As the year progresses, I'm slowly starting to see my writing improve when I use the writing process. Brainstorming has helped me think more outside of the box allowing me to create more creative papers and ideas. For example, when choosing a topic for my pop culture paper I easily could have chosen a movie or game that portrays women in very little clothing and explain why it is bad. I realized though while brainstorming that I did not want to choose a topic that would be obvious to the reader. This is why I choose Super Mario Bros, which is one of my favorite childhood games, the impact this game can have on its younger viewers is not obvious, at first glance, it looks like an appropriate game for all ages, but in reality, the game has a very negative stereotype towards women.
The second step in the writing process is creating a draft, which can be a difficult process. In the past, I use to just start writing and figure out topics and arguments along the way. However, for my pop culture paper, I tried a new technique, I started by creating a list of possible ideas for paragraphs, as well as doing some research first to help find quotes that may help with my topic. This technique not only made writing my paper easier but also more enjoyable because I figured out which topics would benefit the paper the most.
The third step in the writing process is peer editing, I have never had problems with peer editing, but I think it is a very important step because as the writer of the paper you can easily make mistakes. It can be intimidating to ask a professor for help but have the ability to reach out to other students is easier. Like most students, none of us are perfect writers so it is important to receive feedback and corrections.
Another step in the writing process is having your paper revised by a tutor. Writing can be challenging for everyone and which is why having the opportunity to have your paper looked over by a tutor is beneficial. Not only will they catch mistakes you missed, but they can help with other things such as grammar, citations, drafting, and more. When I went to a tutor for my personal culture paper, the tutor helped me with imagery and issues with grammar.
The last step of the writing process which is revisions is the most challenging for me because I never know what to change. For example, when you spend a lot of time on an essay, it is difficult to revise the paper yourself, because you have worked on it for so long that you do not see the errors that others may see. Which is why, having access to a tutor and peers who can edit your paper, makes revisions easier because they suggest changes that you did not see before. For example, when going back and looking at my pop culture paper, one of the students pointed out I had an incorrect citation that I had not noticed. If it was not for that student, I might have lost some points for not doing a citation correctly.
While working through the writing process I was able to analyze my writing. I realized that I always went with the first idea that popped up in my head because that seemed the easiest at the time. However, this resulted in papers that were not my best work or did not go outside of the box. Taking the time to think about multiple different ideas and use the process of elimination to figure out the best ones, was beneficial. Not because it helped me earn a better grade, but it allowed me to choose a topic that I was passionate about and enjoyed. I also found out through the writing process its sometimes best to just allow yourself to write instead of worrying about little things. For example on past papers such as our first one, I focused too much on the grammar and unique imagery words, causing my paper to have way too much imagery. Having too much imagery can be overwhelming to the reader and make the story confusing. Therefore, when I wrote my pop culture paper I allowed myself to just write everything I wanted to say, and then went back and edited mistakes and changed the wording, so it would sound more professional.
Despite all that has happened in March, I feel like overall my grade should be a low A. It has been challenging trying to study and also be motivated at home, but I still do all my work and make sure it is done on time. The pop culture paper has been difficult to write because I have a lack of motivation, as well as slow internet. I do not believe I deserve a perfect A because I know my writing can always improve and I have never been good at citations. So there is a high probability that I made some citation errors on my pop culture paper. Even though being at home and trying to still do college work is challenging, I'm still pushing forward and trying to put out good quality work.
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