Blog Post 2

            I love to write, but in the past I have struggled with citations. Since I'm going to be writing a lot of papers in college, I know that I need to use citations correctly so I can give the authors of work their due. The hardest part for me was not only figuring out where the citation needed to go, but the actual format of the citation itself. I'm never really sure if I'm doing it correctly, and I know that can be dangerous when it comes to writing papers. I am good at paraphrasing, but I know that sometimes it should not be used as opposed to direct quotes.
           I also suffer from writer's block when it comes to essays. Because I write poetry and short stories, I am familiar with the frustration it can cause, but I get much more stressed when it comes to school papers. I want to learn how to write longer and more in depth essays without spending hours staring at an empty page. Writer's block is my worst enemy. To me, there is nothing worse than not knowing what to say, and I often find myself angry because I know what I want to write but my brain refuses to translate it onto the page in the way that I want it to look. I end up at the end of the night with a paper that I am dissatisfied with but will turn in simply because it's done.
          Another skill I want to learn is how to revise and edit my work. Too often I make one draft and realize after I get the graded work back that I made a mistake that could have been easily fixed. I need to focus more on not only what I'm writing but how I'm writing it. I can't afford to make silly mistakes, especially on courses I need to graduate. I figure that I worked hard to get into this school, so there is no reason why I cannot work hard to stay here. The difference between revision and editing has always been confusing for me. Until now I assumed that they were interchangeable and basically the same thing.
         The last two skills I need to work on are presenting research with confidence and working in a group. I am used to being the student in my class without a partner, so I haven't really had much experience working in a group. I often chose to work alone because I worry about my grade being shared with someone else, and I can get paranoid about being judged by others. I am good at public speaking and have done it many times before, but confidence is an issue. I tend to try to be as humble and polite as possible, and I don't like giving people criticism. I need to learn these skills to be successful in college and as a student. Hopefully this class will give me the information and skills that I need to be a better writer.