From English L2 to Writing Tutor to Essay Contest Winner: An International Student Writer's Journey

by Romina Boccia, M.A. Candidate in Economics

When I first arrived in the U.S. from Germany, my English was just good enough for casual conversation. Nearly six years later, I graduated from Mason with the highest honors in my major, economics. In the process, I served as a writing center tutor and as a WAC writing fellow, assisting native and other non-native English speakers with research and composition. I also won the F.A. Hayek essay contest with a paper on the U.S. financial crisis, and I am currently pursuing a Master’s degree in economics while working as a policy analyst for a nonprofit organization.

Learning to express myself effectively in writing in English was hard work. In order to express my ideas, I had to revise, revise, and revise. This required a writing process that included collecting ideas, drafting a tentative thesis statement and topic sentences, and most importantly, having the courage to let go of the words on paper and start over again. Composing grammatically correct, well-structured sentences was another challenge. Handbooks helped and, additionally, I read many papers by established researchers on the topics I sought to write on to familiarize myself with the language of my chosen academy and to appropriate its jargon.

Teachers, tutors, and mentors were tremendously helpful along the way. Asking others for their constructive criticism on my writing wasn’t always easy, but I quickly learned how important it was for my development as a writer. Having other readers point out grammatical errors, verbose sentences, and ask clarifying questions accelerated my learning process. It also helped me better focus on my audience and learn to guide my reader through my arguments.

Six years later, speaking and writing in English still feels as though I am attempting to appropriate a foreign language. Although communicating in English may never feel as natural as German does, the hard work entailed in acquiring proficiency certainly paid off.