Reflective Letter
Being an academic writer is quite challenging and demanding, thus, one need to gain appropriate knowledge to produce a desirable work and to maintain consistency. A successful academic writer should understand that using other author’s work without their consent is wrong and can damage one’s career in writing. One of the skills that I have learned in academic writing is to avoid plagiarizing one’s work. Through our lecture, I have learned that one can be dismissed from college due to plagiarism fraud. Students are advised to be ethical in writing so that they can boost their career, if they want to excel in their academics.
My skill level in writing was extremely low at the beginning of the semester, despite being attracted to the course. I did not know what plagiarism was, and neither could I understand any format of writing. I thought that writing neat paragraphs was enough to be called an academic writer. However, I was able learn more about academic writing by undertaking a thorough research on how to become an excellent academic writer. The college library has numerous books that are resourceful on writing academic papers, proposals, thesis, and dissertation.
With time, I have been able to develop the writing skill and I can explain to anyone about plagiarism and how it can affect one’s career in academic writing. I have successfully managed to follow the regulations on citations, referencing, incorporating direct quotes,as well as paraphrasing.Besides, our lecturer is always available for any assistance. Plagiarism is not always a grave mistake, as it depicts that one has done a research on a given topic. The only mistake is forgetting to honor borrowed ideas through proper in-text citation and subsequent reference.
I am satisfied with the level that I have attained in academic writing so far because I know that I am more mature in writing than I was at the starting of the semester. Being satisfied with what I have achieved motivates me to work harder in order to gain more knowledge in this course. Most students fail in their studies because they are never satisfied with the little that they have attained. Every journey in life involves a process, and I am willing to follow the process to attain my desired goal in academic writing.
Every skill that one learns has a room for improvement. I am looking forward to improve on formatting, as there are other methods that I am yet to explore. I have grasped the common formatting styles, which include APA, MLA, as well as Chicago styles. I am yet to explore other formatting styles, which are utilized in the contemporary writing. However, one cannot be satisfied by using only a few methods of formatting, as there are numerous clients who may require other formats that fit their work. Students should understand that academic writing is not for everyone. Thus, they should consult widely to assess their appropriateness in the course.
I am planning to make academic writing a long-term career;hence, most of the ideas that I have gained in this course would be utilized for the future endeavors. I am contemplating on writing a book on public administration, and most of the information will be from popular administration theorists, who cannot be overlooked in this course. Additionally, I want to assisting policy makers to write policy papers, which offer policy recommendations to a particular group of people. Writing policy papers necessitates one to understand all the tactics of writing in order to convince stakeholders to support given projects. Writing a policy paper incorporates personal opinions, as well as borrowed ideas.