Writing my Researched Subculture Position Paper was a learning experience. The writing process for this essay was the most successful writing process I have undertaken. I paced myself well on the paper, consistently spending two hours daily over two weeks on it. My writing process was as follows: I spent a few days deciding on a topic, which ended up being the Deadhead subculture. During the next few days, I gathered sources and took notes. I then took these notes and turned them into an outline. Finally, I compiled the outline into a draft, which I polished for a week, and submitted it. 

The characteristic features of this essay are that it uses APA formatting rather than MLA, which is what the rest of my essays used. I also used more figures than in the rest of my writings. Finally, I had a thesis that tied the piece together, which does justice to the Deadhead subculture. My position within the Deadhead subculture inspired this essay. I was never in the subculture, but I knew many people and observed many of their rituals. Thus, I have both an insider and an outsider perspective in the subculture. These perspectives primed me to discuss the topic thoughtfully and reflectively. Finally, this essay intended to introduce the Grateful Dead and its associated subculture to my peers and the teacher and dispel the Grateful Dead’s stereotypes. 

I have succeeded with various Course Learning Outcomes in my essay. For example, I did “Formulate and articulate a stance through and in your writing.” I did this objective by making an effective thesis and proving it, and linking back to it in my essay. Not only that, but I was also able to “Practice using various library resources, online databases, and the Internet to locate sources appropriate to your writing projects.” This outcome was the most challenging part of the writing process, as I needed to collect only two sources for an entire subculture and still have enough information to make an essay. It was difficult to find these sources for my paper on the database, but I managed to accomplish it. Achieving both of these course learning outcomes enhanced my writing quality overall. 

My audience for this essay was my professor and my peers. To adjust to my audience, I needed to provide context on what the Deadhead subculture was and discuss its values. My peers, facing the same pitfalls, also had to provide context for their subculture in their essays. My peers and I also knew the prompt and the research process, albeit the process was unique for each, resulting in significant variations in the essays. With this, my audience and I had different experiences in their writing processes, even though there were some similarities. 

Therefore, my writing process for my Researched Subculture Position Paper, though stressful and demanding, was a great learning experience,  helping to further my education in writing. 

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