The last eight weeks have been quite a journey! My reflections of my experience include the two essays: “Self-Reflection Profile Essay”, the “Critical Analysis Essay”, and the final draft of my research paper “Puzzles and the Link to Problem Solving Abilities”. The posts I chose are from our first class discussion on Gladwell’s “The Matthew Effect” (Gladwell 2008), the discussion of our “Week 6 Stereotypes and Truth”, and a reply to some questions asked about my discussion.
My first essay was the scariest. We were asked to write about ourselves, reasons we returned to school, write an argument based on Gladwell’s story “10,000 Hour Rule” (Gladwell 2008) and apply the MLA style of writing (whatever that was!). It was all new and very foreign. …show more content…
I became somewhat more comfortable with writing the “Critical Analysis Essay” (Gladwell 2008). Not only did I have to express an opinion and defend it, now I was asked to use a different style, the APA style to apply to the essay. I found I actually enjoyed the process of having to sift through Gladwell’s arguments to understand what he was trying to convey. It challenged me, and the words “critical thinking” took on a new meaning for me. I was actually beginning to enjoy the activity. I was still a little nervous about writing. Realizing there was no right or wrong way to respond was an immense help. I was also feeling less intimidated when I posted my thoughts to the discussion …show more content…
Many challenges: Having to come up with a topic (something that has never been easy for me), finding enough sources to produce a paper, and going deeper into the subject rather than the high level view of the topic. Let’s not forget learning paraphrasing and summarizing. At first it was agonizing trying to find the words to keep the meaning of the source material without plagiarizing. The practice sentences were a big help in understanding the concept. I learned so much from having to write the research paper. Not only was I learning about the topic, I was learning style, how to reference and cite sources and offer what I considered research limitations - again, creating and expressing my own thoughts. My other concern centered on being coherent. There was a lot of work and review to be sure one sentence flowed to the next. I call it “connecting the dots” so my readers were not getting lost when I moved from thought to thought. I have Attention Deficit Disorder; being able to “connect the dots” when I translate from thought to speaking and writing is a big concern for
My first essay was the scariest. We were asked to write about ourselves, reasons we returned to school, write an argument based on Gladwell’s story “10,000 Hour Rule” (Gladwell 2008) and apply the MLA style of writing (whatever that was!). It was all new and very foreign. …show more content…
I became somewhat more comfortable with writing the “Critical Analysis Essay” (Gladwell 2008). Not only did I have to express an opinion and defend it, now I was asked to use a different style, the APA style to apply to the essay. I found I actually enjoyed the process of having to sift through Gladwell’s arguments to understand what he was trying to convey. It challenged me, and the words “critical thinking” took on a new meaning for me. I was actually beginning to enjoy the activity. I was still a little nervous about writing. Realizing there was no right or wrong way to respond was an immense help. I was also feeling less intimidated when I posted my thoughts to the discussion …show more content…
Many challenges: Having to come up with a topic (something that has never been easy for me), finding enough sources to produce a paper, and going deeper into the subject rather than the high level view of the topic. Let’s not forget learning paraphrasing and summarizing. At first it was agonizing trying to find the words to keep the meaning of the source material without plagiarizing. The practice sentences were a big help in understanding the concept. I learned so much from having to write the research paper. Not only was I learning about the topic, I was learning style, how to reference and cite sources and offer what I considered research limitations - again, creating and expressing my own thoughts. My other concern centered on being coherent. There was a lot of work and review to be sure one sentence flowed to the next. I call it “connecting the dots” so my readers were not getting lost when I moved from thought to thought. I have Attention Deficit Disorder; being able to “connect the dots” when I translate from thought to speaking and writing is a big concern for