I have entered the final stage of the thesis process – the cumbersome revision process. Although I’ve been editing all along, Prof. Kee and Prof. Ireland are encouraging me to explore different articles, articulate specific themes, and just delete some pages (the last one is just a terrifying experience). What’s really cool is that I get to see how much my writing has progressed since I first started writing this thesis. My writing has now been influenced very heavily by my Literary Theory class, and that’s evident in my second and third chapters. The first one that I wrote in first semester? Well, not so much. It’s not bad, but I just know what I want to say and how to say it better now. Hopefully I’ll be able to wrap this project up by Friday, and then it will be bound and out of my life next week – that is, unless I decide to try and publish it (watch this space!).<\/p>\n
Speaking of revision and Literary Theory, Professor Mulrooney had us do an interesting experiment. We had to select one essay from our undergraduate career, re-examine it, and think about how we would write it differently knowing the literary theory that we know now. I chose the seminar paper that I wrote for him back in my sophomore year. I remember being so proud of this essay, since it was the first major essay that I wrote and I finally felt as if I had “said something.” After re-reading it, I realize that I didn’t say nearly as much as I thought I did. It’s still a fine paper and I’m still proud of it – heck, it’s the paper that inspired my desire to read the modern through a medieval lens (hellooooo, thesis!). But it’s just interesting to see my writing style back then. Now I know how I would re-explore both of the original texts in search of textual support and how I would write – yes, Literary Theory has even affected the way that I write. Being able to look back and see where I once was in comparison to now is illuminating. I mean, within just the four short years that I’ve been here at Holy Cross, my writing style has change completely (even more so than my hairstyle).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I have entered the final stage of the thesis process – the cumbersome revision process. Although I’ve been editing all along, Prof. Kee and Prof. Ireland are encouraging me to explore different articles, articulate specific themes, and just delete some pages (the last one is just a terrifying experience). What’s really cool is that I … <\/p>\n