By: Arfa Ul-Haque
My ideal writing process for assignments like our Historical Annotation Project is to research a topic, categorize the research into subsections, use the subsections to make an outline, and then write. When I am writing about a topic, I usually break it down into the aspects I want to discuss in order to get an idea of what I can fit into the writing and what I can’t. Categorizing information into subsections allows my writing to be more organized and gives me a clear idea of what my final piece will look like. Once all of that is complete, I can edit my document and make sure that my writing is in a logical order. My actual writing process pretty consistent with my ideal writing process. However, depending on how long I have to work on the assignment and other tasks that I am managing, I sometimes do not have time to formulate a structured outline. My favorite part of the process is to go through different sources to find as much information as I can on my topic. It is always interesting to find obscure pieces of information, especially when researching a historical person or event.
For freehand writing, I usually write down as much as I want, before cutting out the sections that don’t fit in with that particular piece and saving them to use in a later piece. The environment that I work best in is quiet settings and during the daytime. It makes me feel more focused as there are less distractions around and I have more time to write.
I like working better with multiple short-term deadlines rather than one long-term deadline, as it makes sure that I stay on the right track without making me feel overwhelmed. It also makes me feel more in tune with the project and like I am working out of my own interest rather than just to get things done on time.
