As someone who likes writing, just not in a school setting, the information that we’ve learned in CTW, both 1 and 2, is indispensable. I’ve found myself using some of the methods and examples in completely different classes, like Anthropology and Religion. Unlike other subjects, writing is a useful skill for any major.
So, what have I learned? I’ll give you a list since you asked so nicely.
- Picking sources that support your chosen topic.
- Using sources effectively.
- Actively reading works and understanding what role a sentence plays in supporting the argument.
- Translating works from different formats, such as from a research paper to a blog post.
- Using the archives effectively.
- Crafting topics based on what we found interesting in our research.
- Using databases effectively (thank you, Gail)
- Creating an annotated bibliography.
- Peer reviewing for the other person’s benefit and your own; (editing their paper and learning from what they’ve written)
- Using different modes of media to describe what we learned from our research.
This is obviously not all we have learned, but it does cover quite a bit. I’ve used the skills we learned in CTW 2 to create an annotated bibliography in my Anthropology class, I’ve used the reading techniques in Biology, and I’ve even used the archive skills outside of class out of curiosity.
Blog posts are not necessarily hard, as my fifth-grade self can attest to, but they do take time and effort. You can talk as you want, but you still have to have a point to get across. You can have short posts, but there still has to be substance to the contents. Thankfully, I think I’m starting to understand
Thankfully, I think I’m beginning to understand how to use these posts to reflect on my previous works and even learn from them. Who knows, maybe bloggers are on to something.