Carlos Barajas

ENG 102

Professor Kardell

Position Essay Reflection

Our assignment for this paper was to create a position essay on a human right. For this

class I have been focusing on the human right of privacy, specifically online privacy of US

citizens. There were a few challenges that I faced as I took each step to finish this position paper.

I had to over come the difficulties of the word length, creating a conversation, and the number of

sources used.

The first difficulty was that I had to locate fifteen sources that I would use in my position

paper. I was never given double digit numbers for sources needed in my essays, so that had me

worried. I was common with using around five resources for each essay. However, I was not

feeling hopeless because I was introduced to this number of sources in our previous assignment,

which required ten sources. From that experience, I knew how to use the ASU online library and

all its tools to locate sources on my topic. This helped to narrow down the endless sources to a

small list that I could read without spending too much time on researching. In the end, I learned

to add key words to the search engine, so irrelevant topics are not added to my list of helpful

sources.

The next challenge that I faced was the two-thousand-word count. I was always given the

option of around one-thousand words or “writing as much as needed” for papers. For me two

thousand words was worrisome, but not impossible. As I wrote, my mind was focused on the

word count and not much of if my paper had elements needed from the rubric. After writing my
draft, I noticed that my word count was under three-hundred words. I was worried because I did

not know how to make up those numbers. After having my draft peer reviewed, I was told that it

did well in provided evidence, which would have been great for an explanatory paper. However,

it lacked in a conversation or a debate on the topic, which was required for this paper. I knew by

fixing mistakes in the draft and integrating the missing elements I can make the word count and

the paper would be considered a position essay.

The final challenge was locating where I was missing the element to make it paper seem

more like a position essay rather than an explanatory essay. I received feedback from my peers,

and it was helpful. From there help, I saw where I was only describing aspects of the design of

the internet and missing the conversation needed. I followed the templates from the textbook that

showed me how to agree or disagree without using “I”. After finishing the edits, not only was I

able to achieve my goal of making the essay follow the rubric, I was able to reach the word count

goal.

In the end, I found this work process for this assignment helpful. I was able to overcome

challenges that I will probably face in the future, especially word count. I was also able to

practice more on my research skills, so finding sources will be a little bit easier. I am glad that

this paper went well for me and my thoughts on writing have improved, so I look forward to

writing the next assignment.