Tran 1 Kenny Tran ENGL 1102-010 Ms.

Walden March 25, 2014 Assignment 2 Reflection Working on this assignment wasnt as easy as I assumed it would be. I thought it would be the same as my Senior Exit Project in high school, but really, it wasnt. There wasnt a thesis statement that needed three supporting details and a conclusion that covered everything. It was simply just writing about a topic I chose and finding primary sources that supported my claim. My strengths throughout this assignment would be that I was able to transpire supporting argument and keep a constant flow. Whenever Im writing about a topic I have interest in, ideas just come to me with specific details I can easily describe and discuss. My topic for this assignment was about hostage negotiation, and I chose this because I enjoy the thrill I get when Im unsure of a situation concerning hostages and bargaining. My strengths have always been coming up with details since I dont beat around the bush. I also know how to shift from one main idea to another without muddling the flow. I dont just jump from topic to topic without any order. Instead, I lead the focus point away from the original topic, and draw more attention onto the next topic. On page 6 and 7 of my research paper, I was able to describe how hostage negotiation needs tranquility, which leads to determination, and then a goal for ensuring the hostages safety. I wrote a paragraph to summarize each need to show how important it is fulfill those obligations. They each connected in some way, so I was able to put them in a consecutive order without ruining the flow. My weaknesses would be how I use my sources to support my arguments. I honestly don't know how to utilize my sources as a way to back up my interpretations because I think the ideas I've came up with to support my beliefs are already good enough. On page six of my assignment, I stated a key point about determination and goals pertaining to negotiators that Yue-bing quoted. Adding this source seemed pointless, since it is just adding extra reasoning for no purpose at all. I already stated an idea very similar to this. In the end, I found away to put sources in my conversations without excluding my original ideas. I received many peer comments from our workshops in class, and there were some that were helpful, and other that I couldnt really do anything about. The comments that helped me make revisions included organization, grammar, and positive support. On the Ultimate Bargaining Game section, one of my peers stated something about specifications, and that helped me become broader about theories instead of stating a sure statement without support. The comments that werent helpful would be the ones that only concerned the color of the format or my works citied page. For example, one comment was about the red section headers I used to divide the four main parts. One of my peers thought it was unnecessary, but I believed that it was needed since there are other subheadings within a part, and I could just make those bolded and black. Overall, the comments from my peers were absolutely necessary.

Tran 2 I don't really know how I could've gone above and beyond with this assignment, mainly because it is a narrative paper. The best I could do was present as many ideas as I could that supported my arguments. For example, in the Literature Review section, I not only came up with key terms that needed to be looked at, but I also discussed the topics that I mainly focused on, which supported my arguments, such as foreign disputes and understanding the ultimate bargaining game. I tried to not repeat myself by throwing as many ideas as I could into the paper. I put in my own personal thoughts and opinions to show how I felt about the situation. I dont see any joy involving hostage negotiation, mostly because someone could actually get killed. I gave some ideas or steps to take that I believe were very helpful when encountering this dilemma. Since my sources are mostly articles about real life situations regarding hostages, Ive addressed many different people who have actually been in a hostage situation. For instance, on page 4, I talked about Anne Nivat and her experience of being taken hostage in Chechnya. I tried my best to be very descriptive about my topic. There may not be an actual guideline for going above and beyond on this paper, but I believe that I did somehow. This assignment was time consuming and probably wasnt the best papers to write, but it certainly wasnt tough for me to come up with things to talk about for my topic. It all depended on whether I had interest in my topic and was able to continue to come up with ideas to support my focus without feeling hopeless. There were moments where I didn't know what to write about anymore, but I just kept brainstorming and pointing out multiple ideas. Of the assignments we had so far, this one was just as wacky as the first assignment, but Im prepared to work on the final assignment of the course.