Writing Discussion

 Finding Inspiration

    There is something so frustrating about sitting down in front of a piece of paper and...nothing. There is not a single thought in your brain. Although you try straining yourself , it only is in vain. To be honest, it happens to me more time that I would like. So that then begs the question, how do I or even someone else just sit down and write something.

    I would say that there is a simple explanation but there really is not. I am more of an active writer and not passive (according to my mother). That means that I like to just go get ideas rather than ideas just come to me. It is a very good system until you realize that if you have no ideas in your head currently, then how do you know what to search? I find that one of the best ways to think about an idea is to start to play with something. Like with a string or to start a rhythm on your desk. It is a weird way to think, but it works and it gets my ideas down on the page and that's all I really want. I also think ideas are easier to come by when a specific prompt is presented in front of you. 

Writing Discussion

 What is an Argument

    Last week, we read a few essays to use as a template for our argumentative essays. While reading and reviewing those essays to better my draft, there were aspects of the essays that I think flowed really well and things that did not do so well in my eyes. 

    One of the things that stood out to be as a red flag was the structure. Now, I am not speaking for everyone but an excess of 7 paragraphs is too much. There was a saying my mother used to tell me when I was little and telling her about my day at school: "land the plane" or a more common term, "get to the point". For me, I like when essays get to the point, however they do not skip over key detail that leave the reader in an ambiguous state in the middle of the paper. To have someone read your paper, they are going to get exhausted when the reach the 8th paragraph and still have a couple more to go. Now, there were parts of the structure I did like in that the paper flowed really well via transitions and citation wise a very informative paper; that part I really did like. 

Now, the worst thing that I saw had nothing to do with the paper but with the author. Personally, when reading about a rational argument with two conflicting sides and both sides make valid points with the own sources; that is great. Why? Because the paper offers the freedom for the reader to chose their own side. When I read a paper about a valid and rational argument, I do not like to see the author interjecting and saying "well yes, x is right, by I have a source from y." That is not an argument, that is persuasion. It takes the reader out of the essay when the author starts rebutting every other paragraph and on the other ones they are providing sources that back up their own claim. It sounds just like a persuasive paper not an argument.