Reflections
Theme Selection
The theme selection was a difficult decision because I wanted to make sure that I picked a topic that I could write a good essay on. Last year my topic was very specific so it was hard to write a lot of information on it. This year I brainstormed a list of ideas that I really liked, and then ended up picking the Impact of Jazz as my theme. Mr. Jacobs suggested that I should narrow my theme to a specific artist. I think that ended up being a good decision later in my paper, because there was so much information on jazz, that it helped having my paper be focused on Duke Ellington. I enjoyed researching Duke Ellington because I am very interested in Jazz and I like to learn about different artists.
Selection
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That method was definitely not an effective way to writing a good essay. This year, I had a vague idea of my thesis before I began taking notes, and made sure that I had a solid thesis after I finished taking notes. Mr. Jacob’s helped me pick clearer language when I developed my thesis. When writing a thesis it is important to make sure that the sentence is specific and clear, because it is one of the most important sentences in the whole paper.
Annotated Bibliography I think that writing the annotated bibliography before I started writing my paper was a very important step. The annotated bibliography allowed me to evaluate my sources and see which ones would actually help me with my paper. By rereading the notes I had taken I saw that some sources had repetitive information, so using both sources would not add to my paper. After doing the annotated bibliography, I did additional research to make up for the sources that would not be relevant to my paper. The quick summaries of the sources were also great to have for writing my outline and picking the sources I would put in each body
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While writing my rough draft I was able to work out the kinks of my outline so that my paper had a better flow. During my rough draft stage I think that I need to include more sources, so that I do not have to add quotes as I am finishing the paper, The peer editing step was very helpful, because my partner showed me where more evidence could be effective. However I wish I had already put more quotes into my essay so that she could focus on more important things. I think the next time I have a paper peer edited, I should try to make my paper closer to final draft