Other Writings

 I have to say I usually enjoy writing. I like putting my thoughts to paper and just write what I feel and see and think. Possibly why I write in a conversionary manner. Learning more restrictive, academic forms of writing is good for professional work but also good for diversifying purposes. I have thought of starting a blog but I only posted a couple posts. I should revisit that idea. 

In another class I'm writing about BREXIT. For those that are unfamiliar with what BREXIT is, it is basically the United Kingdom's attempt to be independent of the European Union (the EU). On the face of it, it doesn't make sense when there are so many benefits from remaining a part of the EU but there has to be a reason that they voted for leaving the EU or voted for BREXIT so that was the basis of my paper for that class. 

It is also a broad subject so I had to narrow it down to how that affects sports in the country especially football, that we call soccer. The reason for that is because I play for leisure now but I used to play professionally a long time ago when I was a teenager for my age group. If I had gone down that path maybe I wouldn't be in this class right now but I watch it religiously every week as well. The sport in England is heavily dependent on international talent so my paper is about the effects on the sport. 

A Lot of Reading

 I am not a great reader. I don't read particularly fast and I don't usually enjoy doing it especially for long periods of time. I don't mind reading bits and pieces here and there or reading in little spurts of time. With the paper I have to do a lot of reading on material that will be useful and some that will not be useful. That is the most frustrating thing for me. It's compounded by the readings I have to do with other classes as well so I have to be honest it's something I am struggling with but I'm also determined to getting through it and even learning from it. 

Work smarter not harder. That saying is something I say to myself and to other people but with this I'm not sure I know what working smarter looks like. I will do some research on that to see what hacks I could use for this paper and other classes. Anything can be found on youtube, it's a sea of information really. I appreciate any input that could help to, so please feel free.   

Half Draft Criticism Part 2

 Continuing from the last post, I received criticism about the flow of the paper. It is too conversational as opposed to more professional and academic. That was part of my intention so that my audience and readers can enjoy it and understand where I'm coming from with my main point with the paper. I understand that because it is for this class and not a novel writing class it should be more academic but I'm not sure that having a conversational paper takes away from the academic sources and intent of the paper. Regardless of my reservations, I have to adjust and submit a paper that is good and will help me pass the class. 

There was a good point made about the opposing argument in my paper. In the half draft there wasn't enough of an opposing argument in the piece I submitted. I mentioned in an earlier post that I was having difficulty finding opposing arguments I also implied that the paper was half done and not complete. I do agree with that criticism and it's fair but that is the back story that makes it understandable. It will be improved before the final draft.  

Half Draft Criticism

 I had gotten some feedback from my half draft submission. It was all criticism and a couple of things that were not praises but things to do more of. I appreciate that regardless of what was said and it's not what you want to see or hear but it is useful. Over the weekend I've found myself in situations that have made me realize that I am not a sore loser and I take on criticism well. 

One of the things I got back was that I used "I" too much. I honestly do not even know what to do with that but I have to look at that and change it. I think the reason I don't know what to do with that is that I don't know why that is such a bad thing. even in this short writing assignment I'm conscious of it and I feel like I'm still using it too much. Adding that to the list of things I need to ask from the Writing Center. 

   

My Half Draft Experience

 The half draft was due last week, I managed to submit it a little late with good reason I think but it had it challenges regardless. The first thing was if it was meant to be done fully but just shorter or if I had to stop half was from completing it. I went with the latter. During the process it was clear that I had picked a really broad topic. I had a conversation with our professor, Marah Heikkila, and she brought that to my attention. I have narrowed it down but even so it seems like I could talk about it for ages. So I will have to discipline myself so I don't go off topic and show a concise and accurate argument.

Within the topic I have chosen, there is so much to talk about but in my searching, I have found it difficult to find equal arguments for both sides. that has proven to be a challenge. I will have to do some more searching and reach out to the University Writing Center for assistance with that. 

Different types of In-Text Citations

 I watched the video on different in-text citations and it was very informative. I didn't have to watch it multiple times like I usually do with course materials so it must have really caught my attention. I have utilized in-text citations in my half draft but only the one type. I like to be multi dimensional  so I will use the different types moving forward. 

Something else that I thought was very interesting was the third example she gave in the video. Basically, you can quote what was said twice while adding your two cents in-between the two different quotes from the resource and then citing it after the second quotation. I have this little book that helps with academic citations and it doesn't have that in there so it was intriguing. Now, I am interested in knowing if we can use more than two quotations for that. So maybe have three or four but I will also have to ask the Writing center when I reach out to them. 

Paraphrasing & Summarizing

 I watched the video on this topic and I have to say I found it helpful. I had to watch it a few times just so I don't mix the two up but that's my learning process anyway. I was not sure if we had to cite a paraphrase but the video answered that question. 

The other question I had while watching the video is if it was necessary to have a paraphrase in the paper. I thought about that question because I feel like when I use a regular in text citation I go ahead and expand on the point made or  reiterate the point in my own words. Doesn't that count as paraphrasing? 

I plan on using the University Writing Center as a resource in the coming weeks so I will make sure I ask them about it.