Process and Product

The various methods of essay-writing I learned in Unit 1 helped me a lot to be a better writer. One of the best lessons I have learned was writing quick-and dirty rough draft. Before learning this, I used to try to write a completed essay at one time. Since English is not my first language, correcting grammar errors in my essay is always one of the biggest concerns in my writing process. I tended to focus on writing sentences that are grammatically correct, so it took relatively long time to write each sentences and it often caused me to forget what I was trying to write. As I began to write a rough-draft, I could ignore the grammatical errors first and focus on my ideas. Also, by putting every one of my ideas in paper first and then organizing it, I could write more smoothly and think of more ideas. Also, the advice ‘Put your unconscious on the job’ helped me a lot. When I write essays, I often lose track of my ideas. Now when I feel I’m lost, I do other things instead of desperately thinking of ideas.

                Required tasks of rough drafts and workshop helped me a lot. When I get an assignment, I tend to procrastinate as long as I can manage finishing it. The regularly-assigned drafts helped me not to postpone drafts and thus helped me to write a better essay. The workshops and peer reviews helped me to see the things I didn’t see and find new ways to make my essay better. Without those mandatory tasks, I would begin writing essays probably like one week before the due date. So I think the draft assignments and workshops helped me to keep track of writing and helped me to write a better paper.