When I first read the instructions on how to go about writing our expository essay I assumed that I would be able to finish the paper fairly quickly and easily. I assumed wrong. I had no idea that I would be spending such a great amount of time staring at my computer screen that only had about half a page of type on it. I was searching my brain for anything at all that I could put onto paper that didn't have any criticism, interpretation, or evaluation. After four years of high school English teachers expecting deep, critical analysis of the poetry they presented to us, I had completely forgotten how to "not think too hard" about the poetry.
In the end I completed my paper, taking much longer than I had anticipated. Although the process was almost more difficult than actually having to analyze Dickinson's poems, looking at Dickinson's poems non-objectively allowed me to see things that I normally wouldn't have noticed. Most of the time when I read poems I focus only on the words, and interpreting them. Writing the expository essay was hard, because I focused more on structure, syntax, rhyme scheme, and other devices Dickinson uses throughout her poetry.
I particularly enjoyed the peer reviewing done in class; it definitely helped me to expand on what I was saying, and also seeing what other people had to say on the subject also helped me think more about my ideas and how I could better word them. I must say that I was also pleased to see that I was not the only one in the class who was having a little bit of trouble keeping interpretation and analysis out of my essay. I used to bemoan the thought of a peer review; I hated showing my work and having my fellow classmates say, "Oh that was good." Finally I am in a class where my classmates tell me my paper needs some work! I gratefully accepted all of the criticism that was brought up, finally someone was telling me how to make my paper better.
This assignment was definitely a lot harder than I first thought it would be. Needless to say, I am glad that it is the only one we will be expected to do for the entire semester. =)
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3 comments:
Oh my gosh! I can relate sooo much to your first paragraph, I felt exactly the same way! Actually I can relate to a lot of what you wrote, and yeah, I finally got mine done too, but it was the hardest thing to write! Ever! Haha. It's really good to know that other people are going through what I am, that's probably part of the point of blogging, oh! So in the future, if you're having trouble with an essay that probably means I am too, so we should work on it together! Haha, but for serious, working on writing with other people can be a lot of fun and definitely helpful, just let me know :)
Again, I also thought this paper was going to be a piece of cake because it sounded “SO EASY” when Miss Natalia explained it in class. I thought I would probably finish it in a couple of hours because as the assignment said, I did not have to do any critical thinking. It was just going to be me giving all the facts about Emily Dickinson’s poetry. But like everyone else, when I actually sat down to write a paper, I had two lines after staring at the screen for an hour. It was rough writing two pages but I managed to do it as well.
But needless to say, peer revision is probably my favorite thing to do when we have to write an essay. Not just because I get a chance to hear everybody’s perspective about my paper, but also because I get to see what my fellow classmates wrote as well. I personally feel it is a great tool for a writer because I am pretty sure everyone loves their paper. It is what someone wrote so it has to be close to his or her heart. But the peer revision allows the reader to see that there might be flaws in his or her paper, and it is seen through a different reader’s eyes. So that is why I like peer revision.
Finally, I actually enjoyed writing this essay even though I struggled with it. At least you do not have to be all critical and deep thinking. Instead, all you have to do is just explain what is in the text. I do not know about you guys but I really don’t like to stress my mind, so I actually liked this kind of essay. And I am kind of sad that we won’t be doing this again. That is just my opinion.
Yeah I would have to agree it was a lot more difficult than I had imagined it to be. Whenever I actually did get on a roll when writing I had to stop myself because it usually involved some kind of analysis/interpretation. I was also pleasantly surprised with some of the things I learned though as well that I wouldn't have seen if I was strictly trying to analyze the poem.
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