Reflection - Essay #1

            I agree that the “What I Know” paper is enjoyable to write.  It is a relatively easy assignment mainly because of the personalized topic and the creative style of writing.  The second half of this essay mainly focuses on the definitions of terms we chosen from our own topic, which mostly factual information is required with relatively fewer personal opinions as compared to argumentative essays.  Though this essay is an easy one, I do not think that it is time wasting, on the contrary, I think it is worthwhile since it trains our organization skills in writing. 

Take my essay as an example.  My topic is “cheese” and I introduced four kinds of cheese.  As I am familiar with cheese, therefore, I know a lot about the characteristics of each of them, and how to use them in different dishes.  However, I cannot assume other readers of the article are as familiar as I am, therefore, I have to organize my knowledge in an organized way that readers who have no knowledge towards my topic are able to understand what I am introducing.   This sounds easy, however, it is not.  Very commonly we will go too in-depth as we are too familiar with the topic, and readers might feel lost while reading.  Good planning and organization in the “glossary” part is very dominant in leading us to a success in this essay.  Furthermore, though the introductory paragraphs of this essay are in a creative writing style, it also requires much effort in organization.  For example, in my essay, I have to organize my conversation with Peony, in the mean while; I have to integrate the definition of cheese in between the dialogues.  Without well organizing, readers of the passage will be very confused on what I am trying to tell them throughout this passage, like my experience when reading “The Rock Lexicon.”  Therefore, although this “What I Know” paper is a more factual piece of writing, it gives us a lesson and experience in learning how to organize our knowledge into an easy understanding piece of article.