My thesis was, “The effect of social media is significantly shaped by how individuals choose to engage with it, showing that being intentional can help build positive connections and reduce negative effects; such as getting sucked into a screen all day, missing out on the real world.” My strengths in this statement was that I made a clear point that social media isn’t all bad. It’s what you make of it. Although it can be helpful we should limit ourselves to avoid getting sidetracked. This may be biased but I think I made a perfectly clear thesis by providing examples and making my point.
What I took away from writing my first college essay was that using “I” is very important. Sharing your own experiences and thoughts with the reader is significant in their understanding of your view. I also learned that writing away even if it doesn’t make sense is okay when forming a rough draft. It helps form ideas to where you plan on going with your point. After peer review I was constantly reminded there was always room for improvement.
I focused the most on getting others’ opinions when revising my essay. It was helpful to get different perspectives and criticism. Some read my essay and thought nothing needed to be changed. Sarah gave me ways to expand and constructive feedback with examples of ways to improve. Others pointed out the little mistakes such as a double space or accidental comma. I find that a variety of feedback is the most helpful because different people think differently when reading. Some will read it all through to share their thoughts. Others will read it searching for the errors.
When writing my second essay I will definitely be starting it earlier instead of the night before it was due. Making time to carefully write and reread my essay. I will also be getting feedback from many different people again. To find my quotes I will reread the readings an highlight ones that stand out to me. For my own opinion I am going to try not to go too far off into my own words and relate it to the articles more.
