The Fat Lady has Sung!!!

10 weeks ago I was so upset because I could not begin to understand how I would get through an entire term of writing. Its my least favorite thing to do by the way! However, I'm happy to say its over and I actually lived to tell about it. The syllabus seemed so overwhelming the first time I read it but the actual class was a lot smoother than it looked. Professor Wyatt was the absolute best, would not have made it without her. The way the classes were broken up into sections made it a lot easier to understand.
Looking back on it now I have a much better understanding of what does into a paper and what doesn't. How you get to that process and the steps along the way to make writing a lot easier than I once thought. A skill that I know I will use in my studies will be brainstorming and the paramedic method. I was just amazed at the fact that it really works and makes your paper sound more professional. It eliminates all of the rambling and run-on sentences and really simplifies the message. I will definitely work more on that so I one day perfect it.
I am still walking away not 100% about citing, what APA format really should look like, what needs parenthesis so forth and so on. I'm still a little rusty on that so I will need more help in that department.
To a new student coming into this class I would wish him/her all the luck in the world and encourage them to take notes and ask questions. Don't be afraid to mess up or that your writing wont measure up. We are all learning. Relax and take a deep breath, its not as bad as it looks.

WOW, week 9 already, it honestly feels like this term flew by. My paper is almost done, just have to put some finishing touches on it and re-read for the 103 time..lol I have mixed feelings about my paper. I am very happy that its almost done and very proud of myself for sticking with it and seeing it through to the end but I am exhausted literally. I have never done so much research on a subject in my life!! Writing and re-writing, reading and re-reading, it really can drain you. Some people just love writing and it comes very easy to them to produce 7 to11 page papers however, coming into this class I was not one of those people. This was a very scary process for me however I must say it has been to my benefit to be in this class. I learned the correct ways to cite and learned different techniques for getting your ideas of the ground sort of speak. All in all it was a very good 9 weeks. I feel really good about my paper and the topic I chose and hope to use the things Ive learned when I begin my transcription classes. Most of the things I leaned in this class I will definitely use again and again whenever I have writing assignment. The tools Ive learned will make writing easier for me instead of being so much of a challenge.

Lets Wrap it up!!

WOW week 8 already, it feels like yesterday that I was reviewing the syllabus for this class and terrified at the amount of writing that would be required let alone the project due at the end of class. All in all Ive learned a lot, this class really wasn't as intimidating as I thought it was. The project was still nerve recking but the way pieces of it were broken up throughout the term made it a lot simpler to do. Ive had a few problems with citing and plagiarism this term, what I thought I understood in fact wasn't at all. Ive had to really take a deeper look at what is acceptable and adjust. I'm proud of the progress Ive made thus far and extremely excited about where I'm headed. One step closer to my goal of being a Medical Transcriptionist YEAH!! I enjoyed the peer review and think it was a very positive project. Its nice to get feedback on your work. You can use it or sample another idea or just adjust your paper to read smoother. This term was not what I expected at all and I'm glad for that. I learned a lot and am truly grateful for the time and patience my professor and classmates had with me.

I can see the finish line

This has been a wonderful Christmas break and it helped so much that our project was due the week before instead of during. Being able to relax and hit the refresh button sort of speak was needed. I didn't care to much for the peer reviews at first because I find it hard to be critical of others work however, I learned a great deal about taking constructive criticism and giving helpful advice without being overly critical. I found all of the comments about my paper so helpful and invaluable. Its amazing how a new pair of eyes will see something that was there all of the time and you never saw. After reading and re-reading something over and over it sounds right, but if you hear someone else read it you will pick up on several things that you want to change or revise so they sound better. Because of this I now understand and appreciate the need for peer review.
Also to all of my classmates, make sure you are using quotation marks, and citing correctly. Brush up on all of the information we've learned this term about plagiarism. Its so easy to make a mistake that can end up being costly not only to your grade but to your record.

Work In Progress!!

Hi Everyone,

This is week six in College Composition and I cant believe how quickly this course is moving. Six weeks ago I looked at the syllabus and was scared to death. Writing isn't my strong suit so I was less than eager to get started on the writing project. Each week we have broken the project up into small pieces and constructed the base of our assignments. When I look back on the previous weeks and all of the things Ive learned I'm a lot more confident that I may be able to conquer this writing thing after all. It doesn't seem so overwhelming when t you cut the assignment up into pieces and concentrate on each piece as opposed to just jumping in there and starting from nowhere. I'm so much more confident at week six then I was beginning this class. I'm not as scared to put my thoughts on paper and decipher between whats valuable information and what is just overload for my reader.

My paper is coming along nicely and Ive learned shortcuts along the way that have made this an easier process than I ever could have dreamed it would be. Outlining my ideas along with brainstorming my thoughts have helped a lot. Also learning how to properly cite is a lesson I will use in my career in the future. I never understood why there was a need to cite in APA format, it seemed like a lot of extra work that just looked complicated. However, now I have learned the value of citing your work and properly placing my references in APA format and its not so confusing anymore. Only three weeks to go and I must say I'm sad to see this course end. Now that I have a better understanding of what goes into writing and an easier process to putting my paper together I can write all day.. (not literally)

Happy Saturday Everyone,

If I had to think of one thing that's still a challenge for me in writing it would definitely be sorting through information and deciding what is relevant and what6 isn't. The hardest thing for me is getting all of my information together and making some sense of it. A lot of times I have sooo much info. that I want to put include it all in my paper but you end up overwhelming your reader and its not interesting anymore its more of a bore. I love reading books or papers that flow from one thing to the other without a lot of added information that could have been omitted in the middle. The information Ive reviewed this week has helped so much. I'm learning new techniques like bubbling and brainstorming which are enabling me to cut out all of the extra info and through the process of elimination only keep whats relevant.

My school life has drastically changed my outlook on life and helped me manage my time a little wiser. With two classes and deadlines for each you cant wait until the last minute to get the work done. Also just because I'm in school my real life does not change. I still have to be a mom and cook dinner, plan meals, help with homework, play taxi-cab etc. But even on the most hectic weeks its worth it because I feel that I'm working towards something and the payout at the end will be well worth all of the sacrifice and loss of sleep I'm giving up now.

Hi Everyone, its almost the close of another week, wow time is really flying! I was thinking about our blog questions this week and remembered a time in high school when my teacher asked us to think of a topic and write 7 pages on it for our final. One of my close friends and I were brainstorming about what we would write about. I came up with a topic for my paper and was so excited about it but when we got to school the next day she told the teacher it was her topic and took all the credit for coming up with it. Needless to say I was so angry and hurt that my friend would do this to me. In reflection on what we have been learning about citing and plagiarism I can completely understand why its important to give credit to whomsoever information we are using. I can imagine how mad someone would be if they saw my name on a paper with all of their hard in it and I was taking the credit for it.