MLA Reflective Essay

Writing is something that has always been difficult for me. I’ve always been a bit of a perfectionist, but instead of it being a driving force, it’s been more of a dead weight. I worry about everything and if it’s perfect, okay, just right, or downright terrible. Because of my perfectionism, I find it difficult to start or finish work, sometimes even both. While my perfectionism can be a hindrance to my work as a whole, it more specifically targets my ability, or inability, to choose topics to research and write about as well as citations, when it’s deemed necessary. Being told to choose a topic and then proceed to research and write about it is one of the most terrifying ideas I can think of. Choosing a topic is probably my number one downfall as a writer. I worry about topics and whether they’re too broad or too specific. What if it’s not interesting enough? Not to mention page or word requirements. Some topics have so much
All throughout secondary school, I was taught to use the MLA style guide, but when I first went away to college I studied history, which required me to use Chicago Style. I wrote according to the Chicago Style Guide for nearly two years, so when it came time to use MLA, and even APA, I was completely stumped. I forgot everything I needed to know. Thankfully, I own a condensed version of the Chicago Style Guide, so whenever I need to reference how to cite something, I can easily review the book. This is not the case with the MLA and APA Style Guides. In the past, I have spent hours on websites trying to comprehend the MLA and APA Guides, and because I had spent so much time worrying about topics, there was hardly ever time to go to office hours and ask the professor to help me revise my papers. Between having to pick a topic to research and write about and citations, writing is much more difficult than it