This blog features my reflection about my Research Paper that I am currently writing. Included below is my process of writing and how it has helped or inhibited me over the last few weeks. The video Reflective Writing helped me realize that by reflecting on my writing, I will become a better writer and make good revisions to my paper.
Who did you work with to compose your research paper? Was this a good approach? At first, I wanted to write about having reduced homework in America, but I could not find relevant research material on the topic. I talked to some of my family members about what topic I should write about and what would make a better argument. My mom suggested writing about standardized tests because I have experienced the struggles that come with it. I changed my topic to eliminating standardized tests in America and I was able to find a lot of credible sources while I was working on my annotated bibliography. My classmate, Candace Stoltzfus, was also doing the same topic as me and we decided to collaborate on the paper. This was a good approach because we had a similar focus for our paper. We both brought interesting points to the table and I think our final draft will be a very strong argument against standardized tests. What rhetorical mode and genre are you using? The rhetorical mode of this paper is argumentation and the genre is MLA Research Paper. When did you write this project? Good approach? I wrote the first draft of this project within three days. I set a goal for myself to write 500 words each day so that I would have 1,500 words by the next class. By the time class approached I only had 1000 words, but I still felt very accomplished with my work. This was a good approach because I set my goals high and was able to achieve a lot in three days. Also, I did not write my whole paper in one sitting so I think my writing turned out better when I stepped away from the project for a short amount of time. Where did you write this project? Good approach? I wrote most of this paper either in my bedroom or the cafe at DCCC. This was a good approach for me because I am less distracted in these areas and I am very productive. I like to work in areas where there is a little bit of noise, but not too much that it will distract me. Sometimes, I would write at the kitchen table, but I was not as productive because my family spends a lot of their time downstairs. Why did you choose to write about your chosen topic? Good choice? I chose my topic because I struggled with standardized tests in high school. I never scored high on the SATs and had hours of tutoring in Math which did very little to improve my score. My grades were very good in high school and I had a 4.0 GPA. However, my low SAT scores kept me from getting scholarships that I worked really hard for when I was applying for college. It was very frustrating and when I heard that Finland does not use standardized tests, I wondered why America still uses it even though it is ineffective. I made a good choice in choosing this topic because I have had personal experience with standardized tests which has allowed me to develop a better argument for my paper. How did it feel to write this argument ("during, after, and since")? Do you have any "if only" moments that can help you revise the draft? While I was writing my paper, I was a bit overwhelmed because there were so many facts I could put in my paper and argue several different claims. However, Candace and I decided to narrow it down to two claims: standardized tests affect critical thinking and the quality of teaching. After we combined our material together, I felt like our argument was much more organized in the structure. Since finishing our first draft, I know that we need to make substantial revisions. Because we combined two papers, it does not flow in the most effective way. An “if only” moment I have had is that we need to add more counter-arguments and refute them in our paper. We only have one counter-argument and we should definitely include more to make our paper stronger. How will you revise your argument? As I said in the previous question, Candace and I will work together to make our paper flow in a more effective way. We need to work on our transitions and may need to move paragraphs around. For our second draft, we plan on using more counter-arguments to refute in order to make our claims stronger.
3 Comments
Candace Stoltzfus
4/18/2018 01:29:22 pm
Yay! So glad we collaborated on this and are at this point of the writing process. I think it was a good approach too, even though we had to really work on blending our papers together.
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Shane Zandotti
4/18/2018 02:08:25 pm
Really interested to see a project done by two students! Great topic.
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Rich Randolph
4/20/2018 07:56:38 pm
I like that you picked the topic of no homework, homework sucks!
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Molly ZahnerI will use this blog to post my informal writing assignments for my English Composition I class. Archives
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