GB Workshop Review

Hello everyone! I have a bit of a different post for you guys today. This isn’t an essay like my usual posts. Rather, this is a review of sorts of the GB Writer’s Workshop that some of us students attended near the beginning of the semester. I know it’s been a fair amount of time since then, and some of you may wonder why I’m only just now posting about it. The answer is quite simple, the need for the GB Favor this workshop provided did not arise until now. And since a post must be made in order to fully attain this favor, post I shall. I hope that you all are entertained by my post, at the least, and maybe you even get something out of it.

The GB Writer’s Workshop was an entertaining and informative experience. Not only did I get to learn a little bit about the Civil War and get a look at Dr. Fullman’s fantastic Yoda tie, I also learned quite a bit about good writing. There were quite a few points made that stuck with me, and I like to think that these points have changed my style of writing a bit for the better (at least for the essays so far). There were quite a few topics discussed, but the main takeaways I remembered were points regarding how to write a good introduction, a definition and description of the thesis, and the intended audience you need to keep in mind when doing your writing.

The introduction is one of the most important parts of any paper or message. The introduction is what grabs the attention of the reader and causes them to want to continue reading. I’ve had a fair amount of experience writing and delivering speeches in my lifetime, so I’m no stranger to the idea of an essentially strong introduction, but I previously had some questions about how to implement a strong introduction in my writing because I am used to writing speeches (which are designed to be orally communicated to an audience and thus are a bit more personal) rather than essays (which communicate the theme of the message solely through the words on the paper). I didn’t quite understand how the introduction to an essay was supposed to look or what the layout was supposed to be until the workshop. During the workshop, I heard a description of the introduction that painted a really neat visual in my head and helped me to better understand what it is supposed to be like. During the workshop, Dr. Fullman made the statement that an introduction should be like a funnel. It should start with the general and go to the specific. This image has helped me to better understand how to structure my introductions and how to (hopefully) start off my essays effectively.

Another takeaway I received from the workshop was a definition and description of the thesis of a paper. I had heard of the thesis before and had an idea of what it was, but I still wasn’t entirely sure. I knew it was supposed to be the main idea of the paper and a person’s stance on an issue, but I didn’t have a very clear picture of what that was or exactly what it was supposed to look like. I didn’t really know what the qualities of a good thesis were or how exactly I was supposed to use the thesis. During the workshop, the thesis was described as a one-sentence summary of the conclusions of your paper. Basically like a roadmap for your paper. It is the interpretation of the subject, not the subject itself and it makes a claim that others might dispute. This helped immensely in my comprehension of the thesis because before I had believed that the thesis WAS the subject of the paper and that it was supposed to be almost indisputable. The visual of the roadmap helped me also because it showed me that the thesis is supposed to guide your paper in the direction it is supposed to go, the paper is not supposed to guide the thesis. The thesis is another very vital aspect of good writing and a good understanding of it is definitely beneficial and important to me as a writer.

The last takeaway that we’re going to mention today is the intended audience. Because I am accustomed to writing speeches, I am used to an audience receiving my message. However, that message is usually received auditorily by a group of people who want me to succeed and will be encouraging no matter how poorly I do. This setting is rather different from a classroom where my message is being received visually from paper and graded by a professor who, though he desires me to succeed, is duty-bound to assign a bad grade to my work if he feels that my results are unsatisfactory. As a result of this difference in setting and environment, I was a bit unsure of how exactly to approach my class writings. However, in the workshop, the point was made that we do need to have an intended audience, but that intended audience is not our professor. The intended audience is the people around us, fellow students, other peers who have read the book that we just read and are getting ready to talk about it just like we are. This perspective of my audience has helped me greatly in figuring out how to phrase my writing and the style in which I should communicate my points.

Overall, the GB Writer’s Workshop was a pleasant and helpful experience that assisted in preparing me for the class that has turned out to be my favorite. It was instructional in the content it provided and helpful in getting me to not worry or stress too much about the vigorous work that is required in Great Books. It taught me the correct structure for a good essay introduction, the proper description and definition of a thesis and the purpose it serves, and the mind frame I should have when visualizing my intended audience. And although the information on the Civil War was, unfortunately, a bit lacking, the other guidance this experience provided was immensely beneficial and I am very grateful for the aid it supplied in improving my writing skills (not to mention the GB Favor I got out of it too). So thank you GB Workshop, you are appreciated!