Alexa Comfort

English101 Lab Section 3

Dominika Szybisty
Tracking My Challenges in Writing

Challenges with Conclusion:

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/engagement/2/2/60/

https://www.time4writing.com/writing-resources/writing-a-good-conclusion-paragraph/

First challenge:

o Transitioning from a body paragraph to the conclusion, I will not even acknowledge

the information in the previous paragraph and I will move straight into concluding the

essay

Second Challenge:

o How to restate the thesis and summarize parts of the essay without repeating exactly

what I said earlier in the assignment

Third Challenge:

o Simply making my conclusion interesting and long enough

o By the time I am finishing up with the assignment, I am mentally exhausted and will

tend to not put enough effort into my conclusion

o My conclusion will end up being dull and not attention grabbing

How to fix my issues with my conclusion paragraphs:

o Focus on only three areas: restating the main idea or thesis, summarizing the main

points of the essay, and leaving the audience with a final impression.

o Maybe use the same theme you used in the introduction in the conclusion

o Try freshening up the main idea or thesis with different word choice and diction
 o As for summarizing the main points, focus on simply staying very brief

o For leaving a final impression, try to relate the main ideas of the essay to broader

implications, use a so what? question in order show the importance of the topic

o End with a solution or course of action.

Challenges with Thesis Statement:

http://www.cws.illinois.edu/workshop/writers/tips/thesis/

http://www.easybib.com/guides/how-to-write-a-strong-thesis-statement/

Challenges:

o Where the heck do I start?

o Making the thesis statement unnecessarily long and complex by rambling

o Trouble developing some form of reasoning for what exactly I am arguing

How to fix my issues with thesis statements:

o Always have the thesis statement within the first introduction paragraph, nowhere

else (unless directed otherwise)

o Make the thesis statement not too short nor too long. This length and content depends

on the type of thesis statement

o If it is a persuasive thesis statement, focus on keeping it one sentence, with at least

two clauses, usually an independent clause and a dependent clause

The independent clause is the opinion you have towards the topic and the

dependent clause should be the reasoning for the opinion you have towards

the topic
 o If it is an informative thesis statement, the intentions of the essay should be declared

and should guide the audience to your conclusion for the topic

o In order for the thesis statement to be strong, is that it needs to be arguable by any

side

o Remember that the thesis is giving clues to the audience on how the paper will be

argued or structured, therefore, do not add in any other information to the thesis

If it is necessary for explaining the thesis statement, add another sentence for

further explaining the thesis content

Challenges with Reading Comprehension:

https://blog.prepscholar.com/how-to-improve-reading-comprehension

Challenges:

o I tend to struggle when the material is complex

When the material is too complex for me and it is hard for me to comprehend,

I will give up on reading the material completely

o I daze or zone off if the material is not interesting enough

I end up not retaining anything that I read and I will have to reread all or parts

of the reading

How to fix my issues with reading comprehension:

o Improving my vocabulary will not only help with reading, but everyday

conversations, courses, and future job or career options

o Reading for pleasure is a form of practicing for reading academic material

o Try to stop and summarize in my head or aloud, what I just read

o Simply read aloud

 Reading the material aloud allows for me get through any problematic

passages I am reading and get through any mental blocks I am having at the

time

o Skim upcoming sections of the reading

This can help me make sense of the material I am reading at the time, if I am

confused or lost within the reading

o Review the reading with a friend or peer

Getting the input from another person, helps better understand parts of the text

that I may have not understand before

Challenges with MLA Documentation:

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/

Challenges:

o Time consuming

o Extracting little of the energy I have left after writing an essay

o Difficult to remember how exactly to format sources without doing tons of research

How to fix challenges with MLA documentation:

o The order of citation elements:

1. Author

a. Author should have first name and the last name

b. If there are two authors, use same format but use and in between them

c. If there are more than two authors, use the most important or first author

and then use e.tal

2. Title of source
 a. Written in italics

3. Title of container

a. the larger wholes in which the source is located

4. Other contributors

a. May be editors, illustrators, or translators

5. Version

6. Number

a. The number within the version or edition

7. Publisher

8. Publication date

9. Location

Challenges with Organization:

http://writing-speech.dartmouth.edu/learning/materials-first-year-writers/considering-

structure-and-organization

Challenges:

o When writing essays or research papers, I tend to bounce around and disorganize the

order of the essay

o Within the paragraphs, I also tend to bounce around and write useless and

unnecessary sentences

How to fix issues with organization:

o Let the thesis direct the paper

o Outline before beginning any essay or assignment

o Ask yourself and then write a list of questions that must be answered within the essay
o Do not follow a simple five-paragraph format

o Multiple paragraphs

Used as back-up and evidence of the essay

Hold the essay together

Include topic, concluding, and transitioning sentences

Typical forms of paragraphs

Introduction, body paragraphs, conclusions

o Use key terms

o Use an anecdote or quotation

o Always use background information