“Screws fall out all the time, the world is an imperfect place.”
– John Bender (The Breakfast Club)
Part 2 of the our first humanities took us on the path of writing my first formal essay. Part 1 of this project can be seen my previous post I’m More Happy Than Not, To summarize my group and I created a trailer for a book called More Happy Than Not. In the essay I wrote I would go much more in depth to my knowledge of the book. My final work is below, but I feel the real importance lies in the process.
The Research
To write our essay we first had to understand what we were writing about. Our goal was to answer our driving question with our essay.
How do authors use text to teach us more about ourselves?
We were writing a synthesis essay. A synthesis essay uses 2 or more sources to provide as evidence to provide your thesis. I was required to use the first book I read More Happy Than Not, and the second book I read Persepolis, the story of a young girl living through the Iranian revolution. The third source, The Breakfast Club was optioninal but I was able to use in support of my thesis in my essay. After watching or reading all 3 stories I started to think about my thesis for the project.
On the path to formulating my thesis I slowly but surely improved it. My first idea was:
Authors use various devices to relate to the reader in both fiction and non fiction books to teach readers lessons about themselves.
After feedback I learned that thesis was much to vague and big. I began to think on ways to narrow down my thesis. I wanted to focus on relatability in my essay so I made a thesis that reflected that idea
Authors use relatable characters, settings and situations to teach the reader lessons.
This thesis was much more narrow but still didn’t reflect the evidence I wanted to use in my essay. I needed to change the language of the thesis to convey more of an importance on the stories of each individual character.
Authors use relatable characters and environments to create a personal experience for the reader which can insight deeper thought.
This thesis was at a point that I was very comfortable to use the evidence I was going to use.
Practice
Now that I was prepared in the evidence I was using as well as my thesis it was time to practice. It was key to work on my skills and familiarity with my topic for the in class essay write. I created a essay outline to help organize my ideas and simplify my thoughts.
This essay outline detailed the hook, my thesis, my three pieces of evidence, and most importantly the conclusion. After organizing my ideas in the outline I practiced writing each section of my essay. I learned after writing these practice sections what directions I wanted to take my essay. Through this practice I spoke to my teacher about the direction I was taking my essay in. She gave me some advice on what works and what doesn’t. This feedback/advice had a profound impact on the quality of my essay.
In my opinion the most important part of any essay prep is practicing what you want to write about. As I have learned from my golf coach, random practice (similar to growth mindset concept) is a key anyone’s success. Random practice is when you introduce a number of different variables in your practice rather than repeating the same skill over and over again like you would in block practice.
Practicing introducing different variables is very important so that you can be prepared if you pull a blank from your brain during the essay. If you prepared yourself with the possibility of failure you can better overcome the test nerves you may have.
The most difficult part of my preparation was understanding an commiting to my topic and thesis. It was very hard to first find a topic and thesis that you truly dove into into. It was also hard to balance the truth and facts behind your thesis and your personal opinion. It was important to draw from both when writing whilst still phrasing the essay in a way that your points are factual and an opinion. When planning I had to keep the distinction in mind and ensure that when writing it was phrased and delivered in a way that the reader has no choice but to agree with your points.
Writing the Essay
With my preparation complete it was time to apply the work and learning over the unit in the in class essay write. I came prepared with a quote sheet as well as a plan for my execution of the write. My plan was to jot down a quick bullet point plan on a piece of scrap paper to ensure I covered all the topics and pieces of evidence I wanted to.
As the essay began I found myself at many times stuck but because of my practice I found a way around the mental blocks quickly. I checked off every bullet point that I completed during the essay and I made sure that I didn’t overwrite any of my points and miss others.
When writing I couldn’t help but think of how crucial my opinions of every piece of evidence was to the value of my essay. I drew on my thoughts of the books and movie allowed me to make the arguments I wanted to make. They allowed me to write about what I really thought rather than writing from someplace else. An important lesson for next time is to always write about something you believe in because if your heart isn’t in it neither is your entire brain.
Writing my essay was not easy but after lots of thought, even more writing an essay was born. The essay was revised and edited first by peers and then by my teacher. My final product is something I feel I am very proud of. To view click the photo below!
Next time?
With our next essay to be completed within the next month it is crucial to look to the future. I will use what I learned to create a very powerful essay on whatever my next topic. My major takeaways are as follows
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Practicing is the most important part of my prep
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Know your evidence like the back of your hand
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Use quotes and direct references for evidence
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Most of all, relax when writing the essay
I am interested to see what new things I can learn and try out next essay.
Until then, have a crazy November…
