College Writing vs. Daily Writing

The question posed for this exercise is to consider the different styles of writing we use in our private lives as compared to the different styles of writing we will be doing in college. Writing is a part of our daily lives. We write lists, love notes, reminders, journal or diary entries, text messages and if you're anything like me, daily exchanges on social networking sites like Facebook often take a humorous and informal tone. In the world of academia however, writing will take a more formal, developed approach in the form of essays, notes, and schedules much in contrast with the freestyle writing we conduct in our private lives outside of school which are often laden with inside jokes, outbursts, slang etc.

College writing styles will mostly consist of essay writing but can also include note taking and schedule making. These writing styles consist of a very structured approach with an equally structured outcome. Essays consist of a certain formula that follow one point to the next, citing examples within a main body of work providing background information to back up a certain point and so on. Often the notes we take during class will consist of this same type of style, as well as the schedules we jot down to ourselves. Notes we write for class are made up of summarized and highlighted points - designed to help us clarify and develop our work as we engage in it. Schedule writing is often made of highlighted points or short notes and reminders, often in a list style that includes tasks to complete within the day or the week. Essay writing requires a certain amount of drafting and preparation, contemplation and development.

In contrast, the writing practiced in our private lives possess a more informal character that more often addresses a familiar audience, often presenting a lack of sentence structure, use of slang, inside jokes or abbreviations. The audience we are addressing is familiar and without a need for facts or formality. Letters, journal entries, short notes to selves or friends, social networking or text messages via cell phone are examples of personal writing styles as opposed to the formatted development of Essays, notes and schedules we use in college.

My personal writings are usually wrought with emotion, have a lack of punctuation, (often times in humor have too much punctuation), involve bold writing coupled with drawing boxes around important words or events etc. Private writings are boundless and can often go on for several pages, screens or days. College writing involves a limit to a subject and is written within a particular boundary. Each one differs depending on the reason for which we are writing and how we approach a particular subject. What I have learned, is that a certain degree of formality exists within each style. Each writing style possess a certain character, has a specific purpose and audience.