Essay #1 Reflection

This essay was a great learning experience when it comes to the writing process. writing processes are different for every, almost every, teacher. so this was our first essay for Craig which made most students frustrated because we have to write in a way that we aren't used to. The plus side to this is that after the essay was done, our second essay will be much easier (lol) than the first because we will know exactly what is expected of us. Not that we didn't trust Craig or Ben or the rubric, but once we see exactly how things work, we will be a bit more comfortable working on these essays.

When I was first asked to brainstorm for this essay I thought I was good to go and that this essay was going to be pretty easy. I knew (at that time) that I wanted to write about how Bacon was the bad guy, and the Indians were the victims. So I put together my thesis and hypothesis and began my outline. At that point I was sure I knew exactly what I wanted to write, I thought I had it all planned out and that there was no way that I was going to have to re-do my thesis or even my entire essay. Aha, I guess I have a lot to learn about that. After I had my first rough draft done, I got to thinking after extra research and talks with fellow classmates, and I came to the conclusion that maybe the Indians weren't really the victims at all. I thought that maybe it just depended on how you looked at Bacon's Rebellion, and from what time era. I then realized that that was not AT ALL what I was portraying in my essay, so I nearly had to completely re-start my essay. At least I found out the majority of my mistakes in the middle of the writing process so I wasn't all panicked at the last minute while trying to re-write an essay over and over again two days before it was due. I am sure that I really benefited by the different drafts that I wrote, I have never written more than two rough drafts. Now I know how helpful those can be and in the future I am going to use those as much as possible. This essay was quite the learning experience.

Writing about history has not every been difficult for me because I really enjoy history. This was a different type of writing history thought, but I still liked it. In this essay it wasn't just meant to have loads of info in it, it was meant for analysis. Yes, some info was needed but only to support my analysis. I am not used to this type of writing but i like it, it gives me the power to want to chose sides and come to a conclusion about one history event. Plus, it is way more interesting and beneficial to write, in my opinion. I bet teachers enjoy reading these types of essay more than traditional boring essay. I know I would, because all ''fact based, no opinion or voice expressed'' essays will be boring and all the same. Who wants to read 50 of nearly the same essays? I know it wouldn't be me.