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Tuesday, January 23, 2007

I Should Be...

...working on my essay for Post Exilic Writings that is due tomorrow. Instead, I am taking a little break to check a few blogs and write this post.

I've been mulling over this essay since the day we were assigned it. I have read the first nine chapters of 1 Chronicles, some of the chapters several times; I have read the article that we have to read and base our essay responses on at least four times; I have meditated and thought about this essay and what I would say or want to say for two weeks now.

So, I sat down to write it up tonight. It is two pages, single spaced and is to be our thoughts on the article, which is based on the first nine chapters of 1 Chronicles (hence my reading them). I had three or four ideas to discuss that I thought would be perfect, so I started writing up my thoughts and ideas on them.

That is where my problem started. Everything I am coming up with, while it might sound pretty good, I am shooting down a bit later because I come up with something else. For example, Saul's genealogy is mentioned twice (chapter 8 and 9), Benjamin's genealogy is mentioned twice (chapter 7 and 8)...and I had a couple of good ideas as to possibly why this was or what it could mean. Then I read something in the article and figured I was on the wrong track. So, I come up with another idea that might work...though I don't know how good or true it would be. I'll put it in anyway, but it won't come anywhere near to filling two pages.

I have been working on this essay, the actual writing part, for 4 1/2 to 5 hours--writing, reading, writing, research, writing...and I'm getting nowhere fast. It seems like I am going around in circles and can't get off the merry-go-round. This essay shouldn't be too difficult. I've done them before in the past, and it doesn't require much. It's also only worth 10%, but I want to do well on it.

The weird thing is, I would feel more comfortable discussing this topic and using other sources (commentaries, etc.) which we can't use for this, and writing a ten page essay. I think I could probably do better on that because I would have more room to discuss, rather than try to condense so much into such a short space.

Oh well, back to work...I can feel my hair turning grey over this as I write...

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Shelly, I just love all of your sites. Can you teach me to knit? :)

Anonymous said...

I hope everything went well with the essay. I tend to do that too. I'll sit down to work on something and I research, write, re read, write, self-edit, write. I also have a problem with condensing my work sometimes. (or anything else I write honestly, lol)

Anonymous said...

I hope you're finished with this already. I know it can be really frustrating when you'd like to use other sources but aren't allowed to do so. Perhaps that was the nature of the exercise, though. Because there are so many shades of gray sometimes and our job is just to wade through them.

**hugs**

Anonymous said...

http://www.freewebs.com/friendsareagift
I miss seeing your postings.

Anonymous said...

Hey Shelley, just checking in to see how life if going for you, sounds busy and filled with school. Good luck on your paper. I always found the short ones were hard to write too. I guess I like discussing too much.