There were many struggles I came across during this report, but the one that had the largest affect on my writing would be that of outcome three. This outcome single handedly made me never want to type on a keyboard again. Reading the sources was not the issue. Analyzing did cause a couple problems though. I've never seen so many SHOW's on one paper before, then I saw on my literature review drafts. Transitioning from a style of writing which consisted of telling what was present to showing these ideas was very difficult for me. Breaking away from "the source says..." to explaining what it shows caused major frustration on more cases then one. I also carried the habit of writing in a source to source bases from high school. This was the single hardest aspect that I had to overcome. Leaning to synthesize ideas couldn't have caused more problems. This can be seen on every single draft of my literature review...in more places then one. although it did cause various struggles throughout the whole writing process, I still feel I improved on my ability to analyze ideas and synthesize them on a contextual level.
There is also another outcome which greatly affected my report and that would be outcome five. Without a doubt, the single most influential aspect of my writing would be that of outcome 5. Learning that drafting aids in improving my overall writing will be the most important thing I take from this semester. It can be clearly seen that multiple drafts have been made of almost every single piece of writing. From these drafts, I either gained a review from the professor or a peer. When receiving a draft from the professor, chances were it was terrible in every way and covered in pen marks. At this point in time I can honestly say I'm very thankful for all the marks. These markings, over time, taught me what to look for when proofreading. Even after some drafts of certain works, I would take a red pen and mark up my paper even more. Slowly I developed the ability to see issues with my writing. Peer analysis was also something I benefited greatly from. It really helps to give your paper to person you trust, one you know is going to give you the most honest opinion. Peer reviews were great ways for me to correct issues, even after a professor review.
This semester I gained skill that will aid in my whole college career. A perfect example of this is how to use the online database for the library. Not even a week after learning how to use it did I use it for my speech class, along with multiple times after that. I also learned a few things about myself when it comes to writing. I lack the motivation to get started, but once I get started i tend to get on roles. This lack of motivation has caused me to procrastinate, not only in writing but reviewing drafts. This is important because I have realized there is a time management issue, which is slowly being worked on. A single quote that would describe my writing style would be :
“You never have to change anything you got up in the middle of the night to write.”
Across the time span of the semester I have learned many things about my style of writing. I have also learned there were many issue with it. This being said, by the presence of many drafts I feel i have improved greatly in many aspects of my writing.
