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| Courtesy Google Images |
Sunday, May 5, 2013
FOCUS
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FOCUS a Tool for Life
I have learned to narrow my focus tremendously through the
assignments in English 102. I tend to
see the big picture and get very overwhelmed by the details. With the application of close reading, I
found that I was becoming even more overwhelmed because I was thinking so
deeply about every single thing I was reading.
Though this helped me to understand the reading better and allowed me to
be critical of the material it became very hard for me to select a single
important theme or topic within the material to write about. I couldn’t seem to get the bigger picture in
all its glory out of the way. It was like trying to find a formation while standing on the rim of the Grand Canyon looking in.
With the assignment of the third essay using the book “WhiteNoise” by DeLillo I had great difficulty finding a single focus within the
reading. My notes were voluminous; I was
forced to use a strategy of selecting just one key word and phrasing. By pulling those notes out of my initial set
of notes I was able to narrow my focus. This
strategy helped me focus in on what I wanted to say about the work and then
pick out very specific topics and passages in the book that spoke to the point
of my focus.
In life as well as in work and school I can see this
struggle with focus as being the biggest bonus I have gotten from English
102. I have struggled with some personal
issues during this semester that have cause me to become very scattered and it
was really due to this assignment that I started to put everything back in its
place. I applied the same focus strategy
I was using with the assignment to my journaling; Make my notes, select the key
word or phrase, and pull out what is relevant.
Then focus on that single issue. In
this way I have been able to stay out of a state of being overwhelmed. I have also applied this to where I envision
my career going and have been able to make some good solid decisions about my
future.
There have been many technical lessons presented in this
class which have all been valuable but for me the most valuable lesson has been
the unique experience I have had while taking this class.
| Shipwreck Formation, Courtesy Google Images |
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