Gavin Reeves

24 November 2014
English 111: Paul Anderson
Final Draft
Critical Reflection
Writing an essay is a difficult process. There are many steps involved which require
critical thinking on part of the writer and firm decision making. The purpose of my essay was to
inform the reader of my subject and the various viewpoints that are being debated within it.
There were many decisions I had to make while writing my paper, two which effected it overall.
In my paper I used various sources in order to discuss my subject. During the course of writing
the assignment there were some parts I could have written better. The audience for my essay
included those interested in academics and higher learning, including teachers and learners. In
this essay I will discuss the thought processes that went into writing my own synthesis paper.
Despite any shortcomings, my objective synthesis met the requirements but there was much
room for improvement.
The ultimate goal of my paper was to inform an academic audience of an issue that
currently existed within the boundaries of higher learning. There was a debate between two
sides, one in support for and one against standardized testing. My job was to create a
conversation between different individuals expressing their viewpoints through citations,
statistics, and credibility. To show the various viewpoints, I structured my essay by letting those
who opposed the subject share their viewpoints first, and than those who agree with standardized
testing went second. Ultimately I feel like I accomplished this goal through comparing and

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contrasting my sources. These elements however boiled down to the decisions I made throughout
my paper.
There were many important decisions I had to make while writing my paper. The first
most important decision was deciding on my topic. After doing so, my second most important
decision was whether to write an argumentative or objective synthesis. I found that I was not
particularly passionate about the subject, making it difficult to argue for a position that I
personally didn't have any strong inclination towards. This made compiling a purely objective
synthesis a much more easier and manageable task for me. The third issue was discovering good
sources, which I opted to use the materials in the library to find good material. The last decision I
needed to make was how to structure the assignment. A very important part of my paper was the
sources I used.
There is much to take into consideration when selecting sources. Their viewpoints, their
credibility, and their ease of availability. When selecting sources I needed a minimum of four,
but also enough sources to accurately convey the existing debate about standardized testing. I
ended up with six sources. Three sources that opposed standardized testing, discussed their effect
on locality, but also differed in some aspects. My next two sources were from individuals who
supported standardized testing. The final source was used to show a possible alternative to
standardized testing. Together, these sources created a self contained discussion that accurately
represented the debate that currently exists about standardized testing. Although, when writing
my paper there were hurdles I had to overcome and some I went simply went around.
I had some difficulties writing my objective synthesis. Perhaps the biggest difficulty was
finding the motivation to write it, an issue that resolved itself as I was approaching the deadline.
I could have improved my paper if I had been more diligent and worked an hour each day,

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instead of writing the entire paper over the course of eight hours in one sitting. My second
biggest difficulty during the essay was determining where to place citations. I feel that outside of
using quotes, I placed citations too arbitrarily. My third dismay with my own work is that I
concede that it's not the most eloquently written; I was more concerned with fulfilling
requirements than writing a beautiful paper (I'm not bad at writing, but it is not my forte either).
Perhaps my greatest dismay as that I can't help but feel like I didn't improve as a writer; I was
simply regurgitating information and doing an assignment. It makes the essay seem very soulless
and a little bland.
In the course of writing my objective synthesis paper, there were things I did right and
wrong. In order to inform the reader of an ongoing debate that exists in the academic world, I
brought numerous sources together to create a discussion concerning higher learning. Deciding
the type of synthesis to write and determining a topic were very important decisions in the
process of beginning my essay. Although I think I did well with the assignment, there were
clearly aspects which could have been improved. The essay managed to fit criteria that would be
accessible to an audience of academic minded peer review. Despite the shortcomings of my
essay, the culmination of my writings managed to adequately fulfill the scope of the assignment.

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Works Cited
Antush, John C. "Labor and "Ed Deform": The Degradation of Teachers' Work through
Standardized Testing and the New York City Evaluation System" Monthly Review 66.2
(2014): 33-47. ProQuest. Web. 28 Oct. 2014.
http://search.proquest.com/docview/1537948813?accountid=35715
Augustine, Norman R. "Here's why schools need standardized testing" Special to the
Washington Post (2013). Bangor Daily News. Web. 9 Nov. 2014.
http://bangordailynews.com/2013/08/03/education/heres-why-schools-needstandardized-testing/
Aycock, James. "Teacher Voice: In Defense of Standardized testing" State Collaborative on
Reforming Education (2014). Bluff City Education. Web. 9 Nov. 2014.
http://tnscore.org/in-defense-of-standardized-testing/
Bhattacharyya, Sumita. "Can You Hear Us? Voices Raised Against Standardized Testing by
Novice Teachers" Creative Education 4.10 (2013): 633-9. ProQuest. Web. 28 Oct. 2014.
http://search.proquest.com/docview/1463675832?accountid=35715
Klein, Ana Maria. "Managing Standardized Testing in Today's Schools" The Journal of
Educational Thought 40.2 (2006): 145-57. ProQuest. Web. 28 Oct. 2014.
http://search.proquest.com/docview/213795793?accountid=35715
Strauss, Vaelerie. An Alternative to Standardized Testing for Student Assessment
The Washington Post (2012). The Answer Sheet. Web. 18 Nov. 2014
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2012/11/02/an-alternativeto-standardized-testing-for-student-assessment/