9/9/2003

Since I have nothing else to write about at the moment, I’ll post the essay I started last night. This is all I’ve written of my first draft, but it’s better than starting it on Thursday and getting stuck like I did last night. This essay is supposed to be two pages (12 pt. double-spaced) analyzing the process I go through to write a paper with supporting details from my interview of another student in class. I could write about that interview and the class itself, but I think I subjected you to enough of that in the last entry. 🙂

       For once, it’s not the night before a paper is due; it’s not a mad dash to the finish line. The scene of a bleary-eyed student typing madly away in the pale glow of CRT is all too familiar. In spite of the best efforts and intentions of teachers, many students simply do not develop their writing skills beyond necessity. Whether it’s sheer procrastination or lost in the battle of priorities, students such as myself and my interviewee, Jeff, are usually among those found typing away into the wee hours of the night and sometimes morning.

       It may seem we are disorganized, ill prepared, or possibly irresponsible, but there has often been a degree of preparation from the moment we are handed the assignment. Ideas and brainstorming may begin immediately — some, such as Jeff, will write notes on scraps of paper to preserve his ideas. I am more likely to optimistically believe that I won’t forget any of my ideas, and should be able to recall them with ease when I decide to begin writing. While it’s possible to lose those scraps of paper, Jeff’s approach will more likely to come through with all of his ideas intact and accounted for. Whether it is formal or informal, the planning phase is not the true sacrifice of the procrastinator.

That’s it. I dread turning this in on Friday. We are to bring two copies of it so we can have another student read it an provide feedback. I’m not sure if we’re supposed to turn in the final draft that day or if we’ll get a night to revise it after we get the feedback, but i’ts more than that. I know he’s going to tear it apart and hand me the shreds the following week. I didn’t want to write about this. He thinks this is somehow going to be enlightening for all of us, but unlike the rest of the class, I’ve already thought about it in detail. Eh, whatever, I have to go along with it if I want to keep my GPA up. When it’s not as cut and dry as an equation, I get more stressed.