Today I presented what to me seemed like a really thought out, detailed, analysis description of all the different aspects of both my grandmother's roaster, and the great things it can tell us about my family. Instead of being professional learners and higher level thinkers (which is what college students are?) my experience was washed away by the over thought process of my writing. Apparently I think too hard, to put it in class terms.
Why is it that when I have a great idea, and a great thesis, my underlying message is overlooked? We are forced to read countless books and search between the lines to find the message School book author's leave, why does my paper have to be cut and dry? My goal as a writer is to keep you wondering. What did I mean when I was describing "It"? Was I talking about the roaster? or was I talking about memories? Was I talking about the intricate details of the flaws of my life? or was I pointing out the faded color?
These details drive the argument which is the whole purpose of hitting a key is it not?
Now I understand this is a draft, and I know that my analysis paragraph is yet to be present, but without the current synopsis, my paper wouldn't get to my thesis.
I don't think you think too hard. You have wonderful ideas and know how to analyze very well.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that you mentioned the fact that our papers in class need to be direct and to the point, yet in literature classes, we need to read between the lines to understand the author's underlying meaning, because this is so true.
When writing research and analytical papers, we do have to be clear and direct, because that is what our audience wants. They want to know what our point is and how we are going to prove it.
Literature, as you said, is different. In fiction and poetry classes, students are taught to be clear, yes, but to be subtle in their writing. Do we want to write about honor? Okay, we can't write that directly, but rather write about an image or something that implies honor. You have to have a different mindset and set of goals when writing fiction than writing a research paper. Frustrating, isn't it?
For me, it helps to just separate these two types of writing.
For research papers, write like you are holding your audience's hand and helping them with each step of the way.
For fiction and poetry, you are merely pointing them in the right direction. If you do this well, the audience can figure out a way to get there themselves.
So don't give up! You have some great ideas and I can't wait to see how the paper turns out!