What College Level Writing Should Be - Essay Example

Although my position could differ from those of other people, college-level writing as per my experience means an exhibition of a high sense of structure, content and motivation in written text because of the perceived growth in writing skills from high school level to college level.

College-level writing would be identified from its structure. Ideally, the student should give the plan of the writing in the first paragraph, and then followed by supporting paragraphs to be summarized in the final paragraph. The thesis statement should appear in the introductory paragraph, giving an indication of what the writing entails. In supporting the main idea in the writing, the writer should borrow from other sources. No writer holds all the information needed and should therefore consult other credible sources. Lunsford (n.d.) supports this argument noting that an integration of a lot of other sources into a piece of writing shows the analytical aspect of a writer and the ability of such a writer to think at a higher level. Individual paragraphs adopt a similar structure, having introductory, explaining and concluding sentences. However, scientists and art students could argue against this structure, giving examples of writings of project reports and poems. They would argue that writing could adopt any structure as long as it communicates the intended information effectively. Even with this approach, the basic structure would still have to apply where the writer begins with an introduction, indicating the objectives of the writing, then follows with a supporting body before giving a conclusion. To come up with a coherent piece of writing, editing plays a major role. As Lunsford (n.d.) noted, editing eliminates spelling, grammar and punctuation mistakes. This makes the writing understandable to the reader.

Content in college-level writing is highly regarded. As noted, college students have grown in writing and should therefore be able to impart knowledge through their writing. Having gone through primary education and then to high school, such students should have been exposed to a lot of writing tasks. From the mistakes made and the aspects that rewarded more, the students should have learned the requirements for effective writing. At the college level, the writers would be expected to think in addition to writing. Knowledge would only be communicated if the writer succeeds in analyzing and evaluating various texts from which information has been borrowed. As such, I support the argument by Lunsford that a writer at this level should be able to “bring other voices into the conversation” in a way that makes the writing informative (n.d., 184). However, I appreciate those who would argue against the need to borrow from external sources so as to give perfect wiring, such as those in creative and artistic writing. Despite this argument, it would be important to note that such writings have borrowed from external sources whether knowingly or unknowingly. The ability to evaluate these sources, extrapolate and integrate them into the writing produces effective college-level writers.

College writing should be motivated by the need to fulfill the objectives of the given instructions. These schools of thought of Lunsford indicate that writing should be driven by what one believes in. In fact, while analyzing the writing by “Donna,” Lunsford argues that giving a task requiring the writer “to convince people who see the world differently than she does” leads to failure (n.d., 190). According to this author, writers should be given tasks that match their reasoning or position because beliefs form the core of the writer’s attitude. Contrary to this school of thought, I believe that a college-level writer should be able to convince the audience of whatever topic they choose to write about regardless of their beliefs. After all, not all the sources that provide information for college writers hold the same position as the writers themselves. Therefore, orientation to the position required of the writing would cause a positive attitude and result in successful writing.

Therefore, college-level writing marks a highly skilled level of writing that involves college students exhibiting their knowledge in producing writings with high-level structure and content and exhibiting a high sense of motivation. It is a writing level where writers should be able to write on any topic regardless of their beliefs and persuade the audience on the arguments therein. As such, the betterment of writing skills associated with development through various educational stages should be evident in their writing.