This week, I found the peer review to be very helpful and very insightful. My peer’s comments highlighted errors and oversights, and made me reconsider my topic sentences. Additionally, when reading my peer’s essay, I noted good things, such as a title page and a captivating title. I noticed, for instance, that I had not put my title in the proper spot, but rather, just as the first sentence, which could confuse some readers. Additionally, I had to correct some of my peer’s citations, which allowed me to properly correct mine. Overall, the group session was highly beneficial and successful.

This session helped me grow in many ways. I got to learn different approaches from my peers, which helped me revise my thesis. I also have a clearer grasp on what the purpose of synthesis is. In essence, synthesis is making a point by combining the similarities and differences of multiple sources, or, making a claim based upon the connections between sources. I am glad that this was brought to my attention, as it directly impacts my view of the articles, and therefore, my writing process. Formerly, my thesis was a bit vague and lifeless. Now, I have a thesis that hooks readers and establishes a topic. The methods used included, but were not limited to, color coding, pro con listing, and venn diagraming. As for questions, I asked what methods were most effective for each member, and how they helped shape the thesis. Overall, I would say that the discussion group improved my writing abilities in terms of conciseness and clarity. I find this extremely helpful because I tend to go on tangents when I write- or talk. This will force me to use the strongest words in my writing, so that readers don’t become bored or confused, and to ensure the point is fully realized.

During this group session, I reconsidered the approaches I used to complete part one. I was confused about the due date, and thought part one had to be done by today. So, after everyone had shared their methods, I shared the methods that I used to finalize my thesis and synthesize the sources. The approaches that my classmates proposed included, but were not limited to, highlighting important or interesting passages, color coding, and annotating. I took these into consideration. The one that I considered incorporating the most was the color coding method, because I tend to memorize things easier when good grouping measures are used. Color coding effectively and easily groups ideas. The methods I proposed included: finding a recurring theme or idea between both articles, identifying the uses of logos, pathos, and ethos, and comparing the proposed solutions in both articles. Additionally, I feel the ice breaker questions were a very good idea, although one that we did not have time to implement amidst the confusion of what to do. However, overall, I feel that today ‘s zoom was pretty affective in getting a general and specific idea of how to complete part one of the assigned project proposal.