Self-Evaluation of My Evaluation

Writing my essay about Audrey Lorde’s The Fourth of July, I took a pretty basic approach. I read the essay the first time just to get the basic idea of what it was about. Then, I waited a little while and thought about what she was trying to say. After doing this, I reread the story as analytically as possible. I read and reread sentences, hunted for symbols and hidden meanings, and tried to see what tools Lorde used to get her point across. However, I admit, I did not spend that much time thinking about it. I just wanted to write my paper and get it over with. I was trying to connect with what I read, but it is so much easier to remain disconnected. I didn’t want to overanalyze the essay to the point that I was looking for things that weren’t even there.

I do not think I changed much as a writer, reader, or a person. I want to change; it just didn’t happen this time. The only thing I did as a reader, which I don’t normally do is read the story around four times. When I read, I usually just skim over whatever it is I am reading to get the main idea. This time, though, since the paper I had to write was not about summary but about writing style and deeper meanings, I had no choice but to read it closely. As I writer, I did attempt to portray my thoughts in a well-organized manner, and I did put more effort into my word choice than I normally do. So, there were a couple of changes, but I know I still need improvement.

Next time I hope to do a lot of things differently. I hope to spend more time looking over the reading. I want to put deeper thought into what I will write and how I will write it. I hope to be able to connect more with the reading. Basically, I know I should apply more effort and delve deeper into the analytical part of my brain.