Writing Project 1

Part 1 

As a fourth year college student who has written many papers that discuss a wide range of topics, I am honestly quite excited to write this paper critiquing the processes that were involved in the creation of my previous papers. I can confidently say that I am not, and have never been, the best writer. While I have no issue engaging in writing to others and myself on a daily basis, I usually anticipate how much of a struggle it will be to climb the mountains of papers assigned to me at the start of every semester. I see “Research Term Paper” on my syllabi and instantly think of topics that could make the process less burdening and more enjoyable. However, no matter how much professional writing I do, the process never gets easier. So, it will be fun to retrace my steps and analyze what about writing these college papers agitated me so much. 

Since enrolling in college, I have written many kinds of academic papers that include research papers, weekly short responses to readings, and term papers that respond to any of the material discussed in classes. Unfortunately, I had to take two introductory writing courses (one at Pepperdine University and the other at USC as a transfer) which included writing argumentative and informational essays sometimes with research. If I had to choose, I would consider the reflection term papers to be the most enjoyable for many reasons. One reason is that I typically take interesting classes, especially as an African American Studies major. Therefore, I am able to respond to important topics that I have many opinions on and passion about. Another reason I enjoy these kinds of papers is because a lot of research and discussion has already been done in  class. So much of the stress that comes with conducting extensive research and engaging in counterarguments is reduced. I also must take into account that I have had loads of time to sit and ponder on new ideas and opinions about these topics discussed in class, which allows them to be more mature and original. An example of one of these papers would be from my “Intro to American Studies and Ethnicity” class where I discussed how the themes of race, gender, and class applied to my former boss who endured layers of trauma from being a black, gay man who suffers from recurrent cancer. I was able to interview him about the many traumatic stories he told me once before and listen from the perspective of a university student. This allowed the writing process to be more social and engaging. I actually had fun writing this paper because I was able to intellectually ramble about an interesting topic (which I do regularly with friends and family who don’t care to hear it at all). 

Writing the other research and argumentative papers that were required were quite difficult for me because there was not enough time to do the best research and develop the best argument. I already did not like doing research because it is long and laborious—I would only interact with scholarly articles and a few YouTube videos or news blogs if I got lucky. Rarely would I ever have enough time to discuss the topics with professors, classmates, or friends. And even though I wrote about topics I liked typically, it still did not make the process any less annoying. 

The writing was required, and therefore could make the process tough and unexciting. After compiling my research, I had to compose many topic sentences, nail a perfect thesis, and think about forcing formulas on my writing such as the fact/idea list and intertextuality specifically for my writing courses. Instead of the writing reflecting a discussion with an audience, it felt as if I was in the cycle of giving a fact, proving that fact, and then trying to convince the readers (my professor) of some innovative (or not) idea. This felt very artificial and restricted because my discussion was limited to what my thesis statement was. Oftentimes, I wanted to include a thought in the paper, but felt like I could not state it plainly unless I tried to rework it to support my thesis statement. And the thesis statement usually had to be turned into our professor along with an outline before we got to do any apt research. So it was common for me to only find research that supported my thesis statement, which is not at all good research. Instead of rushing this process for the sake of an outline deadline, I’d rather have enough engagement with the topic and its research to then compose a thesis statement—not the other way around. When authors draft their book, or when scholars write an article, it takes longer than a couple of weeks. I know that sometimes it can take months or even years. Required writing for school is very rushed with classes overlapping most times. I also think research and argumentative writing just limits my ability to intellectually ramble because it would be too imperfect. It would possibly not have all the topic sentences or maybe even a thesis statement. It might veer off topic or lead to a dead end. It might not even have a nice structure or “flow.” It would just be a journey of me processing information and overanalyzing it, leading to unique conclusions—defeating the purpose of research and argumentative papers. 

Another component of scholarly writing that is a bit annoying is the word count requirement. The word count requirement forces me to write in a way that is so unnatural. For example, after I have addressed the prompt as thoroughly and genuinely as possible and there are still 1000 more words to write, I have to pull ideas from thin air to discuss. This can either be beneficial—forcing me to think creatively—or very unnecessary and harmful to the strength of my paper. 

Overall, this has affected my development as a writer in good and bad ways. Fortunately, my ability to generate ideas quickly has improved. I used to need hours and days to be able to contribute to a discussion in high school, but now I feel more wise and confident to insert my two cents. Unfortunately, because of the strict rules forced on university papers and the pressure to sound super brilliant, I have grown to view scholarly writing as a burden. Even though I view writing as a burden, our class discussions in WRIT 340 have improved my view already. I appreciate when my professor acknowledges that I am human in society rather than just a student in a classroom. Even this obvious perspective (which is rarely prioritized in schools) unlocks a new level of simplifying writing that has been made so difficult in the university. I would like required writing to feel similar to journaling—just real, raw, and free, without judgment. 

Part 2 

The recent text that I would like to analyze is my thirteen page research final for my “Black Social Movements” class at USC. This paper is an analytical research essay about how Black resistance inspired and was inspired by two notable genres of Black music—negro spirituals and gangsta rap. The language of the paper is both scholarly and explicit to effectively communicate and express the causes and effects of Black resistance and Black musical genres. The syntax follows a lengthy pattern because the paper is connecting multiple points to communicate various ideas that are complex. Because specific facts and ideas are drawn from the Black Social Movements course itself, it would be easily understood by the professor and TA’s which is certainly who I was writing for. It can also be for my peers who took the class as well—if it was read by anyone who took the class, it could definitely spark an interesting discussion simply because we spent an entire semester learning about the history of Black social movements. This document could also be for the black community and American society just in general because of Hip Hop’s grasp on mainstream media. It’s critical to understand that Hip Hop—a genre and culture that was born out of both the marginalization and perseverance of Blacks—is a genre that transcends socioeconomic, cultural, and national borders. And this text intends to point out how art reflects life and life reflects art. More specifically, it intends to point out how the two genres (Negro spirituals and Gangsta rap) express the trauma, struggle, and pain of majority of the Black community beginning with the antebellum period and on. And because racism is still present today and the music continues to follow, teach, and remind us, this is a relevant discussion for a wide range of audiences. Even though this paper was written for a grade from a professor, the passion expressed in the text’s language reflects how invested I personally am in the discussions of social injustice, inequality, and music. My interest in the cross between Black resistance and music was prompted by my African American Studies courses that semester and my strong love for music (like old school R&B, rap, and gospel). This aligns with discussions concerning protest music, mainstream media, and resistance against racism and marginalization, and challenges perspectives that condemn Black art (especially Hip Hop and Gangsta rap).