Writing has never really been my strong suit. Despite taking AP English classes in high school and doing well enough to get through and supposedly improving, I felt I was good enough. Of course, like most students entering into college, those high school writing skills that we have gained and honed through numerous amounts of essays were blasted away by a single day in writing class, especially Writing 39 B for me. Writing 39B really showed me the gaping abyss that was my writing and I assure that my writing has really improved since then. But now that I have entered into Writing 39 C, it is like improvement is a non-stop road that always goes forward. There is always something ahead and more that I have not yet seen that I need improving on. 

Ever Expanding Research And Changing Landscape of Composition

         By the time the HCP was introduced, research was beginning to be all of my concern as it was something that I was never so great at. Making sure sources were academic and even credible or reliable was just as important. In addition, since the project was research based, having credible sources help make up a portion of the essay as it provides support and structure to the argument. Thus I really need to focus into my weak spot as of the time being.

However, there was something I needed to do first before all of that research. It was something I have learned to take dearly from Writing 39 B, those were outlines. Outlines have been especially helpful when it came to spilling out all the ideas that I have in my mind. Something particular that I like to do is to write out my outline at the very beginning stage rather than typing it out because I feel like I am really getting my ideas out when I make that tactile connection when physically writing. 

       

Now of course, this looks a little messy but it is the beginning. From here I began to actually type out a cleaner and more proper outline that will then serve for my HCP. The typed outline acted as my foundation and allowed me to begin my research into the subject of population decline in Japan and how video games was its cause.

However, the problem that I soon encountered was that it was not something necessarily talked about much in the academic research realm which made it quite frustrating. I became stuck between how in Writing 39C we need to use academic resources and when was it appropriate to use non-academic resources such as online articles. Thus I made sure to exhaust all the possible academic resources that I needed in order establish a reliable and credible portion to my essay. After that I began to use non-academic resources such as online articles. However, I was very picky and made sure that these articles came from reliable resources such as WashingtonPost or BBC. Another way to know whether or not it was reliable was to see government websites that have their own data and research such as from the Department of Labor or etc. On top of this, I made sure to take note on articles and to make sure that they have research behind it to further ensure that they are credible. 

Although through numerous hours of research, I had made a huge mistake. I spent so much time focusing into finding resources but not so much into incorporation of sources. For instance, when using graphs and tables for my essay, I did not put it in the right spot. 

 

In addition, I did not back my source up after incorporating it. Thus I left my source which is teeming with possible information that could have helped push my essay further, in the middle of no where.

Adding on, there were also many logical breaks within my HCP as Prof. Annie pointed out for me. 

And after looking further into my HCP, it was very evident that my composition and logical flow was very under-developed. From topic sentences to paragraph underdevelopment, there were problems that were very evident in this HCP.

In fact, the logical breaks within my HCP were really down right poor until Prof. Annie pointed out how my argument began to contradict itself. 

After reading this comment, it really made me go back to square one and remember the purpose of this essay. The purpose of the essay is to convince the reader that this problem is significant through its historical context. To convince. Thus the moment that I began to contradict myself, the essay begins to crumble upon itself and all of the time that I put into research for good material is put to waste as my argument holds no credibility. Thus from the grave mistakes that I made in my HCP, I made sure to NOT repeat the same mistakes in the AP.

Therefore when it came to my research for the AP, I followed the same 'rules' I had for the HCP. In fact, I learned to even look into the work citation of my sources to find even better and more credible. 

For instance, in one of my original sources, I really liked how they provided a lot of support into their argument with credible source. Thus when looking into the work citation, I found the highlighted citation and followed that. From there it lead me to this.

After reading through barely understandable translated English by Google, I learned that this website was the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare by the government of Japan itself. In addition, after browsing around in the website, I managed to find data and research that actually tackled about the problem of population decline in Japan and what the cause of it was. I struck gold. I would like to thank Prof. Annie for teaching me this. 

Although I struck gold, I would be a fool to put this to waste. Thus in order to ensure that I did not waste my precious sources that I spent so much time collecting, I made sure to revise, revise, revise. Leaving no stone unturned. 

On the second draft, after the 'first' which was technically an outline, I essentially regurgitated my outline in an almost well-formed manner. Soon after doing so, I made sure make use of conferences with Prof. Annie more. During these conferences I made sure to explain and talk through with Prof. Annie my logical flow and if that would make sense because I had the idea within my mind, I just needed to articulate it in a logical manner when I write. Thus with the aid of the module provided by Prof. Annie, I made sure to do some major restructuring. 

This module was essentially another outline, however it helped me restructure my paragraphs so that I could logically keep my argument strong throughout the essay. I made sure to keep this strong logical argument by having concise topic sentences as seen in bolded words. In addition, the research that I had accumulated was able to be put into a well-structured manner. I learned after doing this module, that the logical flow of my argument should be able to build the bridge between my paragraphs and fill in the gaps of the sources with my argument or with more support from another source. The sources that I use should work for me in my argument instead of against me, which I have learned after my HCP. 

Thus as seen here, I was able to not only introduce my source, but also backed it up. Not only stopping there, I made sure to exhaust my source to its utmost potential so that it could help accelerate and convince my reader as it should. 

After weeks upon weeks of research and revising, I have learned a lot. I have learned that research is only a portion of the essay as it should be. Research itself should not take away from the essay, but should in fact add more depth and argument. After doing modules and practices to improve my writing, I have to admit that they were extremely helpful because they reminded me of the basic of how to think - surprising isn't it. By doing these modules and practices, I learned how to write topic sentences that were concise and helped the logical flow of the argument. In addition, the use of sources were well-incorporated and built upon one another after establishment of earlier sources; my input and argument help tie together gaps within the sources. Thus at the end of it all, my AP was almost as if it were a big stack of pancakes. Every pancake layer was the topic sentence and the butter and syrup between each layer was the sources. 

The Kaleidoscope called 'Multi-Modality'

         After finishing both projects, I truly saw the importance and impact that multi-modality had. Multi-modality help add another layer of depth to the argument. As the saying goes, " A picture is worth a thousand words," and it really is. Sometimes some things need to be visually experienced in order to understand the full scope of the situation. 

For instance, in my AP, I provided a picture of the Levi's Stadium which was used for the SuperBowl in 2016. 

I made sure to provide this picture so that the reader could fully understand the number of people that Japan was losing in its population decline. Of course, explaining that a country is losing 1 million people since the past recent five years could be already seen as a large number. However, this does not help the reader if they cannot put that number into context; therefore I put it into context such as seen when I say to multiply the stadium by 15 to equate the population loss in Japan. Thus providing a picture helps the reader visualize and understand the gravity of the problem. 

In addition to this, sometimes there are some things that have to be seen to actually understand it.

This full body suit picture that I provided in the HCP is a perfect example of how the use of pictures can help support the argument. With technology continually growing, lots of people cannot catch up and those who cannot catch up or simply do not catch up would not be able to fathom what this would even look like. Thus providing pictures really do help add a support system within the argument to the essay as seen in both the AP and HCP because sometimes there are things that simply cannot be explained.

In addition to this, having a multi-modality composition does indeed add to my own credibility or ethos. Although uses of photos can be used for pathos effect, remember that this is multi-modality. Thus including graphs and statistics are not out of the question. Throughout the AP and HCP, I have provided graphs and tables. Such as:

 

Both of these graphs, help add the the credibility of my argument. How? By providing a visible graph, this help prove that there is actual data and research behind the sources being used. Numbers are not simply fabricated from thin air. Although using citation is technically proof already to using a source for the numbers, providing a graph helps dispel if any cherry picking was used in the essay. When I say 'cherry-picking,' it means to grab a small tiny portion of what the data and misrepresent it. Thus by providing a graph, it allows the reader to believe in the credibility that the author has because not only did the author put time into the research but also had no intentions to hide or misrepresent the research that was used in the process.

Innovating Revisions

           Saying that I simply benefited from the feedback of my Professor during conferences would be an understatement. Whenever I felt I needed help or wanted to get my ideas across and wanted feedback, Prof. Annie really helped me with every conference that I scheduled. Scheduling conferences multiple times helped me a lot because it gave me a different perspective. Sometimes being hell-bent on an idea and going at it for hours does not help because it would lead to pigeon-holing. Thus every time I talked to Prof. Annie, it gave me another perspective to what I was missing after hours of thinking in just one direction. Because I have always been very receptive to criticism, I would like to say that this has been what pulled me through with my essays into revising and perfecting it. 

Whether it be feedback in person or on paper, feedback has really made me see my apparent problems in writing. For instance, on my 3rd draft of my HCP, Prof. Annie told me how there were a lot of weaknesses within my essay. 

Following through with the comment, I made major revisions to my essay. I essentially broke down my paragraphs and redid them. 

As seen here in the draft, I made such revisions that there were paragraphs that were completely changed up or just added. However, after finishing the final draft, the comments from Prof. Annie really informed me  if I had really accomplished anything within my fix.

Of course, after going through most of the comments such as these, it became very evident that I did not hit those key points that I needed despite my revisions. Thus the feedback were very important because it was a checklist. Was I able to satisfy all of the concerning problems with my essay? If so, then the problem should not come up again. However, as seen at the end of my HCP, it was obvious that I did not do just that. But, learning from this, I made sure to satisfy all of those key points in my AP. 

Thus after keeping those feedback at the forefront of my mind when revising, my AP really began to evolve. With me constantly reminding myself, "Am I doing this ?", "Why am I doing this?" ,"Where am I putting this?," I eventually became my own critic. I, too, also began to slowly critique my every action and sentence that I put into the essay. Thus the results were phenomenal.  

At the end, using feedback kept my work in check. It really improved my writing because it pointed out the gaping hole in my writing but also reminded me that I DID NOT FILL IN THAT GAPING HOLE. Thus after keeping the feedback in my mind at all time, it helped me improved not only as a writer but also as a critic.

Application to the Astounding World Around

              Writing 39 series has surprised me every step I take. Every time that I have felt doubt or even hate and resentment for, I slowly began to like and perhaps even love. Although this course has been meticulous and devastatingly a pain because of the workload of research, it has truly taught me a lot. I have learned so much so that I have been able to apply my skills that I have learned here to other subjects also. 

Weirdly enough, my essay writing skills here have helped me write better in Spanish. Although the essays in Spanish, I have to admit, are not as difficult as seen in the Writing 39 series, it is condense. Because it is condense I have to be able to express my idea and convince my reader in a well-timely manner that encompasses the full subject. Thus the skill that I have learned that best applies to Spanish was the practicing I had on topic sentences. 

Topic sentences that are concise and easy to understand help to really convey the main idea that represents the entire paragraph or perhaps essay. Thus with the use of topic sentences I have really learned to write well informed paragraphs that convey the argument with a little amount of space. Therefore, my learning of topic sentences is only one of the many examples of how Writing 39 series has really helped me in other areas.

              Writing 39 C has been evolutionary to my writing. Unlike 39 B, I believe that 39 C has really pushed my writing to change a lot more. My writing has become a lot more straight-forward and logically makes more sense. In addition, I have learned to manipulate my writing and sources so that they can help each other to improve the argument of my essay. I hope to take not only the writing skills that I have learned from Writing 39C but also the research skills that I have learned and apply them to the endless amount of areas in my life that also need improving.