Defining good writing is impossible. But in general, good writing usually includes a complex plot with multiple things happening, a common theme that is reflected, diverse and descriptive characters, and a good development. However, these general things do not all have to be included for a piece of writing to be a good writing. What one person could believe to be the best book ever written could be what someone else believes to be a terrible book. This is because we all enjoy different styles of writing, different kinds of characters, and different plot topics.

     However, good writing usually includes many writing techniques and elements that help make it good writing. For example, suspense and irony often help make the story more interesting and intrigue the reader. A well-thought out, complex plot that involves many problems or characters also help make a piece of good writing. Most pieces of good writing have a tone setting introduction, a long, gradual build-up to the climax of the story, and a conclusion, that may be a finishing thought or one that forces the reader to create the next chapter in the story.

     One example of a piece of good writing I have done is "Building the 10-Story Card House." In "Building the 10-Story Card House," I started off by setting the mood of the story with sentences like "I remember it as a somewhat sunny day, clear and crisp…," and the plot by describing the setting and introducing what the whole plot of the story was going to be about. My detailed description of how I built the first and seconds floors of my 10-story card house not only helped develop my story, but also helped to set the mood of the story, the base for the rest of the card house, each floor helping to build up to the top of the card house or the climax of my story. Then, after I reached that climax, I finished off with the destruction of my card house and an ending thought, which was a quote I made. I believe this conclusion was very memorable and may cause the reader to reflect back on my writing and realize the beautiful build-up to the climax of the story.

     Another example of a piece of good writing I have done is "My Senior Prom." First of all, this piece of writing is unique from all my other pieces of writing because it is the only one where I truly get involved in romance, having that as a topic the story is revolved around. This piece of writing described a short time period of less than six hours, allowing me to be very descriptive in what happened. Once again, my introductory paragraph sets the mood and introduces the setting. Then, in the development of my story, I had multiple things going on, switching back and forth between dialogue and my friends and my romance with Tanujai. This gave my plot more complexity and made my story more interesting. Finally, I summed the whole story up with a conclusion, which was the ending of the prom and when I finally rejoined my friends and we reflected back on our night at the prom. This conclusion was where the two things that were going on in my story - the dialogue and my friends; and my romance with Tanujai - all came together in a clashing moment and finally closed off.

     An example of good writing from a novel that I've read this year is "Out of the Dust" by Karen Hesse. First of all, this winner of the 1998 Newberry Medal is written in a unique form. The author writes this novel as a diary or journal, the novel being made up completely of entries. However, what's so unique about these entries are that they are all written in poetic form. I believe this is particularly effective for this novel and makes it very interesting because the poetry expresses emotions, thoughts, feelings, and events much more deeply and descriptively. This is very fitting for the novel because the whole novel is about a girl's life during the Dust Bowl in the 1930s. Also, this novel has a theme that stands out in the story - the theme of forgiveness. Having this novel revolve around forgiveness, and forgiveness being something most of us can relate to; this novel, being so well-written and expressive, make this novel a piece of good writing.

     My writing ability has definitely improved through the course of the seventh grade language arts program. My writing has become more descriptive, more vivid, and I have went beyond and experimented with new techniques and writing styles, elements, and topics. Also, my introductions have improved. For example, in my first composition of the year, "Building the 10-Story Card House," I started off with "One of my most successful moments happened when I completed the construction of a 10-story card house. This remarkable feat happened in 4th grade on Halloween, Monday, October 31st, 1999." I started off by telling everything as a statement, rather than a story. Now, for example, as in "My Senior Prom," I start off right into the story, developing the characters, plot, and setting as the story progresses. For example, my first sentence in "My Senior Prom" is "My clock showed seven, meaning the senior prom was just one hour away." I believe this sentence was a better written sentence than the first two sentences of my first composition of the year. This is because this first sentence starts off the image in the reader's mind, and hints that this story is going to be about my senior prom, but it doesn't give everything away. This creates some suspense and interest in the reader, and doesn't spoil the whole story, and therefore, is an improvement from the beginning of seventh grade.