MUAAHHAHAHAHA ITS OVER

GOALZzZZZZ:

My goal for the next 12 hours is to both submit and turn in my paper to the infamous designated research paper box before 8AM tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ACTIVITIEZZZZZ:

This past week I sent my paper to my sister, whom I consider to be a talented writer, so that she could point out the extraneous sections of the paper I could do without.  Her fresh look on my paper helped focus my paper a bit more, and she said it was a good paper, which made me feel a bit less stressed out.  

PROBLEMZZZZZ:

Figuring out how to alter my paper so that it would both fit the page limit as well as the argument I wanted to make without losing the content I liked.

REFLECTIONZZZZ:

This process, although daunting to some, was pretty fun for me.  I love writing essays, and the time we had to structure, then fill out our paper, worked really well with the way my brain functions.  Thank you Sarah!!!!

blog about first full draft

GOALS:
 
Because this blog is due tomorrow, when the full first draft is due, one of my goals is to hand in a full first draft.  I have a goal to re-read my entire paper aloud tonight before sending in and printing out my final paper.  I did this over the weekend while working on the draft, and caught many of the mistakes and awkward language I had used, and fixed them.  Another goal I have for the week is to work on the draft with any feedback I get.

ACTIVITIES:

This weekend I added a lot of discussion to my quotes, which Sarah had suggested.  I had not realized how much lack of discussion I had!  Luckily, now I feel as though my paper has enough content that I can continue to add to if needed.

PROBLEMS:

I have a 14 page paper right now (works cited included).  I have to figure out what parts to cut while still retaining a solid argument that doesn't require me to alter a lot of my paper.

REFLECTIONS:

I wish my paper could be longer :(

YOU DA REAL MVP SARAH

GOALS:

My goals for this week are to finish editing the first chapter draft that we recieved back in class today.  Reading over it, I noticed some sloppy mistakes made while writing (or rather, not writing) commentary and discussion within the paper, which should be easy to fix.  I am also working on the goal of figuring out what to cut out of my paper to make my point in a more concise manner.  This is because right now I have twelve pages if you add both drafts, including works cited.

ACTIVITIES:

This week I finished my chapter two draft early and edited it in class.  Today we got back our chapter one drafts so I spent the class period correcting all mistakes I have made as well as altering some word choices and claims to fit my argument in a more coherent way.

PROBLEMS:

I am worried about my paper's length, because I also have to write an introduction and conclusion paragraph as well as a transition paragraph to connect both chapters.  I am less worried about this because I would rather be cutting than adding, but I really like all parts of my paper and the arguments I have made, and I hate the idea of cutting out my hard work :(

REFLECTIONS:

The research paper is still not the most stressful thing on my plate, which I am thankful for.  Shoutout to Sarah for editing so many papers in so little time.  You da real MVP

I have been doing homework for 5 hours straight and I am not done but its okay

GOALS:  My goals for this week revolve around adding discussion to my paper.  Tomorrow, our first rough draft is due.  I chose to turn in Chapter 2 of my paper, because after receiving my outline back, that was the Chapter that seemed to need the most work.  My goal is to get a lot of positive feedback on the changes I made to that chapter, so that I can move on to my next goal of completing Chapter one of my paper.
 
ACTIVITIES:  This past week, I worked on improving my paper during class time.  I was very happy with the grade I received on the outline, because I thought I was going to do worse for SURE.  I tweaked my paper a bit to form a better argument and while waiting for feedback on how to fix my second chapter, I began working on my first chapter.  I'm glad I did this instead of wasting class time, because now I have a head start on my first chapter and won't have to do as much work on it.

PROBLEMS:  I was facing the problem of how to fix the end of my Chapter 2 paper, but after talking about it with Sarah, she informed me that I could use the end as more of a long conclusion to my paper.  This put my mind at ease, because I honestly thought I was going to have to rewrite the last three claims of my paper and that would be terrible.

REFLECTION:  I feel right on track with where I am in the writing process.  My stress level is low, but I am preparing myself for spring sports to come into the mix with school, ACT and social life.  Hopefully, having less free time makes me procrastinate less and prioritize more.

post-break blog!

GOALS: My first goal for the week is to get feedback on my outline.  From there, I can tweak whatever needs to be fixed or changed and have a better outline that will allow me to write a better paper.  My second goal is to use that new outline to start writing the actual paper! It's my favorite part of writing a paper, so I am really excited.

ACTIVITIES:  This past week, I was in Canada skiing with my family and a friend, so I did not do much with my research paper (sorry Sarah!).  It was nice to have a break, and I am ready to go head to head with my paper.

PROBLEMS:  I was pretty satisfied with my outline other than a few points that may be too similar for the paper to flow.  However, that outline may change this week, so I am not too worried.

REFLECTIONS:  YAY RESEARCH PAPER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

RP mode on: Blog post #5

GOALS:

My goals for this week are to turn in a well organized outline on Tuesday, which I know will be accomplished with very little trouble, as I am almost done with it as of today.  My next goal for this week is to begin working on my draft for Chapter One of my paper.  This involves embedding quotes, and my goal is to embed most, if not all my quotes seamlessly.  I also plan on going in and talking to Sarah about my ideas for the paper.

ACTIVITIES:

This past week was spent creating my final detailed outline, due Tuesday of this upcoming week.  It was nice to finally start the actual writing process of the whole paper. With the sourcing, both secondary as well as primary, quotations, and formatting of both the bibliography and preliminary outline out of the way, our class is finally moving on to my favorite part of writing essays.  I have received pretty positive feedback about my topics and quotations so far, and I hope that continues as I write in order to make my argument that much stronger!

PROBLEMS:

Some of my quotes work in multiple places within my paper, or I have only secondary sources for one topic and only primary for others.  It is a problem I am working on fixing, but it is frustrating nonetheless.

REFLECTIONS:

This paper and its due dates have been timed out and spaced out very nicely, and I am very thankful for that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

~free to focus~

GOALS:

Create and refine my preliminary outline.  In class a few days ago when Sarah assigned the preliminary outline, I began writing down a chart of the three main overarching themes of both of my research paper books.  That allowed me to get a visual of what topics I had the most or least evidence on, which helped me in thinking about the structure of my paper.  My goal now is to create a preliminary outline that works with the three themes I have now.  Although it's likely that this outline will morph as the writing process continues, I am hoping I can create an outline that I don't need to change much.

ACTIVITIES:

While gathering notes on the three main themes that I have noticed in both of my books, I discovered other topics that tied two themes together, or brought up a whole new perspective.  Although many of them I couldn't use in my paper because it wouldn't be helpful, it was really interesting to learn about all the different analyses and critical thinking about both books, as well as Hemingway himself.  I stayed on task all week in class, and now with the stress of coordinating the Benefit Concert behind me, I can focus a lot more on the research paper.

PROBLEMS:

I feel as though this week was not very problematic.  I am a bit worried about finalizing a preliminary outline, because I am picky about my writing, but I have to remember that it can be changed!

REFLECTIONS:

I am proud of myself for juggling multiple tasks of high responsibility this week.  When I make it through tough weeks like this one, I am reminded that I CAN succeed at something, no matter how daunting it may seem beforehand. :)

Week 3: Lets Do This!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

GOALS: 

I have accomplished my goal of completing the minimum number of works cited!  I actually went beyond that by a few, and have not finished citing all the quotes from my books that would be beneficial to my paper.  My new goal for this week is to begin taking notes on my secondary sources.  I'm not worried about the reliability of my sources, due to the fact that two are the actual research books, and the others were the Gale Virtual Reference Library online, which was spoken highly of as a reliable source of analysis/criticism, as well as two books provided by the library that focus on the books I am reading.  One of them talks about the role gender plays in Ernest Hemingway's novels and I found it interesting, because I had totally overlooked that as a possible topic to discuss in my paper.  Another  goal I want to set for myself this week is to stay on task during class, which isn't normally a problem.  But I would really like to focus and get as much done in class as possible, due to a crazy upcoming week.

ACTIVITIES:

This week during our time in the library, I was able to collect so many excerpts and quotations that will work perfectly with the themes and topics of my paper if used correctly.  Finding these quotes took some time, because I was re-reading the first research paper book that I had originally only read over the summer.  It was annotated poorly, so this was a chance to fix that.  As I read, I came across quotes that I hadn't even realized were connected to my second book.  As well as simply making the note cards, I have also been placing them into piles regarding what they're about.  So far I have three main piles, but they are labeled as the larger themes of both books, and I have a feeling I will need to divide them into smaller groups regarding the topics of my paper.  That will be tough because some quotes could apply to more than one topic.

PROBLEMS:  

I can't really think of any major issues I have been having while in the process of creating my research paper.  Obviously it's stressful, but I am trying not to focus on that.  I am a junior coordinator in the Benefit Concert, so in the past week and this upcoming week, that will be taking a lot of my time and brain function to handle, but once it's over it will be nice to have one less thing on top of this.  I am really excited to begin writing the paper itself, as that is my favorite part.  I am hoping that everything will fall into place like its supposed to, and that I will enjoy writing about Ernest Hemingway.

REFLECTIONS:

Despite this paper seeming like a freight train headed full speed to crush us all, I know it won't be as painful a process as I think it will be.  I have faith in the Overlake English Department to keep us sane, and I think having the different stages of outline is going to be really helpful.  So shout out to the English department!!!!

BLOG POST #2: Stressed out to da max

• GOALS:
  
  My goal for this week is to read and annotate at least half of my first book that I had read in the summer again. This will help me gather more important quotations and find the clearest connections and points between the two books that I will be able to use for my paper.
  
  My second goal is to figure out the order in which the information in my paper will go. I want to organize my argument in a chronological way, but also in a way that best argues my thesis.
  
  ACTIVITIES:
  
  Because we were in the library so much this week, I was able to find more than the minimum amount of sources required that I will use to cite my paper.
  
  I also was able to create different piles of notecards pertaining to the different sections of my paper and its argument.
  
  PROBLEMS:
  
  There has been a lot of stress surrounding other classes lately, and I have not been able to take a step back and breath like I normally do.
  
  This is more of a personal problem, but in the past week, my aunt, who had cancer earlier in 2014, just died. My parents had to fly out to Michigan and I have been staying with a friend. Although it is nice to be around a good friend and have fun, it has only made me feel even more stressed out about the upcoming week and the things I have to do.
  
  REFLECTIONS:
  
  I realized I need to be keep my word to myself. I always make commitments in my head, and then get sidetracked or don't take them seriously. It is time to become very serious about my schoolwork, and remember not to relax until everything I need to get done is done.
  
  Ellen Hanna
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  Ellen Hanna, Sarah GallagherAnd Justice for All

  January 18, 2015 at 6:48pm

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  Hi Sarah! I wasn't able to access my blog. I am staying with family friends and so I do not have it automatically logged in on a computer, and it's saying I have the wrong account. I am going to send you my blog post on here- I am really sorry for the inconvenience!!!!
  
  GOALS:
  
  My goal for this week is to read and annotate at least half of my first book that I had read in the summer again. This will help me gather more important quotations and find the clearest connections and points between the two books that I will be able to use for my paper.
  
  My second goal is to figure out the order in which the information in my paper will go. I want to organize my argument in a chronological way, but also in a way that best argues my thesis.
  
  ACTIVITIES:
  
  Because we were in the library so much this week, I was able to find more than the minimum amount of sources required that I will use to cite my paper.
  
  I also was able to create different piles of notecards pertaining to the different sections of my paper and its argument.
  
  PROBLEMS:
  
  There has been a lot of stress surrounding other classes lately, and I have not been able to take a step back and breath like I normally do.
  
  This is more of a personal problem, but in the past week, my aunt, who had cancer earlier in 2014, just died. My parents had to fly out to Michigan and I have been staying with a friend. Although it is nice to be around a good friend and have fun, it has only made me feel even more stressed out about the upcoming week and the things I have to do.
• 
  REFLECTIONS:
  
  I realized I need to be keep my word to myself. I always make commitments in my head, and then get sidetracked or don't take them seriously. It is time to become very serious about my schoolwork, and remember not to relax until everything I need to get done is done.

Ready, Set, Go!

To kick off my first blog post:

Goals: 

 Re-read my first RP book and further annotate and analyze the text.  Because I read this first book during the summer, I did not annotate as much as I wish did, and re-reading it will help me better connect the two books.  

Another goal is to find the perfect connection that will give me a lot to write about in my paper.  I already have ideas, but taking another look may give me inspiration. 

Activities:  

I completed my question set this week, along with beginning my first book for the second time. 

Problems: 

Ernest Hemingway's novels can be a bit of a slow read at first.  If I start reading, I have to force myself to keep going and stay interested and involved in the story.  If not, it becomes too boring to handle.  I deal with this by reading and analyzing as much as I can for as long as I can handle, then setting the book down and reading in a few hours, or the next day.  So far, this has been working out well for me.

Reflection:

Because much of Hemingway's work was written about the "lost generation", the story can drag and be repetitive and uninteresting a lot of the time.  Although I understand that Hemingway meant to portray it as such, it is frustrating as a reader when I feel pressured for time while reading something that is somewhat of a broken record.

However, I have been recently feeling more confident about my writing after getting feedback on the latest paper.  I now know what needs focus in my writing skills, which makes me feel somewhat relieved.