references when necessary?
Next, re-write your autobiography and include the improvements you have made to the original draft.
When you are satisfied with your work, print a final copy and ask someone else to read it and tell you what they think. Finally, you may want to re-write your paper again and include some or all of their suggestions and ideas. When you are finished, you should have a clearer idea of what your strengths and weaknesses are and where you are headed with your college career.
The materials for the iStudy for Success modules were originally developed at the Jack P. Royer Center for Learning and Academic Technologies.
Additional materials were developed and assistance was provided by the University Learning Centers (ULC), University Park.
The ANGEL version of the modules is being administered by TLT. For more information about iStudy for Success modules, please contact tlt@psu.edu.
The Pennsylvania State University ©2004 All rights reserved. Please read the entire license agreement before distributing the modules, and before modifying and sharing the content of the modules. This statement MUST accompany this module and all derivative works.