1. The role of social media is to allow people who could never normally interact to meet and share their ideas, their passions, and their beliefs. However, just like how playing video games is no replacement for being outside, trying to use social media as a replacement for real-world human interaction simply doesn’t provide the same benefits because it lacks a key element: the nature of shared experiences.
    • I think my thesis statement is relatively strong and makes my argument clear. It has a good amount of specificity for a thesis statement, while still leaving room for the following paragraphs to add more context. It clearly establishes what I believe to be true about how social media should be used, and introduces why I believe that social media shouldn’t be used for certain aspects of human relationships. I believe the focus is sufficiently narrow, and it hones in on specific aspects that are addressed in the following paragraphs. I think one way it could be made slightly more specific would be to include aspects of Konnikova and Chen’s arguments that I address later in the paper. I do touch on the nature of shared experiences that is prominent in Konnikova’s essay, but I think pointing out that connection would have been a good tie-in to the later discussion of Konnikova’s writing.
  2. I was reminded that I tend to write long, complex sentences when I want to make an argument seem more legitimate, rather than varying my sentence structure to enhance reader comprehension. It’s usually something I would have addressed in my revision process, but often I find it hard to notice issues with sentences that are excessively long because most of my reading material contains such sentences. I was also reminded that I tend to get lost in my writing, especially when I am in the middle of it. What that means is that I get so caught up in details that I am unable to see the writing as a completed piece. This is why peer review helped me so much, because it helped me evaluate the essay as a whole and see how parts that were supposed to connect might not have, rather than focusing on individual paragraphs and adding too many details which might not relate to the thesis or any other part of the essay.
  3. In my revision process, I focused heavily on making sure my points all made sense and connected to the overarching point of the essay. I added in specific examples wherever I could think to put them, and I tried to include more of the authors’ arguments from the two essays we read. I also made an effort to really emphasize my personal experience and explain how it influenced my views. I added in my naysayer paragraph because it drew from my own experiences and allowed me to connect my beliefs to a specific event that I had witnessed. I also included a paragraph about how I tend to feel lonely when I can’t interact with the people I care about in person, and how that loneliness has affected me since I began school at UNE. I think that served to invite the reader to connect and maybe empathize with my experience, and in turn help their own loneliness through the realization that they are not alone in their experience.
  4. I would definitely try not to procrastinate on paper two as much as I did on paper one. Just because I had to write three essays in two hours for my AP literature exam doesn’t mean that it’s best practice to try to write all my essays at the last minute. For both the rough draft and the final draft I didn’t start on it until the day it was due. It’s definitely something I’ve struggled with in the past because I have a hard time focusing on assignments without the looming deadline as a motivator. I am going to try to give myself more time to think through my essay writing and revision by going through it in increments rather than trying to finish it all in one night, or three hours before it is due.