AlexisDeGuzman

October20,2014
College1/CRN0831

MidtermReflection
Inallofmycoursesthissemester,IfeltmostsuccessfulcompletingmyEnglishmidtermand
receivinganAandIfeltleastsuccessfulwhenIworkedreallyhardonaPsychologydebatepaperonly
togetitbackwithaDonmypaper.
Englishhasbeenamediocresubjectforme.Ivealwayshadtroublewithessays,whetheritbe
startinganessay,orfinishingitwhichmakesmeevenmorenervousaboutwritingtimedessaysIwas
dreadingmyEnglishmidterm.Istayeduplatethenightbeforetowritesomenotesthatwewere
allowedtobringintoclasstouseonthedayofthetest.Ianalyzedseveraltextsandwasstressingout.I
walkedintoclassandmyprofessorhandedmetheprompt.Istartedbrainstorming,stillnotfeeling
confident.However,asIstartedwritingmyparagraphs,Ibegantodevelopmyideasreallywellwith
tremendoushelpfrommynotesfromthepreviousnight.Mynotesallowedmetoexpandmythesis,
perfectmytopicsentences,justaltogetherallowedmetoorganizeandoutlinemyessaytomake
argumentstronger.Rightastheclassfinished,Iwasclosingupmyconcludingparagraph.Iwalkedout
oftheclassroomfeelingveryconfidentandcontentthatIdidwell.WhenIgotmyessayback,the
commentsfrommyprofessorwerereallyselffulling.Shecommentedonhowshelikedmywritingstyle
andthedevelopmentofmyargument.ThegradeAshinedeversobrightlywhenIopenedupmyblue
bookforthesecondtime.Ifeltsoproudofmyself.ItwasthebesttimedessayIveeverwrittenhad
everfeltcompletelyconfidentabout.
MyleastsuccessfulassignmentwouldhavetobeaPsychologydebatepaper.TheclaimIhad
toproveordisprovewasEveryoneneedsatleast8hoursasleepanight.Thepaperhadtobeat
least2pageslong,doublespaced,andincludeatminimum2academic(peerreviewed)sources.I
startedthepaperthenightbeforeusingEBSCOhost.InthesearchbarItyped8hoursofsleep
nightsufficientsleephowmanyhoursofsleepdoyouneed,etc.Ihadsuchahardtimefinding
sourcesthatprovedordisprovedtheoriginalclaim.IhadplentyofresultsthatInarroweddown,but
theyweremainlyarticlesofhowinsufficientsleephaddetrimentalconsequences.Therewasnevera
directstatementthatspecifiedthenumberofhoursofsleepneededforthemajorityofpeople.Inmost
articles,theyhaduse7or8hoursasthebaseline,butneverexplainedwhyandtherestoftheother
articlestalkedaboutthemaximumhoursofsleepthatwouldproducehealthissues,insteadofthe
numberofhoursthatwouldbedefinedasnormalityalongwithgoodhealth.Itwasfrustratingtofind
articlesthatwouldaccommodatetheclaim.Afterrealizingthat,Iknewtheclaimwastheproblem,butI
couldnttweakit.TherewasntanythingIsawthatIcoulddoaboutit.So,Iwrotethepaperwith
minimumrequirementsandtalkedaboutthenumbersthatcharacterizedinsufficientsleep.Ireceiveda
12/20aD.IhaveacoupleofdebatepapersleftthistermandtoimproveIneedtostartmypapers
earlier,askalibrarianforextensiveresearchingtipswhenusingdatabases,andseemyprofessorduring
officehourswithdraftsofthepaper.