#The Struggle

Over the semester College Composition 2 has challenged me. To be honest David, I lost my way through the semester. Not only was I challenged intellectually but mentally as well. In the beginning of the semester I was motivated and excited. Somewhere along the way I developed depression and had to struggle with finding the passion within myself to continue. It was hard for me because deep down inside I found interest in everything we spoke about but something was keeping me from showing it. Overall, I had a great semester in the class and I did learn a lot not just about my writing but life as well.

Core value 1: Writing is a multi-stage, recursive, and social process.

Out of all the core values, I found this one to be the most difficult. We were always told that there was no such thing as a final draft. I had trouble with this because I always believed that once I wrote something and the professor would give feedback that was it. Every assignment that we did required thought. I had the hardest time writing my research paper because it was such a difficult topic for me. I was constantly changing my ideas and being so wishy-washy with it. I finally just sat down one day and thought to myself that everything I wrote was a load of crap and that I was better than that. I gathered all of the thoughts and ideas that I had and gave it my best shot. I’m terribly sorry for making you read that awful rebuttal by the way. Although I did not receive feedback on every assignment I was able to look at my classmates feedback and that helped a great deal. I now understand that high quality writing doesn’t involve a bunch of fancy words that sound good next to each other. I realize that precision and execution is most important in a paper. Getting to the point is much better that a bunch of filler b.s.

Core Value 3: Understand how texts represent meaning and how the processes of writing and reading create and interpret meaning.

Every assignment that we did this semester had a meaning and required thought beyond the surface. As I was writing my assignments for my research paper I attempted to be as specific as I could be. Again, I know some of my assignments were not up to par but I realized it quickly and adjusted it so my final paper would be my best work. Overall, I felt that my paper did a good job of getting a clear and concise thesis across to my readers.

Core Value 5: Understand the role and use of information in writing.

This core value was probably the easiest for me. I was always pretty good at finding sources that would strengthen my argument.The only difficulty I faced was finding a sources for my final paper that I could use effectively. The majority of my sources were from published humanity journals. I used the statistics and the atrocities talked about to further my argument. In the beginning most of my sources were from online magazines or blogs that others had written. I quickly realized that they wouldn’t be as effective. I had to sit down and completely start from scratch from everything I had ever written about my research topic. It took me about two hours of searching to find reputable sources that I could use.

Core Value 7: Understand the power and ethical responsibility that comes with the creation of written discourse.

I always knew that writing is important and that it always has some sort of impact on its readers whether it is good, bad, or indifference. We spent a lot of time discussing claims in this class. I realized that just because I say something and think that it has a certain meaning, it could mean something else to someone else. I learned the importance of thinking before you write making sure that each claim I make is correct to my best knowledge and understanding. When I was writing my definition essay I had to correctly define the topic of femicide. I had to choose my words wisely when I was defining that word. I believe that my claims in that essay were legitimate and thoughtful. I believe I cited good sources that only added to my claim and strengthened my overall argument in my final paper.

Although the semester was difficult and full of so much writing I enjoyed it, despite the fact that it made curl up in a ball and cry. This class was challenging and rewarding at the same time. Overall, I can honestly say that I am more confident in my writing abilities and I will no longer take for granted that my natural writing may good but I know it is not good enough. Thank you for an interesting semester David.