As I was writing this essay, I was more focused on getting my point across with using details and just getting out of that traditional style of writing that I was accustomed to in high school. I organized my paper with an outline and I found examples in each of my texts to support my thesis. I feel that I achieved at least one of my goals in which got my point across but I still wrote in the traditional writing style of high school. My essay in a sense had an introduction/thesis, a body, and a conclusion.
I feel like I would have done a lot better on my first draft if I had used my time wisely during the weekend instead of writing it early the morning it was due. My thoughts and thinking processes felt rushed and I struggled to get ideas. I had writer's block in my first paragraph; I wasn't able to think straight and clear about what I was going to synthesize. However, I did benefit from the in-class workshops because I got the chance to hear opinions and critiques from my colleagues and received feedback that will help me improve my paper. With the extra time I had to plan my points that I was going to discuss in my essay, I was able to think more about what the author is implying instead of rushing and inserting my own opinion.I automatically notice that my writing is very consistent. Even though I tried to change my style of writing (introduction/thesis, body, conclusion), I still recognize that i go back to this tradtional sense the I grew up with. I really benefited ftom the responses from my peers. They helped me look at my paperfrom a different aspect. I was able to see what I bneed to change as far as structure and grammar.I think I contributed to to my paper's sucess because I was willing to change and be so content with my writing. I was able to take criticism and push myself further in my writing.I learned that I am a good wrier, I just have trouble getting my thoughts onto paper. I can brainstrom and draft and outline all I want but it will take some time to put it all together. I think the hardest part about writing this paper is trying to get out the standard introduction, body , and conclusion structure of writing. The easiet part was fixing little grammar issues that were minor.I am proud of the fact that I can dig deeper into what the author was thinking to convey my thesis. I provided more examples and quotes that showed what the author was actually thinking.
I completely agree with you in that it is very hard to get out of that traditional style of writing. When I was writing my paper, I felt like I was writing it the wrong way. I had to be confident in my ability to write in different ways. It sounds like this is part of your problem as well, believing that you can write this way. Everyone is always a little worried that they are going to mess up and they will get a bad grade. You have to stop worrying about the grade a little bit. I know that sounds weird, but when I write my best papers, they were papers I wrote when I was thinking more about the content of writing than the grade.
ReplyDeleteDominica, I feel like we encountered a lot of the same issues while trying to write this essay. I also felt very rushed and pressured due to lack of time. I also had an introduction, body, and conclusion. Even though I tried to stray away, it was still there. I think after being forced to write a certain way for so long, it is going to take time to bend our minds into changing our ways. I also used the time for my second draft to rethink where I could change the standard format I was using. The way that best helped me was go underline the specific parts in which I was trying to write an introduction, and go through and fix each part individually.
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