Andrew Felix: Reflection (Circumstances)

The effect of circumstances on writing is crucial to the quality and overall content of the work. Personally, there are a lot of factors that come into play: setting, rubrics, workload, and platform.

Similar to most people (if not, all), a quiet place is more convenient than a setting with people talking. For example, my dorm room or library would be an effective place for me to brainstorm ideas. If I tried writing at home while I was with my family, or the common area in my dorm with my friends watching TV, my progress would be slowed.

There are also rubrics, certain guidelines to follow, that have an effect on writing. Everything is narrowed down to one topic, style, and rules in order to get a good grade. For me, I am able to succeed writing with rubrics, as long as I know the material. However, I prefer freewriting because there is more room for creativity and not worrying about other people critiquing; it is all my thoughts.

If I have other homework, projects, or major tests, I try to even everything out and distribute more time to the subjects with more work or studying. This means I try to finish my paper as quickly as possible, which puts a time limit on my writing process.

The platform on which I write is very important; if I am familiar with the program, then that will give me more leverage. For example, Microsoft Word and WordPress are applications with which I can write easily and have no problems. I know how to work them well and complete a writing piece successfully. However, programs like Scalar are more difficult because I had only used it once. It becomes an issue because then I would have to learn how to use the platform instead of focus on my writing.

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