Author: sdoshi9@illinois.edu

Writing is like picking out the perfect Netflix movie on a night where you have no more homework left to do, or in most cases, no more homework you want to do. It is a process that takes time; making the end result all the better.

STEP 1: You must scroll through all the genres of movies.                     There are hundreds of types of movies to watch, anything                      from documentaries to RomComs. Picking the right genre                     is essential because it sets the tone for the rest of the night.    

  Similar to how one must scroll through various genres to                           see what specific category peaks their interest, I like to                               look through all the possible topics that I could potentially                       write about.  I could take a more serious tone; like a                                      documentary, or I could write a less formal piece, like a                                RomCom.

STEP 2: Once the genre is determined, you must then go through the movies in that specific list. While scrolling through the list, reading the  the descriptions of the movies gives you a better sense of what they are going to be about. The summary outlines what you will be viewing.

Before starting my papers, I always make an outline. It is not a traditional outline that depicts everything that will be in my paper, but more of one that lets me generate my own feelings on the topic. It gives me a chance to review the ideas that I would like to include in my paper without anybody else’s interpretation. These ideas eventually come together with additional research to form a complete paper; but not quite yet.

STEP 3: After accumulating a small list of movies that seem to be worth your while, you go to Rotten Tomatoes, or any other reliable website that has reviewed the movie. You read the review to see what other people have said about it. You then determine if it will also accommodate your feelings toward the kind of movie you would like to watch that night. 

Once I have a completed version of my outline, now it is time for the research. I look through all the articles, news reports, and videos that relate to my topic. I listen to numerous viewpoints to determine what side fits best with my own beliefs and values. I also take into account all the factors that influence my topic; similar to negative and positive movie reviews.

STEP 4: Now it is time. The decision is in. You have finally picked the movie that you want to spend the rest of your precious hours watching. 

Much like picking a movie to watch, picking which side I will choose to support is key in any of my writing process. This is where I script my thesis and formulate sentences that represent the side that I stand for.

STEP 5: Testing the waters. This is usually the first 15-20 minutes of the movie where you see if it grabs your attention. You determine if you would like to stick to that movie or watch another one. 

This part in my writing is the point where I determine if I feel as though my piece is moving the the correct direction. I reevaluate my thesis and make sure that all my points relate back to it. I also make sure that my writing is substantial and will keep the reader interested throughout the rest of the text. It is a crucial part because if I decide that my writing is not heading in the right direction, I start from scratch, but if I like where it is headed, then I keep on going.

STEP 6: At this point, you are invested. You cry when the lead actress cries and you laugh when the actress laughs. You put your blood, sweat, and tears into this film. By the end, you have formed a connection with the movie and all the characters. 

Just like this connection, I make a connection to my writing. I revise and rewrite. I make sure that every detail is exactly how I want it to come across. I invest in my views, my characters, and my story. In the end, the piece of writing as become a part of me. It represents my ideas and thoughts.

STEP 7: The movie is over. One and a half hours of pure emotion. You either loved it, or hated it. If you liked the movie, then you turn to your roommate, who is still in the process of picking a movie, and tell her to watch it. Otherwise, you are left with a sense of emptiness and dissatisfaction. At this point though, there is nothing you can do about it. You simply go on to repeat these steps because it’s only 9 o’clock and you have time to watch another one; here’s to hoping that it’s better. 

The paper is done. It is either all that I dreamed of or it falls flat. This is the point in which I decide to show all the people that I know, or I simply just hide it underneath my other stack of homework. But, either way, a new week rolls around and I’m onto my next paper.

 

 

Coming from a predominately rich, white suburb, and not being rich and white has been an interesting experience. While there is a lot more diversity within my community compared to many others, there is still a lot of hostility. The divide between white and every other race is very prevalent; as it is in many places throughout America. I never really got to know the people that surrounded me until I started working at the local Jewel-Osco. This job not only consisted of cleaning dirty bathrooms and pushing carts that were ten times my size, but I also encountered some of the most ignorant people that I lived amongst. I eventually lost count of the amount of times that people asked where I was from or started the conversation with some Hindi word that I didn’t know. The surprising part was that it wasn’t only old, white people that made such assumptions, it was also many Indian people. I was offended that even though I was born in America, had lived in Naperville most of my life, went to school in America, and saw myself as an American, people were still only looking at what I represented on the outside. While my Indian culture influences a lot of my values and beliefs, the American culture that I have been brought up into also attributes for my personality and views. So yes, even though my skin color and my ethnicity is 100% brown, I am actually from America.

As this semester has progressed, I have seen myself steadily improve. I think this is because I was able to take the comments that Professor Hays put on my critical responses and use them to create better papers. On my first critical response, I was mostly struggling with grammatical errors. Although I still make grammatical errors, I have gotten better at revising and fixing them. I also use passive voice too much within all of my papers. Like Professor Hays stated in class, in High School all my teachers marked off for using “I” in papers. Due to this, I make my sentences more complicated to refrain from using “I”. All throughout my first essay, I saw the areas where I used too much passive voice. The lesson that we had earlier this week helped me catch the passive voice throughout my previous papers more. When I start to revise my papers later in the semester, I will carefully check Professor Hays comments and make sure that my grammar is corrected and the passive voice omitted.  I will revise all my papers with the skills that I learned in my workshop group. I hope that the end result of my portfolio will be mostly error free, while still staying true to my writing style. Throughout the rest of the semester, I will continue to look for the areas that I struggle with and revise my papers more thoroughly before submitting them.

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