Unit 10, The End!!!

Well, it's official we DID it... I can say with an open mind that this was an extremely challenging term for me, I learned a lot of new information and questioned my abilities, but I can also say that I pushed past all of that questioning and doubt and I succeeded. I learned so many new things in this class that I can use throughout the rest of my education and use as a health care professional, I am excited to put my new trick to use in real life, I have already been receiving compliments from friends, family and co-workers on my writing ability, it feels great! Thank you all for allowing me to share this journey with you, and thank you, thank you, thank you professor, you are great at what you do and you offer so much knowledge and insight to your students, your hard work and dedication do not go unnoticed. I wish you all the very best in your future.

Sincerely,
Michelle Erickson

Unit 9, We Made it to The End!!!

Well here we are, unit 9... I have been with Kaplan now for a year and a half and it still amazes me each and every term how darn fast the term goes by. I can honestly say that this was a difficult term for me, I hit some road blocks and some major challenges but I am happy to say that I overcame the fear I was feeling and pushed through those difficult times, and here I am! I never realized how much I enjoyed writing until I reached college, it was something I never considered to be one of my strengths however I now have a different view, although I wouldn't say it is my strongest point, I am learning more and more each and every day and I am certainly using that to my advantage!

Unit 8, Editing and Revising

Well we have officially reached the 8th week of the term, as always the term flew right on by... This week we worked on editing and revising, and I must say that I really had a good time with this, one of my favorite things about life is learning something completely new, this week that was the paramedic method of revising, allthough I am still working on this, I am having fun with it and I'm going to try and use it to my advantage. I am looking forward to this week, lots of stuff to learn!

Unit 7, Feeling Overwhelmed!

Well it is unit 7 and we are creeping up on the end of the term. I have to be honest I am majorly disappointed in myself, I spent so much time and hard work doing my Unit 6 paper, I was absolutely shocked to get it back only to have received 50%, I never would have imagined that I did that poorly, I guess I did not have a good idea of what a persuasive essay was because I clearly did horribly on this project... I am thankful that professor is going to let me make revisions however I don't know where to even begin! This has been a trying week for me, time for me to up my game and turn this around, I just hope that I am able to produce what is being expected of me!

Unit 6, Outlining

Hello Everyone,

Well I do have to admit that this week has been a bit overwhelming for me. I'm not typically a complainer however with the holidays vastly approaching, work and school I feel like I am in overdrive, just marking items off of my to do list. It just so happen that this unit I have two projects due in the same week which is an extra bummer, but on the bright side, I know I can do it because I have done it before, I just have to keep thinking this is not forever, only temporary. I am just really looking forward to a nice little break. This week was a bit confusing for me on the subject of outlining, it is honestly something that I have never been phenomenal at, I would just prefer to get my draft going and skip the outline, but I will admit it is very helpful in building that final paper, so I'm not going to complain to much! Well that's it for this evening, everyone have a great night and I wish you all luck on your outline.

Michelle

Unit 5, Pre Writing...

Well it is the beginning of Unit 5 and I do have to say that I really am going to enjoy this unit. One of my favorite things about writing is the pre writing portion of it. My two favorites are free writing #1, and brainstorming #2. I love free writing because I literally sit down with my chosen topic on the mind and I just start typing, every single thing that comes to my mind goes into the free writing if I have a question that I feel like it should be answered this is where I do it, a lot of times I walk away from this technique absolutely shocked at how much I wrote and how much good information is included, granted I don't use every single thing I type, I am still able to walk away with a lot of great ideas and questions. Brainstorming is another one that I love because it is super simplified and it is a good way of "organizing my thoughts" I can jot down simple words and quick sentences that will lead me further down the road to the find the answers I am looking for. I think pre writing is extremely important, I actually think that most original and creative work and ideas are coming from pre writing. The other reason I like it is because I can sit and let he ideas roll without paying super close attention to detail such as spelling, grammar and APA format... Its going to be another great week!

Unit 4, APA Citation

Well I have to admit that this has been a trying week for me. Going back into the academic setting, I found myself struggling with citation, in all honesty the very word APA Format, scared me. I will admit I have had my challenges with trying to perfect this "skill" of formatting, but the more I use it, the more I learn about and the more I apply what I have learned the easier it has become, it is actually second nature to me now, and that is a great feeling. I am by no means a professional at it but I can see myself improving and that feels great. I just need to keep jumping the hurdles that are in my way and press past my fears and  will do just fine. It's been another great week.