The Onion Won. My Essay Didn’t
I did the research. I wrote the essay. I have questions.
Back to school hit harder than I planned. The general courses felt easy, and I thought, great, I got this. I finished two courses and six assessments. Then the difficulty climbed, and now I am working harder than I expected. But I know I will get through. Push harder, girl!
Y’all want receipts? I know y’all are nosy. Here they are.
Receipts
Courses completed2
Assessments completed6
Nosy readersy’all
Dishes washedpending
Now reading: Foundations in Healthcare Information Management
Thank you, come again
Course complete
Learning Strategies in Higher Education
Technically, this course teaches you how to study: pomodoro, note-taking, time management, and more. I have more techniques, but those cost extra. Three assessments, and I will keep the difficulty level to myself. My evaluators gave me an A+. Only the smiley face and the star sticker on my forehead went missing. I trimmed their comments to the parts where I look good, of course.
Task 1 · Evaluator comment
“You provided a thorough and well-supported analysis of the scenario… supporting them with relevant articles from the WGU Student Policy Handbook… you applied these strategies appropriately to the student’s situation.”
Thorough. Well-supported. Professional. Say my name.
Task 2 · Evaluator comment
“Your systematic review of all five QUOTA components produced a well-founded credibility judgment for Source 1… Your evaluation of Source 2 was similarly complete and identified the lack of an identifiable author and the presence of outdated/incomplete sources as meaningful reasons for rejecting it as a dependable source.”
I read Source 2 for filth and showed Source 2 the door. No appeals. No second chances. Rejected
Task 3 · Evaluator comment
“You provided a thorough and well-supported analysis of the HIM Compliance Officer role, clearly connecting your BS HIM degree coursework to the responsibilities and requirements of the position… Great job supporting your discussion with accurate citations and a complete reference list.”
Even the reference list showed up dressed to impress.
Yes, I came prepared, and yes, I am a nerd.
Course complete
Composition: Writing with a Strategy
I figured being a storyteller with a blog meant this course would pass quickly. Plot twist! Messy blog writing is not scholarly writing.
The course gave us a list of easy topics: workplace unions, neighborhood parks, work from home, security cameras, nurse retention, and a few more. I understood the assignment as needing a topic related to my degree, and nothing on the list matched. I also have a bad habit of making life harder and hunting for problems where none exist. So I burned my fabulous eyelashes reading in the library and on Google Scholar. Yes, Google has a search engine for scholarly literature. Some results lead to peer-reviewed articles. Nobody explained this to me, so now I am telling you.
I picked a compare and contrast essay on a topic I know well. The ideas came fast. Getting them onto paper took hours of videos, a pile of articles, and a chat with my instructor. Then my fabulous essay came to life: Paper Medical Records vs. Electronic Health Records: Their Differences and Influence on Patient Care. I did not try to change the world with new theories. I tried to learn a new skill, and I did.
Now the drama. I did not win an award, and this pissed me off, because my topic felt original. The winner wrote about workplace unions, and when I first read the title, I saw onion layers. I do not know why. I also do not know what the judges scored, so I will not guess. Recognition and achievement are different things, and my essay earned real praise.
Task 2 · Evaluator comment
“You clearly explained your thesis, paper medical records and electronic health records differ in how patient information is accessed, organized, maintained, protected, and shared among medical and non-medical providers… clear section headings and linking sentences… ensuring a logical flow in your essay.”
My evaluator kept things professional and skipped the personalized fan mail. I will take the star anyway.
In progress
Foundations in Healthcare Information Management
I figured this course would be easier than writing an essay. Wrong! I read chapter after chapter to find a handful of points. I have plenty of time to start my assessments, and I worry about doing them wrong. Meanwhile, I am having fun, distracted from my daily routines while I decide whether to start my homework. The dishes wait. The degree does not. I will put my study strategies to work before the dishes qualify for their own academic program.
This is all, folks. See you next time!
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