1.) What was your final thesis statement? Paste, then analyze its strengths & weaknesses in a focused paragraph (considering specificity, taking a stance, narrow focus, needing evidence to defend).

By tracing these similarities and incorporating other sources from the semester, I argue that empathy is not overrated and that its value depends on how consciously and deliberately we use it.

Overall, my thesis statement expresses the central idea that I am going to portray in my essay. However, I feel that I could have made it more specific. I think that by using both of the author’s claims right before and incorporating it into my thesis made it less specific and “I say”. I do take a clear stance on what I believe and by using both of the author’s ideas had a positive effect because it helped back up my thesis statement by using their ideas as evidence to support my claim. 

2.) In a separate paragraph, describe what you learned or were reminded of about your own writing process, from completing this essay. 

Throughout this essay I was reminded that structure and completing a rough draft is very important. By making a structure it allowed me as an author to express my ideas as efficiently and express them the way I wanted to. By using structure it allowed me to create a flow to my argument rather than having it be all over the place. Completing the rough draft was also important to my process, I found it beneficial to get feedback on how to bolster my argument and hit different criteria. Not only was it important to learn what I could improve on but by using my peer review of my partner I was able to see what they did well and apply some of their strengths to my own work. 

3.) In another paragraph: Which aspect of revision did you focus on most? What changes or adjustments made your essay stronger? Be specific. 

When revising my essay I really took each comment into account, I didn’t want to just dismiss what they were saying. One comment that I really took and ran with to revise my paper was expanding on relating my argument to myself and giving examples. Instead of having more “they say” I decided to implement what “I say”. Focusing on adding these things made my paper more balanced and backed up my argument. Rather than just stating my sources opinions, I expanded on their ideas and how they related to my life and real world occurrences. 

4.) How might you approach our next paper differently, from pre-reading and annotating, all the way through completion of your final draft? 

When annotating these next few readings I’m really going to focus on what point they are trying to get across. I feel that if I better understand their arguments it will make it easier for me to have a stance on where I am at in our next essay. With a deeper understanding of future author’s arguments I will be able to make my claim stronger and feel more natural to me.