Everyone in my english class has written their essays and handed back with comments on them at least once. For me, it was every writing assignment I turned in. After 12 drafts or rewrites for only three writing assignments, it would make sense to reflect on my revision skills. In soccer, this compares to after being incapable of winning games, it is critical to go back to the drawing board for better, technical advancements. I struggled with my revisions because I struggled in different areas at different times.
In “Summer Reading Assignment,” my first draft was a C+. The main issues were about my word choice. Ms.Parrish’s comments were repetitive with “...a bit forced...”,”a bit confusing”,and “need a bit more explanation.” This essay was more focussed on editing. I only changed what Ms.Parrish commented on. I only did this because it was the first writing assignment of the year and laziness got the best of me.
In “The Emotions of a Truth [F451 Synthesis Essay],” I struggled with creating the right thesis for me. Draft one said, “Examples of censorship over time through threats can be found in Fahrenheit 451, Macbeth,’Boys and Girls’, and in the United States.” My last draft’s thesis was,”Books may not have emotions, but they can help tell truths to people.” I went through four rewrites and three writing conferences with Ms.Parrish. My grade was a B- on the last draft.
I think the writing conferences I had, specifically in this essay, were both good and bad. The writing conferences are what lead me to improving my grade to a B- from having a C instead. Also, Ms.Parrish and I discussed a lot about potential theses and evidence to support the new thesis. However, I felt that the pressure was on the thesis, and I was incapable to reflect my evidence upon that.
I think the fault to my revision skills is the thesis because every essay must have evidence that lead back to the thesis. I always confuse thesis and topic sentences together, and it is difficult for me to write a thesis that must relate to three different sources. When I read the comments about the thesis, I wonder how can I change my essay to relate to the thesis. When I overthink it, I get “still a bit confusing con my essays, and it can make the editing process depressing.
Despite self-editing and some writing conferences not being accurate, the peer reviews were effective in the allegories. In “Allegory Draft #1”, I wrote about dogs mixing breeds to represent dual citizenship. Despite being an entertaining piece of writing, it was difficult to view the hidden issue. Francis, Vig, and Jake were critical about it, but it was constructive criticism. I went home to overlook my piece and rewrote it. When I returned with a better allegory, they liked it, and I was delighted to read it in front of the class. This showed me that not only your teacher but your peers can influence you on how you can do things.
Overall, the revision and editing process had its positives and negatives. I think early in the year I had a mindset where I only focussed on the grade of the essay, but after countless rewrites, multiple writing conferences, and one good peer revision, I learned that writing is not about sounding good but conveying well-thought, original ideas.
No comments:
Post a Comment