Packing Up My Knowledge & Ditching My Doubt

I’ll be honest, reading and writing have never been my favorite. All throughout school, I’ve been more of a math and science-oriented student, so I was quite nervous about taking a writing class at the college level, especially because I was exempt from taking Writing 39A and Writing 39B. On top of that, my entire AP Literature class was online because of COVID, meaning that I had not confidently written an essay since my junior year of high school in AP Language. Going into Writing 39C, I was definitely lacking faith in myself, particularly because I felt like I would be behind since most of my peers had already taken at least one college-level writing class. I also had only ever written one research paper in my life, so I did not know what to expect going into this class. However, by reminding myself that writing is something that you can only get better at, I was able to shift my perspective and become excited to gain more knowledge about researching and evolving into a college-level writer. In order to keep myself accountable, I set three goals at the beginning of the quarter, which were to strengthen my analytical skills by taking the time to understand all of the sources I read, to learn how to research more efficiently, and to learn how to properly structure and organize my arguments and analysis throughout my papers. Now that we have reached the end of this course, I can say with certainty that I have accomplished all of these goals, and am now more confident in myself as a writer overall. Throughout this quarter, I have learned that writing is not all about being perfect on the first try, but more importantly, it is about learning from your mistakes and persevering through the tedious and difficult process that it can be. 

Beginning My Journey

When I first found out that the topic of our class was mass incarceration, I was very intrigued. I had no clue that each section had a different focus, but I am glad that I had the opportunity to further educate myself about the topic of mass incarceration through the copious amounts of research that we did during the quarter. After watching the 13th documentary on our first day of class, I knew that I would thoroughly enjoy allocating much of my time researching the depths of mass incarceration. I often found myself excited to read new articles that were posted on Canvas, because it meant that I would get to learn more about what was happening in the world around me, and how all of these happenings came to be. I enjoyed taking notes on each of the assigned readings, as I was able to analyze what the author was saying and further understand the piece, which was also one of the goals I set for myself at the beginning of the quarter. These notes came in handy when it was time to write the Contexts Project and Advocacy Project, because many of the readings mentioned the War on Drugs, which is what I decided to focus my papers on. 

Figures 1 & 2: Examples of notes that I took on assigned readings and documentaries.

Another thing that I found extremely beneficial was the discussions that we did, both on Canvas and in class. These discussions forced me to think about the readings and analyze what the author was talking about, which is something I may not have done if we were not required to write discussion posts. The fact that we had in-class discussions also motivated me to take better notes and gain a more profound understanding of the articles overall, because I wanted to be prepared if I was going to talk in front of the class. Although I didn’t know it at the time, these discussions greatly helped my research and writing processes go smoother, because I not only already had an in-depth understanding of the background of my problem, but also had several analysis questions and possible sources to look back on while writing my papers. These readings and discussions greatly benefitted me not only as a person, but as a writer, and made my pre-writing process much more efficient. 

Figures 3 & 4: Excerpts from our first discussion and my CP outline, showing how the information we learned in class was used in my CP and made my pre-writing process easier.

Taking the Scenic Route

Although pre-writing and process work can seem unnecessary at times, this course has taught me the importance of having an in-depth understanding of the topic that you are researching before diving into database systems. Before starting my CP, I had a pretty good idea of where I wanted it to go, but I did not have any knowledge of the War on Drugs further than the information that we discussed in class, which definitely put a wrench in my plan when I began researching. I wasted numerous hours reading articles that I did not even end up using, because I truly had no idea what I was looking for. The two things that greatly helped my CP writing get started were the problem statement worksheet and the library tutorials, because they gave me a sense of how to look for information properly. 

The problem statement worksheet, which can be found here, allowed me to have my lightbulb moment after being lost in my research. This worksheet was structured in a way that made perfect sense in my brain, which allowed me to finally figure out exactly what I was supposed to be doing and what the purpose of writing the CP was. It greatly helped me narrow down my topic, and hone in on exactly what I wanted to address in my paper, which then led me to be able to figure out what information I already knew and what I still needed to further uncover. 

I found the library tutorials beneficial because they comprehensively explained how to start the initial searches for information. Before going through these tutorials, my research always ended up with me aimlessly scrolling through Google, panicking because I was unable to find scholarly and credible sources having to do with my topic. However, I soon learned how to use Academic Search Complete, which came to be a vital part of both my Contexts Project and Advocacy Project. Academic Search Complete greatly helped me narrow down my research and allowed me to efficiently find relevant information that was scholarly and credible. Once I found sources that had to do with my particular problem, I was able to further shape my argument and base it on more than just what I had previously heard within the media. I often found myself going back to the library tutorials while writing my AP to refresh my memory on proper researching techniques, which was helpful because I was able to gain my footing more easily since I had very straightforward guidance on what to do. 

Figures 5 & 6: A comparison of my first Google search vs. my first Academic Search Complete search. Note the difference in the number of search results.

Because I gained various research skills while working on the CP, I was under the impression that the AP would be much easier to write, but this was not the case for me. I am someone who needs plenty of structure in my assignments, so the fact that the directions for the Advocacy Project were more lenient and abstract made me feel like I had no idea what I was doing, because, in my eyes, I had no clear starting point. I let this fear of the unknown take over my writing abilities, and I became frustrated for days because I felt like nothing I was doing was right. I was eventually able to pull together a prospectus for my Advocacy Project, and after getting feedback from a peer, I felt much better because many of their comments were positive and reinforced my argument. 

Something that did help me feel less overwhelmed was the writing labs that we did during class every Friday. While writing my AP, I found it particularly helpful to look back on the topic sentences writing lab and the abstract writing lab, especially since I was having trouble getting my paper started. Introductions and topic sentences have never been my strong suit as a writer, so I felt comforted by the fact that I had the ability to gain insight by participating in these labs. Since I had resources to look back on that have me a clear idea of how to properly write, I was able to successfully craft the first draft of my advocacy project without too many major setbacks.

Figures 7 & 8: A comparison of the first draft of my CP abstract and the first draft of my AP abstract. The AP abstract is much stronger and clearer.

Dealing With Bumps in the Road

In my opinion, the most vital part of pre-writing is constructing an outline. Without an outline, it is incredibly difficult to effectively write a paper that is clear and well-organized. I write my outlines a little differently than most people do, as I like to make mine less about the structure and more about information. Although I organize my ideas in the order that I want to write about them in, I prefer to make my outlines strictly information with little to no commentary. I oftentimes copy quotes directly from sources onto my outline, which makes writing easier for me because then I am able to write more freely, without having to spend time looking for quotes. However, this tactic did not work well in my CP outline, because I made the mistake of not labeling any information and also not annotating my sources until the last minute. Because of this, I found myself wasting time having to go back and re-read sources because I either forgot where a quote came from or did not remember what a given source was about. Since this took up a large portion of my time, I made it a goal for myself to make sure to properly label and annotate my sources when writing my AP outline. Looking back, I found that it was much easier for me to write my AP once I had all of my information formulated and properly organized in my outline, and the overall process went much smoother than when writing my CP.

Figure 9: An excerpt from Reflection #3, which states the goals that I had going into the AP, including improving my outlining process.

Reaching the Final Destination

If you write in any way like I do, you know that the process of revision is frequently more important than writing your very first draft. Because I am a perfectionist, I often struggle with the idea that the first draft does not have to be perfect. I have tried to overcome this, and the way that I have found most beneficial is to write a “rough” rough draft, where I write down whatever comes to mind, whether it makes sense or not. This method allows me to get all of my ideas down on the paper, and also helps to ensure that I do not forget anything. Although this process is beneficial because it gets my brain going, it does require more work in revision, which usually comes after receiving feedback from instructors and peers. I will not lie, getting criticism on a paper can often be quite discouraging and frustrating. It is especially hard receiving feedback that you were not expecting, and having to re-think the entire structure of your paper. This happened to me while writing my CP, because I mistakenly included an excess of information that was actually better suited for the AP. In all honesty, I was frustrated when I learned this, because I spent so much time researching information that I ended up having to delete from my paper. 

Figure 10: An example of feedback I received from the instructor on Draft 1.5 of the CP, which states that some of my information was better suited for the AP.

However, I had to once again change my perspective and remember that feedback is meant to help, and not to tear you down. With this in mind, I was able to go into further rounds of review with an open mind, which allowed me to appreciate any feedback that I was given. Although receiving negative criticism is not enjoyable, it makes receiving praise feel even more rewarding. I believe that the lessons learned through revision and review can be used both in writing and in life, because it is important to realize that most of the time, when people give you criticism or feedback, they are just trying to help. 

Figure 11: An example of positive feedback on my CP that I received from a peer.

Throughout this course, I feel as though I have not just become a better writer, but a better person as well. I have been able to come out of my shell and educate myself on things that I would not have been able to without taking this class. I have also learned valuable life lessons that I will carry with me, and I am very appreciative of Instructor Abolail and my peers for making this class such a beneficial and enlightening experience.