Self-Assessment Reflection Response

My goals for myself in writing my Exploratory Essay were to find a common theme and arguments by the authors that supported my common theme.  Also, I wanted to focus on making sure that my writing focused on my main theme and that the reader understood my purpose for writing. I was interested in trying a different approach for my paper, so that I wouldn’t have a regular introductory paragraph with body paragraphs. I felt that it was essential to form questions and answer these questions with arguments so I was not in need of a conclusion. For the most part I reached these goals, but I could have elaborated on them a little bit more.

     When attempting to achieve these goals, I tried to use my time wisely. I scheduled library time to focus sternly on my paper and I used the Writing Resource Center at UNCC as an aid for when I found difficulty in writing my paper. With the help of my peers in class I was able to find the issues in my writing. There were some things I couldn’t see that needed editing and with the support of my peers I was able to incorporate bright ideas into my paper. As a writer I learned that I am capable of finding a common theme within an article or story and form questions about the article or story. Most importantly, I learned that I can support my arguments for these questions that I have formed in another person’s perspective. Also, I learned that I can use structured criticism to my advantage. By using the ideas and advice given by the reader I have the ability to improve my paper and improve myself as a writer.

     The easiest part of this process was forming questions because certain questions formed as I read. There were specific things that were consistent throughout the articles that fostered my inquisitiveness. On the other hand, the hardest part was finding a structure that fit my vision. I had a hard time incorporating my questions into my paper and finding good flow for my paper. I am proud of my ability to find arguments that answered my questions in the author’s perspective. I think my sentences met the demands of my writing and the reader should be able to establish my purpose for writing. Doing more arguing and less summarizing was the most essential piece to this assignment. I am not very confident in the structure of my sentences. My next step is to take my paper to the Writing Resource Center at UNCC with hopes of gaining ideas for constructing a final draft.