Will Grant

Professor Marcum
16 February 2016
Personal Analysis of Literacy Elements
The basic definition of literacy is having the ability to read and write, but I know there is
more meaning to literacy than just that. Inquiring the skills of literacy and developing an
understanding for its elements is an important life goal. There are many aspects of learning how
to read and write that are important to comprehend. These aspects may influence the way we
distinguish functions of literacy over a lifetime. Many people overlook these factors of literacy
because often people dont have much interest in it, but I view it as a necessary tool that helps to
shape your knowledge and perceptions on things and provide more insight for yourself. In this
memoir, I will discuss my own personal factors of literacy by analyzing the development my
understanding through reflection and comparison. I will go into detail on my thoughts about
reading and writing and describe some past experiences that determined my view on the concepts
of literacy, and also talk about the opportunities that come along with using it, i.e. discourse
communities.
At a young age, when I was around 4 years old, learning to read and spell out words
became very natural to me. It all made sense, for example when I learned my ABCs, each letter
looked like how they were supposed to sound and be pronounced. Im not sure why, but this
seemed normal in my mind and made it extremely easy for me to learn very quickly. It wasnt
too long before I could combine these letters into words that I understood and could make sense
of. I remember soon after learning how to spell and read, I tried to read every word I saw looking

at signs going down the road in the car, to show my parents that I could read things and try to
impress them. I also started getting into many childrens books that my parents would buy me or
would find in the library; these were always fun and easy reads for me to try. This was probably
the only point in my life where reading and writing was fun to me, because it was all new and
very interesting and I wanted to prove to others, especially my parents, that I could comprehend
all of this stuff. But, it wasnt too long after when I completely understood how to grasp the ideas
of reading and writing, and had to start using it for school and work, that I soon became very
bored of it, and wanted to try different things.
Numerous people may view writing differently from each other and have their own
personal opinions on how they feel about it. My first thoughts about writing is that it is an
important method of communication and tool for expanding literate peoples knowledge and
thoughts. Doing this in writing requires good skills in grammar and rhetoric to try to make sense
of phrases when you string words together. In Emily Strassers work: Writing What Matters: A
Students Struggle to Bridge The Academic/Personal Divide, she contests against the idea that
beginning writing courses should only teach the basic ideas of grammar and spelling, and that a
students opinion should be left out entirely. She writes The devices of grammar and rhetoric
remain superficial skills until a writer employs them to express important and powerful feelings,
thoughts, and ideas. (Strasser 1-2) I, for one, agree with this belief. Many may know how to
write, but I feel like its not taken for granted by enough people. Writing is a great way to share
information and resources to others who might be interested in it. Personally, I dont think Im a
very good writer and honestly never really enjoyed writing, but I do want to improve because
these days it is used in almost any high paying occupation. I remember the first time I wrote
papers and I absolutely detested it and felt like I was always struggling. Even now I still struggle

at writing some things and have a hard time following rubrics exactly, but that doesnt mean Im
going to give up at trying. I really want to improve and try to expand my vocabulary and make it
so that my writing isnt dull so that people will actually want to read it and enjoy it. This could
take much time and a great amount of practicing for me to achieve. If I can make this possible
for myself, then I may look at writing more differently than I do now and try to enjoy it further.
Improving my writing skills to a point where Ill start to like writing and do really well at it is a
major goal for my growth as a student. Currently, I feel like my writing skills, style, and
technique are mediocre and it still needs much more improvement to reach the level I want it to
be at. For me to reach this level, I must pinpoint my weaknesses and attempt to transpose them
into strengths. I need to motivate myself to try to use a stronger vocabulary, better sentence
structuring, and attempt to write at a scholarly level.
Past experiences using writing may show a lot about how I may really think about using
it, especially the important ones. One piece that Ive written that I feel was very important to me
is called the Whole Life Concept Report, which is a paper that I had to write for a grade in my
ENGR 1201 class last semester. What made this paper important was that I had to write basically
about my entire life, past, present and future, focusing on my passion for deciding to go to
engineering school. I had to describe my influences from family, acquaintances, and school out
of my past. There needed to be a good explanation on why I want to be an engineer and what I
plan to do in this field during and after school. In going about writing this piece, I had to think
very deeply about my inner passion for engineering and discuss what I want to do with it. I had
to extract childhood memories and memories growing up to explain how I became influenced to
being an engineer. My main influence was definitely my family. My father and most of my aunts
and uncles are engineers and some of them have some pretty cool jobs, so this certainly had an

impact on me. Also, Ive naturally been quite good at math and science so that was another plus
for wanting to become an engineer, because those two subjects are the main focus in this field.
Overall, writing this paper was very difficult and it took a lot of thought to process into words. I
feel like I could have done better on the paper too, because the feedback I received from it wasnt
all that great, but if I could write it again and for a grade I would have definitely put more
thought and research into it to make it better.
Ones own method of writing can determine a lot about how much they understand it. for
example, my writing process when I write research papers or essays as being fairly simple, but I
also feel like it could be shaped towards a more studious level. Most of the time when I write
papers I just write about everything thats required to be in the piece according to whatever
rubric Im following. Almost all the topics I write about are not written by choice, but are found
and given to me by teachers in school that I must write on for a grade. Many rubrics Ive been
following will have a question or set of questions I must answer to get the point of the topic
across to my readers. With these types of rubrics, Ill just brainstorm and answer each question
until I run out of things to say. After brainstorming, I would then attempt to make an outline of
my piece using the answers I found from the questions off the rubric. My outline is pretty basic,
usually consisting of an introductory thesis, body, and closing paragraph. After making an outline
I would then begin writing my draft papers, and I would follow the outline as I write. Many
topics that people would write about also requires researching to gather information needed to
explain them. Most research I find is either on the internet or in books, and I try to make sure I
cite the sources that I use so that I may add them to my final draft. After writing my draft and
making sure I have all the information I need, I then start my revision process. When I revise, I
first go through and try to locate any common mistakes, like incorrect sentence structure, bad

grammar, or run-on sentences. After I fix all my errors, I finally start touching things up in my
piece so that it sounds intellectual and reasonable for my topic. When I feel like I cant revise my
paper anymore, thats where I begin writing my final revised draft. The whole process is very
long and time consuming for me to complete, but if I do everything correctly, then it will be
worth it in the end.
Reading is super important, and not many people may feel that way about it or might not
care much about reading, but sharing my thoughts about reading might hopefully change those
peoples views. When I think about reading my first thoughts usually are questions, like How
long will it take me to read this piece? Will it be a good read or a boring read? Am I going to be
able to finish it? I wonder all of these things before I actually begin to read something.
Sometimes, when I see a really large book I would get scared to even touch it because I feel like
I would never have the time to finish it. Gerald Graff, for example, writes in his work, Disliking
Books, that growing up he disliked and feared books. They intimidated him and seemed very
uninteresting. (Graff 3-4) He worried that books would be like this for him forever, and I feel
like this sometimes too. I believe I get these feelings about reading because I dont do it enough,
mainly because I havent found much enjoyment in it. Most books I really enjoyed were
childrens books that I read when I was younger, like The Magic Tree House series and many of
Dr. Seuss books. Today most of the books Im reading are required for school, many of which
are dense and tedious subject textbooks or novels. These books I dont consider enjoyable but
Im forced to read them anyway in order to learn the material for each of my courses. There are
many occasions where I feel trapped having to read these materials. For example, in the Malcolm
X reading I did in UWRT class, Malcolm described reading during his time in prison. Sometimes
this is how I feel when I read. This is what makes reading very important to me though, to give

me the opportunity to learn more about various topics. It helps me to gain knowledge in so many
different things and I feel like Im not doing enough to absorb it all. I really want to try to expand
my knowledge by reading more and doing more to better prepare myself for the future to come
ahead of me. This is how I feel about reading now, and I think after being in a university for
some time, Ive come to realize that you cant really accomplish much in life if you dont know
much, and thats what reading gives us, is something to know and to understand.
Many people might have their own specific process for reading that could be very
effective for other readers to try, typically if they find that theyre having a difficult time using
their own methods. When I read, I like to read in absolute silence so that there are no distractions
around me what so ever. I find that I usually have a hard time focusing on a piece of writing
when there are others around, or if theres any type of background noise or movement in my
hindsight. I like to be in area of tranquility where I may hear my own thoughts, and hear the
words from whatever Im reading flow through my mind. After I find a quality space for me to
read in, I then of course begin reading. If I find things that I dont understand in a read, then I use
other resources to help me get back on my feet. These sources could either be the dictionary, the
internet, or simply just asking others who seem to have a full grasp on the concept at hand. Most
of the time when I read, I feel like I wont be able take in all the information at once after reading
everything. Its hard for me to remember every detail in some of the things I read, so I might try
to take notes on these details. I tend to remember things better after I write it down and look over
it constantly. There also moments when Im reading where I may start to get tired of boredom
and potentially fall asleep, so I have to take breaks in between so that I dont lose focus. Reading
can be very difficult and time consuming sometimes, but Ill do whatever I can to try to digest
the necessary information into my brainpower. This might require a lot of coffee, naps, and many

hours of focus for me to manage, but if I work hard enough I can make it happen. Overall, if I
have to read to something Ill read it and do whatever I can to take in take in the information it
gives, and if I ever find myself having any problems, then I seek out support through other
available resources, and if I seem to have a hard time remembering some information Ill take
notes on it to go over.
Opportunities from knowing literacy are everywhere and most often discovered through
discourse communities. Discourse communities are very important for people who want to get
involved in their interests. Examples of these communities are workplaces, social circles,
academic disciplines, etc. I am currently involved in an academic discipline discourse
community. The specific academic discipline that Im working in is engineering technology and
construction management. I came upon this community after deciding that math and science
subjects were my passion, which is a huge part of engineering. This engineering community is
located at the school Im attending which is the school of engineering at The University of North
Carolina at Charlotte. In becoming accepted into this community, I was required to have high
skills in math and science in high school and had to maintain a high enough GPA to get in. My
main influence for becoming part of the engineering community is my family. My father and
most of my aunts and uncles are engineers and they have really cool jobs. This inspired me to
want to try to follow in their footsteps and become a part of their world. Also, Ive always been
naturally good at math and science in school so that was a plus for me. Engineers are defined as
people who design, construct, or maintain engines, machines, or public works. I of course went
into engineering school knowing this, but I really had no clue what I was going to be learning. I
found myself doing things I never would have thought of doing, like making a beam calculator
or a working mini car using household items. Its all very interesting and new to me but at the

same time very difficult to learn and master. Although work is hard in the engineering
community, I still have a passion for it and wish to continue working in this community for as
long as I can. Its important to be involved and thats what discourse communities like this are
for.
Using literacy abilities has helped to shape me into the man I am today. After reflecting
upon all my literacy skills and my thoughts on reading and writing, Im eager to try to continue
developing better understanding of literature, in hopes to gain more opportunities in life and
open up new perspectives. Upon reviewing my past experiences with literacy and opening up my
true feelings about it, I found it very interesting having to look back at my views on literature,
and seeing how it got me to where I am currently and where it can lead me into the future. I feel
like this was a big step for me to describe my experiences and thought about literacy, and I hope
to either help others with this information or receive helpful feedback that could support my
understanding of it.

Works Cited
Strasser, Emily. "Writing What Matters: A Student's Struggle to Bridge the
Academic/Personal Divide." Writing about Writing: A College Reader. By Elizabeth
A. Wardle and Doug Downs. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2014. N. pag. Print.
Graff, Gerald. "Disliking Books." Writing about Writing: A College Reader. By Elizabeth A.
Wardle and Doug Downs. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2014. N. pag. Print.
Malcolm X. Learning to Read 50 Essays Ed. Samuel Cohen. Boston; Bedford St. Martins.
2011. 257-266. Print.