Words are limited by grammar, vocabulary and definition. If words alone were capable of capturing the essence of communication, poets would be rock stars. This is certainly not the case. Many people suffer in cogently stating their views in writing. I have never had this problem. I have always appreciated the art of writing. Too often, I rely on my creative writing skills.

On the other end of the spectrum lies technical writing. In this style, there is no room for opinion, save clearly defined professional insight. I also have no trouble writing in this style.

College-level writing lies somewhere in the middle of creative and technical and is best accomplished by brevity in an incisive and specific manner. Embellishment and ostentation tend to obscure the primary intended message, and though fact-based opinion is readily acceptable, one must be sure to limit personal opinion, typically outside the scope of a college-level assignment, to topical discussions on the writing. This is where my weakness becomes quite apparent. My goal in writing is to cogently state my message, but again, I feel as if words fail in describing the intended affect.

Another area in which I could use improvement is the analysis of fact referenced in my writing. Without a statistical background, I tend to lack the expertise to evaluate the statistical significance of professional studies and articles.

As of late, I have been altering my verbal communication methods to better reflect my writing style. My hope is that in speaking as I would write, I can create better habits which will, in turn, be reflected in my writing. Additionally, I hope to learn more about statistical analysis to better support my views when expressed to others. To this end, I will peruse interesting research to increase my exposure to statistics and take a class to increase my understanding of the various statistical models. My goal is to excel at all forms of writing.