Second Essay-First Draft

I completed the draft for my second essay and I am pretty confident in it. I didn't just get to a point where I just stopped, I finished the entire essay which will benefit me in the revision process. Incorporating research into my essay was the most difficult part because I'm doing option 3. However I did do it, so I am quite proud of myself. I think this essay will be better than my first because I felt more comfortable in persuasion and argumentation as we have worked on it in class for the past couple of weeks. The only thing I didn't do was the bibliography which I will be doing for the second revision process.

For the revision process I want my reviewers to focus more on my presentation of the evidence and research. I have noticed that from my first essay  I have trouble organizing facts so that is the aspect I want my reviewers to focus most on. I also want my reviewers to see I have enough evidence to "expose" my claim. Remember, this essay is not proving that something exists. I know that it exists I just want to expose it. Option 3 is about extending the conversation not proving something.

Progress of Second Essay...

I decided to pick Option 3 as my prompt for the new essay. For this essay, instead of going down the identity of the blogger route, I will be creating an essay based around the benefits that classroom blogging has academically on college and/or high school students. At first, I was unsure of my thesis and I thought that it was too far away from the current identity perspective we are all focusing on but the option does in fact state that I can elaborate on other aspects that West discusses in her article. She really elaborates not only on the various identities the students are depicting in their blogs but also how this practice can positively influence their comprehension of course material. So, in relation to her argument I will find three other articles that discuss the benefits if blogging in the classroom and I will relate them to my thesis. As of this moment I feel pretty confident in my essay's progress and today's discussion with the class and our mini groups also helped me gather my thoughts. The only struggle I will face is finding the additional sources for my essay but other than that I don't think I will come across any struggles while creating this essay.

Article for my Essay...

So the thing is I have not found an article that I can use for my essay yet. I just can't seem to find anything that will help my essay become stronger and state my point clearly. I'm also having a hard time using the UWT library system, it's just not my thing to keep looking and not find anything. I guess I need to improve on my research skills and I have to realize that not everything can be handed to you on a silver platter like in high school. In high school all the sources were basically given to us and all we had to do was just review the sources and take out the information that worked best for our essays. I have taken bits and pieces from the "Blogging" book and I have conducted my own research through analyzing the blog, but I have failed to find an article. I still have tomorrow but I doubt I'll find anything. Maybe it's time to head down to the TLC...

New Essay...

For this new essay I still haven't decided on which option I will be choosing. Although, I have narrowed it down between options one and two. I feel it will be interesting to dissect my own blog entries and try to figure out what identity I am portraying on the web. However, analyzing one's own work can get quite difficult and rather weird so that is why I have not confirmed this option. The other option is that I will choose any blog online and examine the entries to state what identity the blogger has established and I will be using West's article as a reference. This option to me seems a bit repetitive to our current essay because we have already examined another person's blog and that is why I haven't confirmed it.

However which ever option I do pick, I feel that West's article is still a great source to refer back to. It is an article that exemplifies the importance of blogging and also puts it into context. The case study that West conducted also is a great example of how blogging is influential in forming online identities. The case study I believe will help me with my essay whether I pick option one or two because that is the type of method I will be using in order to confirm the theory that through blogging various types of identities are formed.

Interesting Article...

I really enjoyed reading Kathleen C. West's article about blogging in a classroom setting and I'm not just saying that because we had to read it. I thought it was really thought-provoking when West discussed how students actually benefit by participating in blogs. I thought the entire article was significant in stating that blogging is just not for commercial or personal use but it can also help students comprehend the literature they are reading. She stated in the article that she observed many of the students, including her three case studies, showed legit discussion of literature behind the web lingo. For example in Lucy's blog, also one of her case studies, West stated that behind Lucy's humorous pop culture lingo she showed academically advanced analysis of the novel she was reading at the time, which was Huckleberry Finn.

I thought it to be interesting that using blogs in a classroom setting can help a student form a better understanding of the work that is being taught in the class. West also stated in her article that when the student is away from a classroom setting, he/she can write more freely and therefore state things on his/her mind clearly without academic expectations. This article made me think that our use of blogging in our core class is actually pretty helpful in discussing things such as this article I am discussing now. Writing in blogs the way we want helps us stay focused and then we perform better in class because we have our thoughts gathered before hand.

Writing Habits/Rituals...

So today in class I realized that I didn't turn in a second draft of my essay but a first revised essay. That was my "duh" moment of the day. Anyway, on more serious terms as I began the writing process of my argumentative essay I did in fact realize that I do have both negative and positive habits/rituals. The first habit that I have possessed from as long as I can remember is procrastination. I get on my laptop to write my essay but somehow I end up on Facebook or I start "googling" random things. It's like the Internet has a power over me. So I end up "starting" at five then finish at midnight. Although I have turned in assignments on time I always leave them to the last minute. Now, some people might view this habit negatively but I view it to be quite positive. When I work under stress I tend to perform better and my ideas come rushing to me when my mind is on hiatus. As Professor Thompson stated today in class that she works better late at night, I perform better when I am under stress. Although I still feel procrastination is a bad habit and I try hard to get rid of but it always seems to follow me.

Another habit I observed of myself is that when I start writing whatever thoughts come into my head, my essay gradually becomes cohesive. My thoughts flow when I randomly start typing facts that come into my mind. I don't necessarily think that this is a positive habit or even a bad habit, it's just a tactic that works for me. I don't tend to pre-write or outline, all the "before" things I just think in my mind and start writing about it immediately. That is why this long process of revising can be quite difficult for me to keep up with. However, I have started to like this long process of revision because getting feedback from others through writing conferences is extremely helpful to get your ideas straight. Another viewpoint is always an excellent thing, especially for an argumentative paper.

Reflection On Essay...

A couple of days I just turned in my second draft for the argumentative essay we all are working so hard on. The reviewing process for me can get quite tedious because I always question every little sentence in my paper to make sure it is cohesive and coherent. It took me about 5 hours to review my essay and then I finally turned it in. Even after I turned it in I still was a little apprehensive because I have never really done a draft process before. In high school we just had one rough draft and from that draft, our peer reviewed it for us and after a little revising we turned it in. However, this 3-time draft process is a new aspect for me. I wrote about two different introductions and two body paragraphs. I just cannot decide if I want my paper to be serious or quirky. After a few tries I incorporated both my personality into the paper as well as the logic and serious mentality of a research paper. At this stage I am content  as to what direction my paper is heading.