When I first looked
over the requirements for this assignment I was kind of nervous because I was
not sure how I would write a four page analysis on a place on campus. I kept
telling myself that it would be impossible to write so much about something so
mundane and ordinary.
When I first went to
the Memorial Union cafeteria to take notes I found myself lost because I did
not know what I was supposed to observe. I was not sure if I was supposed to
analyze and describe the physical environment or the people and how they were interacting
with one another. To my surprise I posted my observation notes on the class
blog and a good amount of people commented on my notes and told me that I did a
good job at going in depth with my observations. With this new found confidence
I headed into the process of writing the paper thinking that it would be easy,
but I was soon proven wrong.
There
were both difficult and easy parts to this project and that is why I am so
unsure about how well I did. Personally, I think that I did a pretty decent job
at describing the physical environment and the various human interactions going
on in the area. I made sure to describe the material the tables and chairs were
made of, the various kinds of people that entered the Memorial Union, and even
the fabric that the couches were made of. I also think that I did a good job at
using descriptive and imaginative words to make sure that the people reading my
paper had a good idea of what the area was like.
With
that said, I will admit that there were a few aspects of this assignment that I
struggled with. I have not written a paper in a few months now and it is sad to
say that I have forgotten a few of the rules of writing. I had trouble
organizing my paragraphs and in my rough draft, I even forgot to clearly state
my thesis and make sure to utilize topic sentences in my body paragraphs.
Although the mechanics were somewhat difficult for me, I think applying a lens
in my paper was the most difficult part. Initially, I had no idea how we were
supposed to do this and I didn’t even know we were required to cite the actual
authors in our essay. Eventually, I added in a lens into my work and I think I
did a fairly decent job of doing so.
Overall,
I think that I did accomplish the task at hand and that I did reach the depth
of analysis that was required for this assignment. I definitely learned much
more about writing with this paper and I now know how to analyze an area. Next
time I am out somewhere I might take some time to actually analyze a place and
appreciate it for what it is instead of just looking at it from a close-minded
point of view. This project has taught me how to analyze places and also how to
use another person’s lens in addition to my own writing and hopefully these
skills will come in handy sometime in the future.
When we originally got this project assigned I was also confused. At the time we had not read the pieces of literature that Professor L handed out a week later and I was lost. Even after the class had read the pieces of work the simple choice of choosing which piece of writing to use to back up our statements in our paper was difficult. Many people picked Vanclay to use in their papers because it was easier to put in the paper. I've been assigned projects like this before so I knew that I had to find a location that actually interested me. The cafeteria in MU is an easy place to pick but not interesting to you and maybe that is why you had a difficult time staying motivated through the whole project. I have not read your paper but I'm sure you did a fine job with imagery and descriptive wording. Analysis was a hard thing for everyone to accomplish and figure out exactly what "analysis" was in this situation. I first started writing my paper in two different perspectives, which was completely wrong, but after a talk with Professor L. it seemed to become a little clearer. Maybe next time use the Lab sessions that are optional for the class during the next project if you did not go during this project.
ReplyDeleteI agree completely with your first sentence. I wasn’t sure that I would be able to complete the task at hand. When I was first thinking about different places on campus, not one place came to mind where I was just automatically like “Oh, I can definitely write a four page paper on this”.
DeleteI happened to be one of the people that did comment on your observations blog and I do think you made a lot of good observations which helped you with writing your paper. Because of the fact that you looked at so many different aspects of the Memorial Union, I feel like you could have analyzed on so many different things.
The way you stated that you forgot some of the aspects of writing are a lot on how I was feeling as well. I had troubles organizing my thoughts and putting them into a well written paper. To be honest I don’t even know if my paper had a well written or even a thesis at all.
In your last paragraph I like how you stated that the next time you go to a place you might try to analyze it from a different point of view. That is something that I will start doing too.
Alan, I feel we had a lot of similarities when writing our papers. When I first saw the assignment sheet I thought it was be pretty easy, but after it was explained I got very nervous about what I was doing. I took me so long to really understand what the assignment was asking for. I read the sheet so many times and finally it clicked and I was off on my paper. The lens was definitely hard for me too. I have never used a lens when writing so this was really new to me. I think I finally grasped the concept of it though, and I was able to correctly input it in my paper. I was also confused when doing my first observations. I did not know what to look for and I did not understand how I was going to make it into a five-page paper. After some time I believe I was able to really get a deeper analysis of my place and make it something more than just description. Overall, I thought this was challenging but the thing that helped me the most was revising my paper and adding a little something new every time. It added more analysis and really helped my word count. I hope this helps and I hope your paper turned out as planned!
ReplyDeleteI agree that after doing the hour-long observations the paper seemed a lot less intimidating, but then you actually have to write the analysis and realize that including the lens isn’t so simple. From not writing all summer, it certainly is easy to forget all the writing rules we relearn every year. Going to the editing workshops or to the writing centers at school will most definitely help improve or reestablish your writing skill. I had difficulty applying the lens too. In order for us to better understand the lens we should have paid more attention to detail and gone more in depth with our analysis of the lens. In order to make sure that you’ve got a thesis and all your topic statements for your body sentences, try writing an outline. Writing an outline basically creates your thesis and body topic statements for you. Looking at the places you go in an open-minded view as opposed to a close-minded view I think will definitely benefit us. I think doing so will benefit us in the long run as well. It will make us more open-minded people and help us to understand everything going on around us from other people’s points of view, much like we had to do with Vanclay and Twain’s writings.
ReplyDeleteI completely forgot about outlines! Thanks for the input and I'll be sure to take that into account when writing my next paper.
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