Alumnus Profile Alex Tapsak: How Seton Prepared Me for Writing in College

As I enter my senior year at Thomas More College of Liberal Arts, I reflect on my academic journey: where it has taken me, where it takes me now, and where I have come from. One thing that comes to mind is how my experience at Seton Home Study School prepared me for such an education.

I think Thomas More College stands out in many ways. One of those ways is because of its excellent writing program. If I had to guess, I have written about forty papers in my first three years here.

Now, as a senior, I am preparing to write my thesis—the culmination of all of the liberal arts that we have been taught here since freshman year.

But these college-level exercises were preceded by smaller, more basic, and simple ones: the Seton writing exercises. From the early lessons in grammar to the study of proper sentence structure to the paragraph to the five-paragraph essay, Seton’s writing program used a careful, gradual approach to prepare me as a writer. Repetition was an important factor as well: repetitio mater studiorum.

I have come to appreciate this training the longer I have studied at college. Writing is a gift. It not only allows us to express ourselves and better communicate to others what we are thinking (which is already one of the most profound things of our existence if you think about it), but it is a very useful tool for the very simple reason that it helps us first understand ourselves.

The Beauty of Writing

Writing teaches us to articulate our thoughts and order them—efficiently and without error—a practice that benefits any worthwhile, intellectual, or practical pursuit.

Writing is also beautiful and worth doing for its own sake, which is an even better reason to practice it. Reason, by which we know the truth of reality and how we order things in such a way as to co-create with God, differentiates us from the other animals and makes us beloved to God. We were placed in the Garden to tend it and have dominion over it. Reason is what allows us to do this.

Writing is one of the best ways to train the faculty of reason, which is why I am so thankful for the writing programs at both Seton and TMC. Any college program that does not develop this skill ignores one of the most critical and human activities available to us. This skill should be at the foundation of any education that truly teaches the liberal arts, the skills, and wisdom of free men and women.

So go on—keep writing. Keep churning out those five-paragraph essays. And while you’re at it, apply to Thomas More College of Liberal Arts.