What I learned from doing the final paper, is that it is not as hard as you think it is, once I finally got started it was easier to finish than just thinking about it. I can apply this to every class I take that requires me to write a paper, I just need to start on it and not put it off, even if I just write a few sentences that could get me going the next day.
I think I enjoyed the readings more than other classes because there was not many things to read, the poem, Frankenstein and a few academic papers but that made it easier to focus all my attention to one thing and therefore I think I put a better effort into understanding and writing about it.
I think that now my writing process has grown to more of a structured creation, before I would just write and write and not really care about the conclusion, but now when I write my conclusion I will re-read my introductory paragraph and start writing, then when I run out of ideas I begin to re-read the rest of my paper to make sure that my conclusion is tying my paper up as a whole. I never used to do that, and I think that will help my audience understand my thesis also. Before I also could not convey my thesis to anyone properly but I do think that I am on my way to doing so in my writings now.
My biggest challenge in this class was the final paper, and that is because I was really putting myself down about it. I kept thinking I was not going to be able to find any secondary sources and I just did not seem to be enjoying Edgar Allan Poe as much as I thought I was going to. Then when it came time to turn it in, I was not finished, so that stressed me out even more and I just left the paper alone for a long time. That was probably the biggest challenge, and to overcome it I just had to start the paper and I had to trust in myself that I was capable and that I could write a good paper about Poe that made sense to me. Once I got started the secondary sources were really easy to find and everything fell in order, and it turns out it was not as hard as I was making it out to be in my mind.
It's funny because I had similiar problems with my final project. It just turned into this nightmare for me. I ended up scratching it completely and starting over and it was still all goofy. I turned it in unnder the no questions asked because I needed the extra time.
ReplyDeleteHi Valerie,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about the final project. Once I got started it was easier than expected. I think we put more pressure on ourselves than we needed to maybe? I've enjoyed reading your work each week and I could see how you grew your writing skills as the semester went on. Great job!
Heather
I too agree with the final paper! It was very stressful and I was so glad when it was over! The pieces of your work I have read were good. Over all though I shared some of the simalar issues you had but I feel the same way, that this class has been helpful in my writing process.
ReplyDeleteCreating a good thesis is a major part in writing for any class. I feel like before this class I was decent at writing thesis' but now that the class is almost over, that skill has improved even more. Another thing you wrote about that I can relate to is the creation of the papers. I have used the same process to write papers all throughout high school, but this class allowed me to try something different. Instead of doing all of the pre-writing I would just start writing. Then once I got done I would check and make sure all of my ideas were there and made sense. Not only do I feel like that allowed me to enjoy writing more, but it strengthened my writing as well. Lastly, the final paper was difficult for me too. I thought to much about it and dredded having to sit down and write it. But once I started it, it seemed to come easily and I was very happy with the final product.
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