Writing Is Like ________
Writing is like going to the pistol range and having to qualify. As a police officer I am required to certify with all the firearms that I may need to use in the fulfillment of my duties. This is required so that all police officers are proficient and familiar with firearms that we depend on to protect the community and ourselves. To me, writing is the same.
When you receive the writing assignment it is the same as when you find out you are required to go to the range. There is a little excitement and bit of nervousness. Will I have a very good day and qualify well, or will I succumb to the stresses of the day or week and totally mess it up? This is the same as with writing the paper or assignment. Will I have a killer paper with no mistakes, or will I choke and forget to cite my references, check spelling, or just sit and stare at a blank screen and have no idea where to start? This is where I usually have problems with an assignment, the starting point. I sit and ponder how to start. Many ideas float around in my head but I can’t seem to get them onto the paper. The content of the paper is all jumbled up, and in no order. Once I get going, however, I usually have few problems. As I stated in the beginning, writing to me is like going to the qualification range. Sometimes I don’t hit the target, but sometimes it goes off with a “BANG”.
The majority of my writing is in the form or directives and instructions. I am the operations commander for the police department. I am responsible for the day to day management of the majority of police officers and civilian employees. My writing consists of informing people of what to do, when and where to do it, and sometimes how to do it. Most of these directives are in the form of e-mails and are usually short and to the point that does not usually require proper composition skills. I am also more of a talker. I would rather speak with someone face to face then to correspond in writing.
The majority of my writing is in the form or directives and instructions. I am the operations commander for the police department. I am responsible for the day to day management of the majority of police officers and civilian employees. My writing consists of informing people of what to do, when and where to do it, and sometimes how to do it. Most of these directives are in the form of e-mails and are usually short and to the point that does not usually require proper composition skills. I am also more of a talker. I would rather speak with someone face to face then to correspond in writing.
I am a nontraditional student that has just returned to college. The last time I was formally enrolled in a brick and mortar University was in 1985. I have received numerous hours of college credits, but the majority of those were law enforcement related training courses. Since returning to “college life” and attempting to obtain my degree, I have found that it is requiring more writing than I anticipated. I do not feel that this is a bad thing because just over the last few months my writing skills have improved. One stumbling block was the use of APA and MLA formatting. My first exposure to these formatting styles was just this last year in the FBI National Academy. All papers were required to be in the MLA style format, and I had never used either method. I learned quickly with the help of my 22 year old son, who is a senior at WVU. I am excited to complete more assignments so that I can better myself in the area of proper communication in writing.
Great metaphor: the firing range. I often have those days, in writing, when I feel like I couldn't hit the broad side of a barn (as my grandpa used to say). :)
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