Over the course of
this semester, I have learned a lot about the importance of forming an
independent argument with the aid of outside sources such as the essays
provided in The New Humanities Reader. I used to think that an essay which analyzed multiple texts should simply explain what the texts had in common and
what they disagreed on. Now I understand that a strong paper uses concepts multiple
essays have in common to develop an independent idea that is supported by the
texts, yet is also unique and relevant
to the world today. This course also taught me the importance of close reading
to bring out subtle messages within texts to support an argument. Using
a quote is not useful unless you are able to explain exactly why and how it is
important; you can't just interpret the quote literally because then your topic
will become similar to that of the original author and you will lose the
originality of your essay. Another important lesson I learned from this class
is that paragraphs should not focus on specific documents but ideas, and
instead of transitioning from numerous independent works, your paragraph should
flow by building ideas and complicating the thesis. I feel that I have become more conscious of supporting my own ideas and I am now more
aware of my transitions and topic sentences as a whole. I hope to carry these
lessons with me into my future.
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