Bethanie Corona
Spring 2020
Self-Assessment
I am proud of the ways in which I achieved the course learning objectives. I am fulfilled by each major assignment I submitted because the transition to remote learning enhanced my two weaknesses: focus and procrastination. I tried to plan my essays to the best of my ability, by making connections, triangulating ideas, finding concise quotes, and identifying the necessary places for analysis. This semester I learned a lot about organization, clarity, and motivation. In order to write a powerful or impactful essay I need to be engaged by the topic. I enjoyed and appreciated the liberty we had to pick our own topics. Writing is communication. A thesis is an argument, it has an observation and makes a point about the topic. I worked hard on my thesis for all three of my essays. Essay 3 thesis: “I understand gentrification for what it is: change; I was curious to understand my neighbor’s perspective as a father, a superintendent, a property manager in the Bronx, a former storefront owner, & a native Brooklynite. His name is Kerok Vazquez.” Essay 2 thesis: “Democratic socialism in America, Sander’s ideologies, and the 2020 campaign has been embraced by Bernlennials lives both in and out of the online community.” Essay 3 thesis: “Studies and clinical research show how in theory meditation works for most humans, no matter the age, no matter the creed, no matter the profession yet can be inconclusive due to problems in methodology.”
My common struggle with writing essays is analyzing evidence and connecting them with my ideas. With essay number 2, it was hard to connect my personal opinion without dominating the whole paper, so I did not include enough of my voice into it. After I find my sources, I pick quotes, and I try to create my essay’s title as soon as possible. The title is a constant reminder of the main idea for my whole essay. My three focused titles this semester was: How Gentrification Dissects the Gente and Culture from The Streets, Millenial’s Mutual Support for Sanders: It is More Than Just a Campaign, Meditation Mops Up the Mind’s Messes: How Meditation Affects Mental Health. This technique helps me stay on track from beginning to end.
My perception as a writer has indeed changed this semester and for the better. I now view any writing composition as a form of storytelling. From an essay to a literature review, it is important to focus on the message of your writing, the perspective, and the reader. For example, in essay 1 I tried my best to input my tone and separate it from my subject’s perspective, I wrote: “I’ve seen it firsthand with the changes in bodega store prices and the inflated cost of pizza slices and cups of coffee. Please make chips 4 for $1 again.” I try to be as honest, candid, and direct with my thoughts. Comparing each source helps develop my analysis, themes, and ideas for each body paragraph. Separating my work into sections with titles helped organize my writing. Another technique that helps my writing is making sure the titles reflect the main ideas of the writing. Essay 1 was my favorite essay to write because it was very creative.
Writing can makes me feel vulnerable. For me writing derives fear and self-judgment, which can undermine my writing. Belief in writing stems from confidence. Getting over the fear of having writing judged can prevent risk taking. It is important not to limit yourself. Overall, Writing is therapeutic for me. It is freeing and releases thoughts and emotions from my mind down onto paper. When writing is very formulaic it lacks empathy. I stay motivated to write not because of the deadline but because I need answers to the questions I’ve formed. Writing infinitely ability to grows so it is best to affirm and accept that not everything you right will be “perfect.” You can compare your writing but beware of your own harsh judgment. I feel like I am my biggest critic and perfectionist when it comes to writing. Writing can be a tool of self-discovery and promotes the art of learning. In my non-academic life, I write a lot and I used the techniques from class, and this is derived through practice. The peer reviews in class helped my writing and I appreciate criticism. Learning to accept feedback is an important skill when writing. Everyone has different writing styles and linguistic differences that help develop their rhetorical sensibility. My strategies for reading, drafting, revising, Editing is really hard because you have to make crucial decisions to cut down your work. In my self-assessment it is important to be truthful with my weaknesses and strengths. I have a lot of writing goals; I hope to have my creative writing published one day. Mentally noting the components of genre, medium, and rhetorical situation usually helps my drafting process. As writing develops it can be used to collaborate and socialize scholarly views. Exploring effective writing across disciplinary contexts starts with research and reading. In my thesis and conclusion, I formulate and articulate a stance through my writing. Essay number 3 was a literature review so it was a learning experience with using various library resources, online databases, and the Internet to locate sources appropriate to my topic mental health. It is tedious strengthening my source use practices including evaluating, integrating, quoting, paraphrasing, summarizing, synthesizing, analyzing, and citing sources. This is where placement and order really matter in writing.
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