Tow reflection (TOW #28)

       The TOW assignments throughout the school year have significantly bettered my writing in two areas: wording and description. As the TOWs progressed, I noticed the increasing refinement of vocabulary words in my writings. Introductory sentences such as “Both the newspaper’s influence and the cartoon’s simple manifestation helped readers to instantly grasp the core idea of uncertainty in an atomic age yet to come”(Tow8) became shorter and more succinct, gradually developing into “Published in 1944, the short story details the origin of insanity: the normal human tendency against overtly motley manifestations” (Tow16) and “The way to the Rainy Mountain is the way to the Native American culture, a culture recalled by the wistful description of Momaday, a culture that is struggling for survival”(Tow23). The use of more sophisticated words such as “motely” and the use of parallel structure to enhance description were rarely seen in the first few Tows of the year. I am excited to see my Tows develop into more descriptive and understandable writings as the year progresses.

       With numerous writing practice opportunities brought by Tows, not only did my writing itself improve but also my analytical insight. I began to comprehend more of the choices made by authors, such as the particular wording of their essays or a specific symbol in a political cartoon. I learned to incorporate the writer’s style in my analysis so that the readers can have a taste and did so with increasing mastery. However, a constant issue that comes along is trying to find a perfect balance between evidence and analysis. For analytical essays analysis is like the keystone of the pyramid; nevertheless, evidence is almost everything else. I still need to develop in my insight so that I can spot the balance point between evidence and analysis, a goal I will strive to accomplish in the next several years.

       Overall, I believe the Tow assignments truly expanded my knowledge and whetted my analytical mind. Though only one Tow is assigned each week, the search of different topics and styles of writings, ranging from the sentimental “The Way to Rainy Mountain” to the awing “The Life of a Cell,” has exposed me to a variety of different authors and thinking. In addition, the Tows allowed me to exercise the analytical tips given by my instructors, so in hindsight Tows really were helpful.