Project 1 Reflection: Too Long?!
I thought the first paper that we had to write was fun. I did not expect my paper to be fun because I hate nature. I do not enjoy observing things and then writing about them. I love writing about sports and while this was different, it was fun. I liked this because I found a subject that I felt strongly about. The subject of race and equality really affects me. Being an Asian American is difficult and I have had to deal with being called “Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee” for most of my life. I finally had the chance to talk about a place that is past stereotypes and racial profiling.
I thought I did well in talking about race and how Devil’s Den breaks barriers. I liked how I structured my essay and referred it to Frank Vanclay. I liked how I talked about race more than how it feels like home in my first essay. I thought the first essay I wrote was bland but I felt like my finished work was much more refined. I actually felt proud of my work (which does not usually happen) and showed it to my friends. I did not do this essay alone however. I had the other english teacher help me (I forgot his name but he likes the Packers, who lost today!) and I went to the writing center. The writing center really helped me organize my essay and I think I’ll go back there when my next project is due.
I learned that I can write long essays. Usually when I write, it’s short. It isn’t long and I usually have to throw things in to make it fit the required limit. This essay however, was long. I actually tried to make it shorter, which I have never done before. My essay was probably too long and I had a lot of trouble cutting things. I felt attached to some of the things I wrote and I did not want to just get rid of it. I struggled with editing and organizing when and where things should go in my essay. This was not an easy essay to write and formulating my thoughts was difficult. Changing my paper was very difficult. I was scared of changing my essay and even if I did, I had doubts. I thought my first essay was good but was not very passionate about it. At the time I was lazy and did not want to change it but am glad I did.
I felt like i reached the depth of analysis that was asked. I probably provided too much analysis and could have included more observation. I thought my essay was too long but struggled with changing it. In the future, I think I should cut more things and be more comfortable with changing my essay. I think I need to write things that I am passionate about and things that I enjoy writing about other than sports.
I am really glad that you had a great experience with writing this paper. The fact that it challenged you, and you took it on like a boss, shows how you are willing to work hard. It is a good sign that you feel as though you have really improved. Frank Vanclay was a great lens to choose, and from how it sounds, you analyzed it in a really interesting way. I feel like I have nothing to tell you in order to make your writing process better. You know exactly what is available to you for working on your writing process, and how to improve your writing.
ReplyDeleteI feel like I should take some of your ideas, like going to the writing center, and visiting the professors, and use them myself. I am already a pretty good writer, and I sometimes get a superiority complex with my writing, thinking it does not need to be improved. I should know that there is always room for improvement in papers, and that I should actually utilize the sources that can help me exceed even further in my writing. I would like to thank you for sharing your experiences with writing your paper, and I hope that I can do the same as you for the next one. I hope the professor grades you fairly, because it sounds like you put a lot of work into your project.
I had many struggles. I struggled with the length of the paper. It was sort of hard for me to get the sufficient amount of words to follow the prompt. This was due mostly to the fact that I took some lengthy observations but only used one half of them in my paper. As the final draft came around the words flowed more easily and were transferred to the paper with ease. Another tough point in this paper was finding the best point to incorporate the lens that needs to be included in the project. I ended up changing the several spots where I had included them on more than one occasion. The most difficult thing of my writing in project one was the analysis. In professor Linthicum’s review of my rough draft he told me that I needed to analyze more; he informed me that several of my paragraphs read like a brochure.
ReplyDeleteI literally believe that everyone can improve on analysis. There is not one person that doesn’t need improvement on their work. Overall I think that is what most students, as freshman, need to improve on anyway.
It is nice that you had fun with this project and enjoyed your topic. I unfortunately did not really enjoy my topic which made it more difficult to write a great paper;however, I still feel like I did a solid job. I also used Frank Vanclay as the lens to use and it was a great lens that easily connected to my observations and analysis. I also had a similar experience about changing my paper from my rough draft to final copy since I felt nervous changing it feeling I had doubts. For my next paper, I will listen to your advice and go to the writing center because I bet it does really help improve a paper.
ReplyDeleteThat's great news! I peer-reviewed your essay and to hear everything that came after that process is impressive. When an artist is working on a piece of art, they will periodically take breaks to stand back about 8 feet and get a change of perspective. I feel like you did this with your paper. You wrote it, submitted it for critiques, received it, then went to the writing center to get more pairs of eyes to view it. That is a good use of recources. You seem pretty confident in the final product. That feeling of accomplishment is something every writer lives for.
ReplyDeleteEditing is a pain, and it's easy to put in very little effort and auto-pilot until the due date. I came across some of the same struggles. It's hard to take things out of your paper when you're attached to them, yet they're acting like an anchor and bringing the paper down.
You're right, this project was difficult. Freshman year is a great time to get things settled, understand your strengths and weaknesses as a writer, and get into the habit of using ASU's resources.