PREWRITING- ESSAY 1:
Daniel sits at his tidy desk, the soft glow of a desk lamp illuminating the pages of his textbook. As he sits there, his eyes frantically skimming paragraph after paragraph, the low, soothing hum of his box fan is audible in the background. It pacifies his otherwise frenzied mind, helping him concentrate on his only goal: getting through those three damn chapters. He leans farther forward, pencil in his right hand, circling, underlining, and writing barely legible notes on anything and everything that could possibly appear on tomorrow's test. Oh, how he hates preparing for tests last minute, but for Daniel Nikolov, some things never quite change. He momentarily brings his gaze to the open window, situated just in front him. The night sky is now beginning to take on the all too familiar orange hue of daybreak. Time was running out. Daniel takes a deep breath, bringing his attention back to the textbook. The material's dense, but he sits there regardless, determined to grasp every bit of information in his sweat-drenched hands and never let go- that is, until after he was tested on it. As the clock ticks softly, seconds turning to minutes, minutes turning to hours, Daniel sits lost in the realm that is his textbook, determined to master the contents of his class in time for that dreaded test.
How I plan on improving my appproach in regards to reading assessments:
Occasionally, I run into an issue where I forget to space out my work and end up cramming. Even though that method has helped me be successful academically, I know it's not healthy. These past few years, I've been trying to study and do everything more efficiently. Now that I'm starting college-level coursework, I know that my newly adapted method of working will do wonders for me. I'll space out my reading and course work a decent amount and improve my note-taking by avoiding redundancy and being more concise.
RESPONSES- ESSAY 1:
When you read as a writer, you pick up valuable tricks and information that can be used to enhance the quality of your writing. We can learn a thing or two from the writers of the past and we can take their approach to writing and build upon that- take old ideas and turn them into new ones. If we rush through what we read, then details blend together and thus, when put into writing, those details look rushed as well. The faster we read, the less we understand and the more disorganized our thoughts become.
Being "the slowest reader" means you're someone who appreciates quality over quantity. A slow reader takes the time deeply understand and appreciate the material. They take time to reflect and really engage with the text, giving them a more broad understanding and greater retention of details and information from the text.
PREWRITING- ESSAY 2:
In his quiet kitchen, Daniel sits at the table, the soft hum of the overhead lights providing calming white noise. He stares at his notebook, pencil in hand tapping away at the paper, mind racing with a plethora of ideas. Eventually his eyes lock onto his paper, his pencil steadies. He's got it! The perfect thought- a thought to end all thoughts! He begins to write, carefully crafting and arranging each word to fit his vision. Like a machine, he pushes forward, never looking back and only ever stopping to fix a few mistakes here and there. The clock ticks away, but Daniel pays no regard. The more he worries about time, the more he'll rush, and the more he rushes, the more mistakes he'll make.
What can I improve about my writing process?
My biggest flaw when it comes my own writing process has to do with my time managment. Last year, I did a lot of timed writing assessments. The thing with time is that we always believe that we have enough of it. I could almost never get everything written down that I wanted to and that cost me points on quite a few occasions. To fix this, I've started to keep my thoughts more concise, but still detailed.
RESPONSE- ESSAY 2
As a High School student doing college-level writing assignments, there are many steps I need to take to enhance the level at which I write. In Joe Bunting's "Writing an Essay: Here are Ten Effective Tips", the two tips that I found will benefit me most are asking myself how I can have fun writing and asking myself what I find surprising about my research.
Every time I have to write, I am turned off by the fact that everything I'm doing is mere work and I lose passion for whatever it is I'm talking about. As a result, that lack of passion is often reflected in my writing. The idea that I can ask myself how I can have fun with what I'm doing and get my subconscience to start strategizing is so simple, yet effective. Applying this strategy will help boost my drive to write and help me rediscover my passion for writing. This will also aid me in leveling up a few other aspects of my writing as well, such as the quality of the information which I inject into my essays.
In recent years, the research I've been using to support my claims has been fairly lackluster. I used a lot of very surface-level and objectively weak information that I only included because I thought it'd get me the most points. I always felt like this brought down my credibility as a writer. Bunting's method of asking a simple question regarding what you find interesting about your research has potential to make a profound impact on the way in which I gather my info. I never took the time to really ask myself about the quality of my evidence or how it connects back to the points I make. I only thought about including things that would impress my teachers or peers (side note: that never worked). Now I understand the benefit of stopping to think and pushing forward until you find something that truly interests you. I will apply this strategy in the future to make my writing as great as it can be.
Overall, Bunting put forth some pretty great tips, but two of his simplest ones will give me a much needed boost. It's inspiring to think that asking yourself two simple questions can really change the way you reflect on your writing.
