A Disheartening Reflection

It's been a while since I have taken an in-class essay exam. To be sure, last semester I took several “essay” exams, however, the questions were released beforehand and the professor encouraged the use of the lecture formatting and material for the essay structure and content. Most of the work required little analysis or original thought. I must admit I was thrown by the questions that I saw. Many of the questions made sweeping generalizations or covered too much of the text to be effective for in-class essay writing. However, instead of simply working with what I was given, my stubbornness gave way to doubt. I found myself second guessing decisions that would have normally required little thought. This indecisiveness ate up most of my time. Now that I am out of the swing of fast-paced writing the strains and confines of such composition seem much more difficult. Practice could have definitely improved my chances of finishing both essays on time. The early hour of the class also seemed to be a hindrance to my abilities. Having stayed up to past 3:00 AM in the morning that day, I was ill equipped to face the daunting task of writing two cogent essays in such a limited time period. The one essay that I did complete was fairly sparse and disorganized. Although a certain quality of imperfection is to be expected in timed writing, I don't know how my essay fared in relation to expectations. The whole experience flew by in a blur of exhaustion and a sense of urgency. In fact, I have no idea how well I did on the exam, because I remember very little of it. I did have time to briefly outline a second essay before time was called. Mostly I think my writing suffered from my crippling insomnia, and a time consuming self-doubt. Extra preparation would have certainly sharpened my timed writing skills. Also, retaining a positive, yet pragmatic mentality can really make the difference between an incomplete essay and a satisfactory product.