Process Reflective Essay One
The processes I took to find information on my essay was essential and helped me create an exceptional paper. My essay topic was about gun control in America. It was very difficult to find a topic that interested me and also had to relate with one of the categories in the wiki posting. My choice turned out to be great because there was a lot of information on that specific topic and it was fresh in the news. After my first draft, I was confident I had enough information because I had a lot to talk about. Postings in the wiki, research on both sides to the argument, and the influences on my revisions were the three major ideas that helped me explore deeply into the topic and create an exceptional essay.
The postings in the wiki helped in a tremendous way. I was able to get a lot of information and incorporate it all into my essay at the end. I liked how every week we had to do a different wiki. Since my topic was fresh in the news, there was a new article every day. I was able to see the controversy as it was happening in government. The information was in separate categories, so I was able to go to the wiki and look for any information for a specific paragraph. The wiki also helped me with citing all of the information. If I would’ve researched it all at once, I probably would’ve forgot websites or messed up. I had citations on each wiki that made it easy for me to go back and place them in my final essay. The wiki postings are great for preparing for an essay and should be used more often.
We were told to research both sides of our argument. As I read over the different articles, I was able to form my opinion on the subject of gun control easily. I researched articles that were opposed to gun control laws and I read some that was for the new reform. I sided with the citizens that believed the gun laws have become outdated and needed new laws. There were points were I could understand the opposing side of my debate. The ones that opposed were saying their rights under the Second Amendment were being stripped away. I thought what if the government said there is no longer freedom of speech? There would be a great debate about the topic also. Understanding the opposing side helps you write a better paper without being bias. That is why my paper was in good shape after my first draft.
My revisions on my first draft made a big influence on my final draft of the essay. When I saw the mistakes I made on my first draft, I was determined to fix the errors and get my paper to correct order. The most important errors were grammatical. I was making careless mistakes like leaving commas and putting “I think” a lot. Mrs. Morris’s corrections helped me write a good paper. Peer review also helped me in the end. After I had revised from the first draft, I thought my paper was good to go. Someone in class pointed out certain words did not fit into a paragraph correctly. As I read over the paragraph again, I could tell what she was talking about and changed the words around. Peer review is great because others can read over the essay and catch things I may have missed. Just because it may sound right in my head, does not mean it sounds right in someone else’s.
In conclusion, this essay was well put together. There was more than enough support to guide along the way. The wiki postings helped with gathering a load of information and citing. There were also plenty of chances to revise the essay from the first draft revisions to peer review. I feel my final essay is in good shape. I also feel this process had a lot to do with my exceptional paper.
Process Reflective Essay Two
The processes I took to find information on my essay was essential and helped me create an exceptional paper. My essay topic was about Egypt’s process to democracy. It was very difficult to find a topic that interested me and also had to relate with the categories of politics. It was also hard to find a human interest story for this topic, because the people of Egypt were scared to come forward with stories in fear of their lives. After my first draft, I was not confident because I didn’t get a good understanding of human interest. My first draft was mostly informational, and I had to put in emotion. On my first draft of my first essay, I was more confident because I had more understanding. Postings in the wiki, research for emotion then logic, and the influences on my revisions were the three major ideas that helped me explore deeply into the topic and create an exceptional essay.
The postings in the wiki helped me. I was able to get information and incorporate it all into my essay at the end. The wikis helped on this essay, but I believe the wikis helped more the first essay. Before I wrote my first essay, I had to do a good amount of wikis that helped me prepare for my essay. This time, I did my wikis as I wrote my first draft, so I didn’t get as much information as I could have. Since my topic was fresh in the news, there was a new article every day. I was able to see the controversy as it was happening in Egypt. The information was in separate categories, so I was able to go to the wiki and look for any information for a specific paragraph. The wiki also helped me with citing all of the information. I had citations on each wiki that made it easy for me to go back and place them in my final essay. The wiki postings are great for preparing for an essay.
We were told to research the emotional side as opposed to more logical side of the topic. As I read over different articles, I was not able to find emotional articles easily. I came across an article where an Egyptian radio station was calling out to Egyptian citizens to come forward with stories. They also said the Egyptians were scared they would be killed if they came forward. After I wrote about Wael Ghonim, I felt my essay was still more logical than emotional. I still think my essay was exceptional.
My revisions on my first draft made a big influence on my final draft of the essay. When I saw the mistakes I made on my first draft, I was determined to fix the errors and get my paper to correct order. The most important error was not having a good human interest story. When I revised my essay, I added the story of Wael Ghonim and how he was called a hero for starting the revolution. I was also making careless grammatical mistakes. Mrs. Morris’s corrections helped me write a good paper. Peer review also helped me in the end. After I had revised from the first draft, I thought my paper was good to go. Someone in class pointed out certain grammatical errors in my essay and works cited. As I read over the paragraph again, I could tell what she was talking about and changed the words around. Peer review is great because others can read over the essay and catch things I may have missed. Just because it may sound right in my head, does not mean it sounds right in someone else’s.
In conclusion, this essay was well put together. Compared to my first essay, I believe this essay is could have been better. This essay was a little confusing to me in the beginning, but I figured out what I needed to change in the end. Wiki postings helped with gather information and citing. There were also plenty of chances to revise the essay from the first draft revisions to peer review. I feel my final essay is in good shape, but could have been better.
