Blog 7 - Reflections on Essay and Creative Final

 In the process of writing and researching my Literary Analysis Essay, I spent most of my time on Jstor and Google searching for any information on the Vietnam War. I found that Jstor aided me in forming an opinion on my topic by providing me with the educated and sourced arguments of professors and analyzers, whereas Google allowed me to find supporting facts and evidence for the arguments which I attempted to articulate in my Literary Analysis Essay. Many of the sources which I found on Google were biased and unfit to be used in my essay, so I had to be careful which information I could trust.

 My thesis was that the Vietnam War should be taught in classrooms in order for the future generations of our country to avoid repeating the same mistakes and atrocities committed during this time. I developed my thesis over time after being exposed to varying opinions through Jstor journals. I originally had planned to only argue against the Vietnam War, but after learning the basis of America's involvement, I could see that there was a possible rationale for going to war. Although I don't personally think that “Communism might spread” is an excuse to kill over a million people in a foreign country, there are still two, clear sides to the argument.

 In regard to my essay, I was particularly excited to learn about the history of the Vietnam War. I was never taught much about the war in my previous classes, and did not even know that there were more than two countries involved until I began to research for this project. I feel particularly confident about my background information, preceding the body of my essay.

 I think that my essay could have been stronger if I made my paragraphs much longer. I felt that some of the arguments that I made during my essay were cut somewhat short. I think that I did this because I was worried that there wouldn't be enough background information to properly justify my arguments. Although after re-reading it, it does not seem like this is as big of an issue as I had previously thought. My arguments are fairly clear, and I use evidence to support any claims that I make.

 In conclusion, I think that the Literary Analysis essay went well. I am confident that I clearly and purposefully stated my arguments and rationales after providing the proper background information.

 For my final project, I will be recounting my experience going through a near-fatal head injury that happened to me in Bulgaria when I was 8. I will do this through the same writing style used in "Smoke, Lillies and Jade." I believe that this will better explain all the time that I had spent waiting in the hospital.