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As I think about how I write, nothing much pops into my mind except that I am so used to following specific writing criteria, I have never began to think about how I start to write. I've become so acclimated to thinking about what the reader wants to read, not how I want to write. Yes, I write in my journal sometimes, but when I do so it is always in a manner of me ranting or writing immediately what pops into my mind. I enjoy writing in my journal because I'm not being judged or critiqued on if my writing is satisfactory or not. I feel as if when I begin to write for an essay topic, I sort of do the same thing, but I think a little harder so that I don't have to review it for a long period of time. I realized I rarely organize my thoughts before I begin to write anything. I most often just create a document, title it, and being to write my first paragraph. Sometimes I skip around and begin writing random sentences for other paragraphs. Usually when I am done writing, a paper specifically, I first go back and change any weak words or to be verbs. Then, after I do that, I edit the piece as a whole. I believe I write best when I enjoy the topic I am writing about. For example, if I am writing about a strong opinion I have, I would write it faster and more efficiently, compared to writing about a novel that was required to read for a certain class. In general, I think to improve my writing process, I could better organize my thoughts before hand, instead of just beginning a writing piece without something to grab ideas from.

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During the past few weeks, I definitely think that my writing process, and rhetorical thinking/analyzing, has become more efficient. To be more specific, when it comes to my writing, I now write my thesis first, before I begin writing my essay, when before I would just try to start with my topic sentence. I make sure I have my thesis so I can introduce the topic easier, and so that I am positive I have something to write, argue, or inform about. It sometimes is challenging for me to write the first sentence of an essay, so writing the thesis first has helped me a lot. Developing a strong thesis first also helps me write my conclusion paragraph too. I also have began to try to write my papers a couple days ahead of time, so when I look over it, I will have a a pair of fresh eyes. Since I am in a humanities and social sciences major, I have been using rhetorical analysis when reading my chapters for classes such as philosophy, political science, and even for English class. From the reading for the humanities, it mentioned how when you are reading something for a humanities class, to take notes and questions in the margins for later use, which I have done a little, especially for informative readings. The reading also mentioned that instead of just taking the information, see how the information is laid out, which I tried for one of my readings in philosophy, and I feel that it helped me write an essay for the class.

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To come up with my research topic and question, I tried to find something I had interest in and something that would have multiple sources available to gather information from, especially credible sources. My major is political science, so I thought finding a research topic that related to something involving politics would work best. So, I came up with how geography affects someones political views. This topic not only is researchable, but could help me understand more about my major. The social science discipline, is what my research topic falls under. The difference this discipline brings into my writing process is making me more observatory when reading, or doing research for a writing piece. To be more specific, the book mentions how in the social sciences, observations are a big part of all sorts of social sciences. So, when I am reading an article to help write my paper, I will observe more about how the author wrote the article, and how they could have observed what they wrote about. I approach searching for articles by using a few key words that I am looking for in an article, and more the title. I usually then skim the articles to see if the article does support what I am looking for. When trying to find quality sources, I look for resources that end in org, gov, or edu to make sure it is reliable. I also want to make sure the article has no bias. I put sources together by finding ones that relate and support one another, but still have their own meanings and similar topics.

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To develop a strong argument, I first make sure that the topic I am arguing for is solid by seeing if there has been reliable background research done, and it is especially helpful when there is data. For example, my topic is on how ones political ideology is affected by geography. So, to argue that this is true, I would find scholarly sources that have statistics shown, with no bias. If the statistics support my argument, that gives me a significant start to develop a strong argument. Then, to develop my argument more and since an argument has to have some sort of bias, I will try to find research and articles that support my side of the argument. I also try to see what the possible counter arguments could be, to make sure the research I have done could allow me to have supportive rebuttals. After gathering all of my data and sources, I develop my argument by writing statements and then supporting the statements. Since the current unit we are discussing in class is the natural sciences, this effects my writing process by when I am writing any piece where there was research conducted, I take this research by observing then reporting. I observe the topic I am about to conduct an experiment on and hypothesize, then after the experiment, I observe the results and discuss them with support from the experiment results. I do not think it is hard for me to hypothesize because a hypothesis does not have to be correct. I also do not think it is difficult for me to take an objective on ideas and subjects because I usually pick my side, then make sure the side has reliable research done. If there isn't any good support, then I know the side I chose is most likely wrong, and the the other side is correct.

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As I prepare for debate, my writing process has turned into me writing more towards getting straight to the point of my message or debate. Furthermore, instead of writing many sentences about one topic to develop an argument, I instead state my stance on the topic and use direct evidence to back up my statement. I also began to paraphrase a lot more than I used to. To prepare for debate, I try to find direct statements from credible sources to use for evidence for my stance on my topic. For example, for my topic on how geography effects political ideology, I can use direct evidence of statistical data that other researchers have gained on the topic. The applied fields differ from the other fields when it comes to my writing because in the applied fields, my writing style is more direct. For example, by applying directness in my writing, it gets right to the point. In my view, the applied fields are a field where everything is straight to the point, so that is how I write in the applied fields.

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Writing the counterarguments part of the debate did not change my stance on my topic, which is that geography is the number one factor when influencing ones political views, but instead helped push me more towards my stance. To be more specific, all of my counterarguments were other factors that would effect political ideology  like family, gender, race, and age. I realized that all four of these factors come back to ones location, and the people who surround you. My writing process is impacted by group work because hearing other peoples point of views on works I'm currently working on and completing gives me another point of view. It helps give me another stance. I do enjoy working on group projects because it allows many opinions and point of views form different people. It allows creativity. Usually, in group projects, I take on a leader role and try to organize. I like to know what everyone is doing.

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Throughout the semester, my writing process has developed substantially when it comes to analyzing other articles to find the most important information, how to edit my essays, and how to develop a strong argument. First, when it comes to analyzing other articles to help further my research, I have begun to try to discover articles with statistical data that backups what the author is writing about. I also read the abstracts and introductions all the way through, to make sure the articles discuss what I am looking for. Second, I have began to edit my essays now by trying my hardest to write the essay well the first time, so when I go back, I don't waste time rewriting most of it. I also have begun to take more breaks when editing, to have fresh thoughts. Third, I have begun to better develop my arguments by making sure that the topic I am arguing for had previously well developed research done. I have also began to make sure I keep my arguments, r statements, as short and precise as I can. Drafting my written assignments has become faster for me compared to how long I used to take. By having easy access to peer review and group discussions, I was able to ask questions, better understand the assignment, and receive helpful feed on my assignments. Outside of class, I have begun working out 5-6 days a week to help clear my mind before I study or complete an assignment. In all, my writing process has extensively progressed, and ENG 101 taught me new approaches to my writing style.