Flexible Writing Process

My writing process differs depending on what type of paper I am writing.

                      When I wrote my literary analysis paper, I just read Wordsworth's poem and watched Lady Gaga's music video, "Telephone," and then showed up to class and started writing. I did not preplan what I was going to write, nor did I look up critiques of the poem and music video. I have developed "flexible processes for engaging in academic inquiry" because I plan out my writing differently for different types of papers. For my research paper, I spent days looking up theories and studies in a variety of books and internet sources because I knew that in order for my paper to be a success, I would need have a multitude of information available to me. For my literary analysis paper all I did was read the required material and then I started writing because I knew that I did not need to find further research to write my paper, and I knew that I already had background information about multitasking because of the summaries I wrote in class. I spent a couple weeks researching and writing my research paper, whereas for this literary analysis I only spent a fifty minute class period writing it. What is not visible in this paper is the process by which I wrote it.
 

           Although William Wordsworth lived in a time where cell phones and computers were nonexistent, he knew about technology and its effects on production because of the Industrial Revolution. Lady Gaga’s songs reveal her distrust and annoyance with technology, and cell phones in particular. Although Wordsworth and Gaga are from completely different time periods, both can be connected through their dislike of technology and multitasking.

             Wordsworth’s poem, “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud,” demonstrates his view that solitude and relaxation are necessary for happiness. When alone, Wordsworth recalls the daffodils and in order to feel “the bliss of solitude; and then my heart with pleasure fills, and dances with the daffodils” (Wordsworth, L. 22-24). If Wordsworth was trying to multitask he would not have been able to fully appreciate the beauty of the dancing daffodils because he would have been distracted. One cannot multitask when trying to have peaceful alone time, so Wordsworth would be against multitasking. Wordsworth would declare that people should focus their attention on one thing at a time in order to get the most out of it as possible. 

            In Lady Gaga’s opinion, which comes across in her songs, she is constantly surrounded by technology. This prevents her from ever truly relaxing and enjoying herself because she cannot escape the interruptions that are caused by technology. In her song, “Telephone,” Gaga tries to have fun at a club, but her telephone keeps distracting her with its calls. The phrase, “Stop callin’, stop callin’, I don’t wanna think anymore,” is repeated numerous times throughout the song, which signifies that although Gaga wants to ignore her phone, its presence is always in the back of her mind and is keeping her from enjoying herself (Gaga, L. 20-21). She cannot put all of her focus into having fun because technology is distracting her from reality. In her music video, Gaga can be seen with a telephone on her head multiple times, which illustrates the fact that Gaga can never seem to get her phone off of her mind and it is controlling her actions. Lady Gaga would rather put all of her focus into one subject at a time, but in today’s society it is nearly impossible to accomplish that due to the fact that people are always surrounded by technology.

            William Wordsworth asserts the importance of solitude and relaxation in his poem, which leads one to conclude that he would disapprove of multitasking and technology. Lady Gaga’s music confirms her belief that technology is ever present in society and holds people back from what they want to achieve. Both artists emphasize the importance of taking time for oneself and avoiding excessive multitasking in everyday life.