My Writing Process

The writing process that I used for the literary analysis is pretty much the same process I used for the argumentative paper. I think I use pretty much the same process for all of the papers that I write. The first thing that I always do is come up with my thesis. Once I have my thesis then I brainstorm how my paper will be broken down based off of what my thesis states. This is where I figure out all the main points of my paper and what order I will put them in. I normally do not figure out all the specific details of my paper until I actually begin writing it.

The intro paragraph of my papers is normally what I get stuck on the most. Once I get through the introduction and state my thesis the remaining parts of the paper seem to go by pretty fast. With the argumentative paper we had to use an outside source to help strengthen our argument and to help us sound more creditable. This is the only part of the writing process that was different for me between the argumentative paper and the literary analysis paper. Finding an outside source took a while for me and the one that I ended up using was okay, but I could not use a lot of information from it. Trying to find this source made writing the argumentative paper a lot longer for me than writing the literary analysis. I tried finding the source before I started writing my paper, but I was not really sure what exactly I wanted the source to say. So I started writing the body paragraphs of my paper and that gave me a better idea of what I was looking for in my outside source. Other than the outside source, my writing process on both papers was pretty much the same.

I think the writing process I use now works for me. I do not really see much need to change anything about it. I could probably be a little bit more organized with my thoughts when I first start the paper. Sometimes I think of some really good ideas, but I forget to write them down. Then later I go back to try and add the ideas into my paper and I either forgot all of them or I can only remember one or two. That is something that I have been working on. When ever I am writing a paper and I have an idea I try to at least make a note of the idea somewhere, that way I can come back to the idea later if I need to. This is really helpful for me because I do not normally write my entire paper in one sitting. I would like to be able to do that, but it works out better for me if I sit down two or three different times before I get the final product. Taking a break with my paper helps to have fresh ideas. If I just sit at the computer and try to get the paper out in one sitting, it usually does not work because I either run out of ideas or I get frustrated. Taking time away from the paper, then coming back to it, allows more ideas to come to me and also helps me to have a clear head. So overall I like my writing process and I think it works for me. As long as I stay organized and on task everything usually works out well.