I have already somewhat discussed my thought process for the QE essay in a previous blog, but now having completed it I can better reflect on the way in which mind works while writing an essay.
When I read the directions for the second section of the QE Essay, I saw that I needed to use five sources from class and explore them in relation to my chosen question. Exploring is something that I've never really done before for a school essay. I was pretty flustered by it and slightly agitated... I guess this is telling me that I'm not very adaptable to change. I couldn't grasp how my sources could be used to explore my question. My mind was so set on trying to establish a point. Instead of proving a thesis, like all my other school essays, this essay used exploration as a way to understand a question. It was as if my brain was refusing to break an old habit, and I needed a better way to wrap my mind around this essay. I knew I was thoroughly confused, and in order to fix my confusion, I used an organizational technique that I like to call the bubble map.
Often when I write essays, I use outlines or diagrams to organize my thoughts. This method was especially helpful for the QE essay. By laying out my five sources surrounded by my question, I was better able to comprehend just exactly how to work this out. From this, I know that my mind works somewhat visually and methodically. I need organization so that I can clearly see what I have to do.
Even though my bubble map helped me greatly, my essay was still nowhere near perfect. After I got my rough draft back, I realized that some of my sources weren't exactly the best choices to use when reflecting on my question. Although I was frustrated to do so, I recreated three-ish of my paragraphs in hopes of better grasping the exploration process. Something that I've known for a long time about my writing brain is that it is s l o w. I write super, super slow and indecisively. Nearly every sentence I write, I go back and change. Every adjective I use, I feel like there might be a better one, so thesauruses are my best friends. Sometimes I sit at my desk for five minutes before writing a single word. It's a pain. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the careful words that my mind chooses and the way in which it composes sentences. However, writing the QE essay especially was very time consuming because of its unique structure. I wish my mind would work more efficiently and less indecisively when writing.
The QE essay proved to be a thorough challenge for my brain and I. I think we are both happy that it is finally completed.
No comments:
Post a Comment