Collaborative work is important in the writing process as it allows writers to build off of each other’s ideas, and to catch mistakes that the writer may have missed reading it over. I am new to college, so having a peer to constructively criticize my work is helpful. It also allows for me to help others out as well, as I will know what to look for in other papers as well.

Peer Review Reflection: This reflection came after the literacy narrative assignment, and besides the actual peer editing itself, this is the definitive ‘gist’ of what it encumbered. One of the biggest mistakes when writing for me is grammar and word flow. While it is just brain storming and trying to establish a foundation, it is surprising how many errors someone can make and their mind just glosses over it. But when others point it out, it seems obvious. Sometimes you feel silly because you made such an obvious mistake, but you feel better when you realize that people tend to draft in their own dialect.

This assignment really helped me (along with the peer review) because it made me realize, as a writer, what mistakes people usually make, and how to help others with their paper. Many people share similar problems, so when you look into it, it isn’t as hard to do as you once thought. I was always nervous criticizing someone else’s work as I felt I did not know what I was doing.

Another important aspect of writing, especially when writing research essays, is properly citing your sources, and avoiding plagiarism.There are serious consequences for failing to do both, and it can cost a writer their reputation or their career.

Plagiarism Journal: It is important to know what plagiarism is, so that a writer can avoid it. For myself, plagiarism isn’t just forgetting to cite a source. The absence of plagiarism is also not citing your sources and calling it a day. Plagiarism that still has sources but is copied word for word, while still a lesser academic offense, is still an offense to writers in general. In order to use someone else’s work, a writer needs to know how to paraphrase it, as to show understanding of the subject, and prove that they are using the source to support their argument, and understanding why it supports it. I know that if I can both properly paraphrase information and cite it, then I can avoid plagiarism. I’ve never had a problem with plagiarism, and I have no intention on starting, but it is good to understand how to avoid it so that no accidents can occur.

One final importance in writing is the ability to focus in on something you want to write about. When you’re faced with a seemingly daunting task of writing a research paper, the first thing they say is to “find something you want to write about”. That’s not always easy as there is a lot to write about, and the subject you want to write about won’t come to you naturally in most cases. You have to be able to do some ‘pre-search’ and find what interests you, and what particular debates that go on in that field is worth writing about to you.

Topic Exploration Journal: The first thing you should do when finding a topic to write about is to choose a few fields of interest and write about what goes on argument wise. I made a web-map that allowed me to branch off into different subtopics, and see what were the facts and arguments for each side regarding each topic. I chose organ donation. While my original question was much different than my final, it was still a start, and allowed me to find out what the best way to approach the paper was. By giving myself focus on the essay, I was able to spend more time collecting useful sources and polishing my position. It is important to focus on one subject because if you don’t, the paper will be too broad to find any useful sources.