Module 5: Writing to Argue.
I started this module with relative confidence in where I was planning my anthology to go and how I would go about executing my work. However, that plan was quickly thwarted during the researching phase of the paper, when I discovered that there wasn’t enough academic research on my particular topic (Empowering young black girls through modern children’s literature). Therefore, I decided to broaden my topic to find more results that would add to my topic rather than diverting it away in another direction. I decided then to change my topic to include adolescents and teens (new topic: Empowering young black girls through age appropriate literature). This alteration actually strengthened my paper as it included an essential group that would have been left out otherwise. After I found articles that suited the new stretch in my topic, I regained my confidence in the writing process and proceeded to plan and write my anthology introduction. Speed isn’t my strength when it comes to writing but as I’ve found time and time again, I can write in an amazing abundance. I’ve said it before, and I will probably be saying it again as I continue to improve my writing skills: I need to work on being a more concise writer. After the flow of writing, my main struggle was learning how to properly cite in APA. I am far more comfortable working with MLA, which was my reasoning for the torture of learning APA. I can’t say that I could confidently use it without looking at a guide but I have learned basics and well, that’s something, isn’t it?