After reviewing my grade on The Bluest Eye essay, I can honestly say that I did a great job considering I got 83% on the previous essay. I was more prepared and I took my time to write it. Going over the notes on the book as well as doing a little bit of research gave me the information I needed to write my essay. I noticed that my writing has improved significantly compared to where I started at the beginning of the year. On this particular essay I demonstrated several strengths in my paper as well as some weaknesses when it came to my essay as a whole.
I had no difficulty writing out the essay because of the numerous different drafts I typed out. I went over my ideas and organized my work through the outline you gave us which helped a lot when writing the essay. I gave myself enough time to skim through my book to find sufficient quotes that would help me answer the prompt and help support my evidence. The outline alone helped me organize my paper because it split up several parts of the paper through: quotes, claims, warrants, and the thesis statement.
The different activities we did during class with our papers helped tremendously. Activities such as conferencing helped me discuss changes with you that would help make me make corrections faster. Highlighting different parts of our paper made it easier to check over the components of the essay. It made it easier to read and make changes on certain things like warrants and evidence within the paper. Peer editing with our classmates was another activity; however,this was one of the things I believed I can improve on with the next paper.
Instead of having one person check over it I should have at least three people check over my mistakes. Different people catch mistakes and can give you advice on how to make corrections. Another problem I feel I made on this essay, particularly on the second draft was not making enough changes. I made some grammar changes on my second draft but as for switching stuff around or taking stuff out I waited to do that on my final draft. By doing this it made it more difficult to make changes and catch errors because of the limited time I had.
For the strengths and weaknesses with this paper I feel they’re were a lot more strengths than weaknesses. This shows that my writing is improving slightly but, I still have a lot of work to do through learning and practice my writing skills. The strengths I believe I showed through my writing were my warrants, analysis, quotes, and corrected MLA format. My warrants were sophisticated and showed in depth knowledge of the novel. I tried to always connect my warrants back to my thesis within the paper.
My overall analysis of the theme of beauty in the book was deeply convened through my details through my quotes and explanations. The MLA format for my paper was perfect unlike the last time. I didn’t lose any points for my format on this paper. The quotes I picked out were very strong and helped me analyze the various motifs and themes presented in the novel. Choosing good quotes is highly important because they support the argument you’re trying to make which relates to the analysis of the whole essay.
Some of the weaknesses in my paper could have been easily prevented If I just went back and reread what I wrote. The weaknesses in my paper I demonstrated were punctuation errors, weak claims, and repetitive ideas. After rereading the punctuation errors were minor comma and semicolon issues. My sentence style and fluency was weak which made it hard for me to transition to new ideas. One of the biggest issues was my claims. The claims in my paper affected my introductions to my subtopic ideas in my thesis. I didn’t introduce them correctly and I didn’t add enough context to them.
I noticed as well in my paper that I would restate some of the same points I made previously in different paragraphs. I focused too much on trying to connect my evidence back to my thesis that in the process I restated some of the same ideas which became repetitive. Overall, I feel I did a great job on this paper. I’m proud of myself for achieving an A on this essay. I lost points for minor things I could of rechecked if I just gave myself ample time instead of waiting to the last minute to revise my writing.
As for the writing process I was very good on completing the assign drafts and outlines. If I had to go back and change things in my paper it would be my claims and taking out some of the repetitive ideas in my paragraphs. This whole process has taught me to work fast and efficient and to pace myself with the editing and revising. I’m satisfied with my grade but, I know I can get a higher grade if I take the time to double check mistakes. I’m very pleased with my progress in this class and my growth as a writer.