"The Internet and its Effects" Reflection

Before I learned how to write a response essay I lacked the ability to question an authors intentions or presentations of  ideas. When ever I would read an article I would just tend to agree or disagree and move on with my day, not to give it a second thought. After writing a summery and response essay I developed the skills to analyze writings and dive deeper into the content, along with the ability to question the authors credibility and execution of reaching their target audience. I found the this process hard to grasp at first but after keeping at it and looking at it from different points of view it became easier to understand. I learned how to be a better writer by analyzing a published authors work and thinking like a reader to develop a stronger method to reach my target audiences in the future. As a student I learned I must completely throw myself into an assignment to fully grasp the methods and benefit from them.

I really struggled to start my essay because I had a really hard time separating my own opinions of the ideas in the article from how well I thought the author reached their target audience and articulating it. I overcame this challenge by reading the article several times and separating each sentence and analyzing it. I found this made it less overwhelming than just reading the article over and over again. Next time I write a summery and response article I will be sure to use this method earlier in the writing process to bypass the initial overwhelming reading portion. I hope to be able to read and analyze more easily with practice and time.

"All there is to thinking... is seeing something noticeable, which makes you see something you weren't noticing, which makes you see something which isn't even visible."- Norman Maclean

When I first started this assignment I doubted my ability to see the methods an author uses to reach their audience and decide if they were successful or not. After I applied myself and altered my way of thinking I discovered an ability I didn't even know I possessed. I was able to read a published author and remove myself from the target audience to really look at the methods used to reach them. This new found understanding gives me the potential to be an exceptional writer because I now know how to see my essay through the readers point of view which will allow me to play to my readers questions and opinions.