Style

Essay One didn't really teach me anything about my writing process-- I've been in Honors/AP English since seventh grade so I've always been very aware of my writing style.  I know how to write quickly and I'm a procrastinator so I usually leave essays to the last minute and then burn one out the night before it's due, haha.  If I'm lucky I can get someone to proofread it for me before I have to turn it in.  Occasionally, if my thoughts are really out of order, I'll make a rough outline of my thoughts before getting started, but usually I just jump right into it and make revisions along the way like I've been trained to do for standardized tests.

The writing process for this essay obviously differs greatly from what I've grown used to throughout high school.  There were more little steps along the way, which, as a procrastinator, I struggled with.  The more due dates, the more oppurtunities to procrastinate, and the more late nights finishing up an assignment.  Another difference is that I don't really know how to write a "rough draft" any more, so my final draft ended up not differing too much from the first draft.  I can't write an essay with ideas that are only half-formed; I have to have everything in order if I'm going to write about it.  That's why I ended up turning in my first draft late-- my thoughts were still processing and I don't know how to write about something that I haven't already planned out.  I'm definitely a marinater (if that's a word: one who marinates, lol).  I'm used to sitting around thinking about what I'm going to write about, not writing or taking notes, etc.  I also like to hear what other people are writing about because that helps kick-start my brain into motion.  The writing workshops, even without a first draft, were a great help to me in this way.  The little seedling ideas in my head found root as I listened to my group members talk about their papers and I ended up finally writing the draft that day.

What surprised me the most about this particular writing process was the presentation.  Similar to my "rough draft" issue, I didn't understand how to present on a supposed "un-finished" product.  In my mind and in my experience, presentations are meant to be a final work, a finished product.  It made me nervous when I realized I would be essentially showcasing my ideas for the criticism of the class and the professor.  In the end, however, I think the presentation actually did help me.  Taking another look at my essay and essentially re-structuring it in PowerPoint format (as I said in my last post) helped me realize some organizational issues of my first draft and the fact that my essay was lacking a few connection pieces.

When I first heard that we would be writing about identity, I inwardly groaned.  Remember, I've been in AP classes-- the whole identity and "what is self?" thing is pretty overdone.  The news that we were connecting identity to blogs earned an eyebrow raise; that was definitely a new concept.  And when I saw all the little due dates along the way to the final essay.... another BIG inward groan.  Actually, that one may have been aloud.  In the end, though, this was certainly and entertaining and eye-opening experience, and I think I really learned something about identity, blogging, and maybe even my "self."  I don't know if this will effect my writing process in the future or not, but it will be interesting to find out!

Process

Phew!  The essay is finally DONE and turned in!  This whole process has been exhausting, mostly because it actually involved a process.  Usually I settle on an idea mentally, maybe sketch an outline, and then I start writing.  When I have an essay, I proofread it a couple times, I have some friends or my parents proofread it, and I call it good.  There was so much more effort involved in this essay-- with the blog reflections, drafts, presentation, workshop, and peer review, it was so much more than I'm used to.  In the end, though, I think it resulted in a well-formed essay that did what it needed to do.

The hardest part, for me, was bringing Blogging into the equation.  My paper was more about the concept of identity and my particular blogger's identity than about blogging itself.  However, I managed to find a good quote that fit in with what I was trying to say, and I actually believe it rounded my essay off nicely.  The presentation (though I DO NOT wish to give a presentation for every essay I write) did help me notice what was missing from my essay structurally, as I had to essentially re-structure my essay in PowerPoint form.  It was an eye-opening experience.

Overall, I'm proud of my final essay and I think I did actually learn something about identity along the way.  The process was long and arduous, but the result was more than worth it.