Blog 11

Meta-Cognitive Questions on Definition Essay

Culminating Writers Profile

1. Discuss how your expectations about your writing style and needs have both changed and remained the same since this class has started.

I expected to start developing better writing, but my writing has improved much faster than I expected. I feel like my diction hasn't improved at all though. I've learned many new words, but I don't know how to use most of them.

2. What do you see as your strengths as a writer and how have you reinforced them?

I have a good writing style, and I've kept it the same. I feel like my writing style has barely changed, and only improved.

3. What do you still see as your writing weaknesses and what have you done to strengthen those areas?

I'm not very creative, which makes writing a captivating essay very difficult. I try to think about my writing for a lot longer in advance to make it more creative.

Evaluating your writing process

1. If you had the time to write one more draft of this essay, how would you improve it?

I would make the conclusion a lot stronger, and relate my concrete details to the rest of the essay a lot better.

2. As you received peer feedback and revised your essay, what did you find the easiest element to improve in your essay?

I felt improving my vocabulary in the essay was the easiest.

3. Discuss the biggest problem you had in writing and revising this essay.

It was hard to think of new things to put into the essay/

Evaluating Your Successes

1. Discuss your most successful large scale revision in this essay.

I didn't do any large scale revisions.

2. Discuss your success in combining descriptive, narrative, and illustrative elements into this Definition Essay.

I used dialogue to give concrete details, and I gave personal experiences as well. I tied together the dialogue with personal stories and imagery to create a descriptive essay.

3. Discuss your best success when considering your audience.

I wrote mostly to teenage girls, which wasn't the correct audience.

Being Honest with Self

1. What most intimidated you about this writing process and how did you combat this intimidation?

I had never written a definition essay before and I had no idea what to write about. It was really hard to get started, but I read old examples and things and it helped a lot.

2. What idea from our text influenced you to try a new strategy within your writing process?

The Box Man story really helped me come up with ideas. It was so creative and different.

3. What idea did you pick up on from reading student essay examples that you tried in your own writing process?

I tried being more creative and using dialogue as an example.

4. What idea for improving your essay did you learn from a peer?

I came up with my topic with a peer, and she helped me form an introduction.

5. Where do you see yourself as a writer now, in both strengths and weaknesses, after completing this writing course?

I feel like this helped me a lot, and made me a slightly stronger writer. The essay wasn't my best, and I'll definitely work harder on the next one.