Understanding Writing as an Open Process

      It wasn`t until Wednesday`s essay workshop in my Composition 2 class that I grasped this concept`s relation to my current research paper. I understood writing as a process: I had systematically narrowed my topic from one of generality and vagueness to one that I thought would be appropriate, I had gathered what I thought to be sufficient sources, and I felt pretty confident in the work that I had done. Case closed, right? Wrong. In class I was challenged by my professor to look at my progress so far as a critical someone would- say, a corporate executive, and pick out the flaws and failures. The result was enlightening.
      I am a very step-by-step, systematic person, so it naturally follows that I am content with the step-by-step process of writing a research paper. However, when I finish those steps, I want to be confident that they are as perfect as they will ever be. I learned Wednesday that advancement in the whole process means refining past steps- something irritating to my very soul.While combing over my "perfect" thesis, I noticed a major problem. My thesis went something like, "Separation of church and state as it was intended is beneficial to our national government." By including the phrase, "as it was intended," I had set myself up for twice the research, reading, and writing that I truly intended to take on. While I do want to be clear on my definition of "church and state," I don`t want to write an encyclopedia. This aspect of my progress is currently under construction, along with my fantastic ideas of perfection.
       After several run-ins with mischievous logic-trouble-makers within my outline and plan for the paper as a whole, my eyes were also opened to problems within what seemed invincible- the bibliography. Yes, my bibliography was flawless as related to the criteria at the time I developed it- the works were credible, I had enough works, etc. etc. But what I discovered in Wednesday`s workshop was that my bibliography was disproportionate. I had a couple sources that were very meaty and in-depth, but if I really wanted information, I had far too many dictionary and encyclopedia sources.
       I have definitely learned, to my frustration, that the writing process by nature is an open process- I am going to have to refine and revise as I go. But, in the end, this will only make for a better outcome.