Academic writing has always made more sense to me than creative writing. You do the research, you read the book, you write about it. It’s a simple formula; the steps are linear. Academic writing is laid out in front of me in a nice organized path of stepping stones. Except when it isn’t. Sometimes the stepping stones are laid out in twelve different directions in a lake of molten lava.
My greatest strength in academic writing lies in literary analysis. I feel that I typically understand and can explain the text I am studying. I like having a solid source with which I can base my ideas upon. My weakness lies in my drafting habits. I tend to knock an entire paper out with one great swing, failing to review my work before submitting and hoping for the best. If I took more time to carefully craft each piece of my papers, I would be able to develop stronger main ideas. In my research paper about menstrual advertisements in China last semester, I was able to effectively explain and synthesize twenty scholarly articles, but I struggled to come up with clear main points between so many sources.
You said, "Academic writing has always made more sense to me than creative writing." That's so weird! I'm totally the opposite. I guess it'll be nice to have some different perspectives, then. =)
ReplyDeleteI really relate to that "I tend to knock an entire paper out with one great swing". I think that completely describes my college writing experience thus far!
ReplyDeleteI also totally relate to just knocking papers out in one go! Editing and reviewing seems like such a hassle to me and I really need to get better at making it a priority!
ReplyDeleteWow, I am so impressed that you were able to make it through-- and understand-- so many scholarly articles! Being able to use evidence is such a good strength, I kinda envy that.
ReplyDeleteEven from this short post, I can tell you are a great writer and have a great voice.
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