Many people think that after coming up with a thesis, outline, paragraphs, and conclusion, the first draft is done and then and only then start revising. Well, this is not true. Revision happens throughout the writing. For example, just the process of deciding and writing your thesis requires revision. You might ask yourself; is it too broad, or too narrow of a subject? Does it meet the requirements? Is this relevant to my audience? From that point on revision becomes a part of your writing process. It just can't be helped. As Giovanelli says " -writing and revision are impossible to untangle, revision is just as situational and interpretive as writing". (105)
One of the examples that Giovanielli gives is Martin Luther King Jr's speech. In 1962, 1,800 people were packed into a gymnasium in North Carolina to hear Martin Luther King, Jr’s “I have a dream”. This version he gave was just a rough draft. He gave the speech again seven months later with ad-libbing, deleting, and flipping his sentences. (106) This version of the speech is the one that people remember to this day. If you were to put yourself in his shoes, how he felt about his speech; do you believe he thought it was the best version? Probably not but that’s the beautiful thing about writing, it is always a work in progress. That sounds horrible to people who hate writing or find it a burden but it should give you some comfort knowing that there is no “perfect” end product but one that will continue to change over time. But with keeping this in mind, what tends to happen is we over-revise. Meaning that we tend to search for this “perfect” paper that doesn’t exist, causing us to revise it so much that we lose sight of what the paper is; the ideas are gone Revision can be addicting so we need to make sure that when we revise it, we are trying to enhance and clarify ideas instead of our goal of “perfection.” King understood the concept of audience, changing and adapting his speeches without losing the main focus.
Revision isn’t only the step you take after you have finished your paper, it is also the writing itself. “The more writers push through the chaos to get to the good stuff, the more they revise”. (105) Realistically, when you type a paragraph, it isn’t always going to come out perfect right away, we have to go back and clean up some things. Good writers revise to clarify their point they are making in their paper. They have to brush off the coal before they become diamonds. Sometimes the coal is stuck on there and it takes a little more effort, but the diamond is always there. Revision is writing and writing is a revision.
Professional writers—practiced writers—have an awareness of revision, even if they aren’t aware of it. In Stephen King’s memoir On Writing, he calls this instinct the ideal reader: an imagined person a writer knows and trusts but rewrites in response to, a kind of collaborative dance between writer and reader. So, while writing an essay, the best tip I can think of is to have an awareness of what needs to be changed while writing the paper, and not be afraid to rewrite, some sections of your work. More revision isn’t necessarily better. Effective revising isn’t making changes for the sake of change but instead making smarter changes.
Professional writers—practiced writers—have an awareness of revision, even if they aren’t aware of it. In Stephen King’s memoir On Writing, he calls this instinct the ideal reader: an imagined person a writer knows and trusts but rewrites in response to, a kind of collaborative dance between writer and reader. So, while writing an essay, the best tip I can think of is to have an awareness of what needs to be changed while writing the paper, and not be afraid to rewrite, some sections of your work. More revision isn’t necessarily better. Effective revising isn’t making changes for the sake of change but instead making smarter changes.
An interesting fact that was brought up in the reading “Revision is Writing” was that social media is a large part of where people make revisions. You may not notice that you are making revisions, but when you go on Facebook and type a status posting it a few seconds later you grow to reread what you wrote after you post it. If there’s a mistake you click edit. Allowing you to revise what you have written. Or even when you are reading posts from other people you sometimes comment on their post correcting them of their spelling errors. Fun fact 68 percent of adults edit their pictures on social media before sharing them with anyone! In 2014, 48 percent of adults edited their photos before sharing them, as the idea of editing their photos became a bigger trend, more and more people began to do it. In an article about Kate Winslet, she states “Real life is fluid. When you and I interact, my brain is not micro-focusing on all the zits, lines, scars, hairs, etc. that might make a moment 'imperfect.' I am fluidly moving through the motions and focusing on the bigger picture. However, when an image is taken, it freezes a moment in time and gives me the chance to analyze the entire scene down to the most minuscule detail. In that freeze frame, I might start noticing things about you that otherwise, I may not have perceived. Maybe I'll catch that small birthmark. Maybe I'll notice the slight unibrow. Maybe I will catch a glimpse of thinning hair. Retouching simply helps to remove all those distractions and brings the focus back on the beauty of the individual.”
Revision will always be a part of people’s lives, whether it be on a post a picture or a paper you write for school. Revision isn’t going anywhere and it will always be used.
🙏Please leave a comment or question you have about revision!😄
"Pedro"-What’s something good so that we don’t overthink about this assignment?
ReplyDeleteIt’s not a bad thing to go over your writing multiple times to make sure your purpose is still clear and connects through all the paragraphs “effective revisions isn't making changes for the sake of change, but instead making smarter changes”-Erica C.
Delete(Daniel)How do you talk about multiple topics in a paper? How do you make multiple topics flow together? How do you explain an idea in a piece of writing?
ReplyDeleteThe best way I find to writing about multiple topics is to make sure you organize them first. Make an outline going into alight detail about what you are going to talk about, and then try and see where things intersect and have similarities to help make a more concise, easy to read paper. Explaining an idea can get tricky when you may not have a full grasp on it. Try explaining it to your mom, sibling or friend and see if you can find the words there. Sometimes talking out loud works better than writing it down.-Anna E.
Delete"Jesus"How does one know when they are confident enough to turn in an essay when someone feels doubt about their essay?
ReplyDeleteIf you feel doubtful about your essay I suggest you go back and re-read your essay. Doubt usually means you don't feel your essay is completed. You might not have included everything you wanted to say. In the case that you've overlooked your essay, you can ask someone else for their unbiased opinion. You can ask for help from a classmate, tutor, and even the instructor. You'll feel more confident after you get a second opinion- Veronica
Delete"Bianca"-During the writing process, I tend to have writer’s block. It takes me a while to come up with a good paragraph. What helps you with writer’s block? What do you do in the writing Process?
ReplyDeleteDon't be afraid to scramble your thoughts onto those lines. As a writer, it's absolutely okay for you to jot down exactly what you're thinking onto the paper. Once you've reached that block, take a break then come back to your piece later. This is a process that all writers need to do until you can center your craft. So find time to write then go focus on another project to keep those juices flowing!-Ashanda
Delete"Maria" How to write an elite introduction – conclusion? Pointers on connecting your ideas?Tips on expressing your ideas using big words or how to sound smart. How to make your writing flow and more interesting to yourself and your reader?
ReplyDeleteI don’t think I have the exact answer for this, but I can tell you what I have learned and what I have been taught to do. In order to write a good introduction you should start off with something general, but make it easy to move on to more precise points that will be within your paper. You don’t want to overwhelm your reader with an introduction that is packed with facts because it can confuse them. Readers like to be prepared about the information that they are about to receive, and this is your mission to complete when writing your introduction. When it comes to your conclusion your goal here is to wrap up the essay without leaving anything out, inform your reader that you have achieved the purpose of the essay (this gives the reader closure), then deliver an impactful message and trigger a spark of idea inside of the reader's mind. Just to give an idea.
DeleteTo sound smart you can use a thesaurus, sometimes. I personally don’t think that using big words is what makes people sound smart or well spoken. The main thing that will make anyone sound brilliant is when you have something to say, this makes writing easier and faster for you, when you don’t have anything to say it kind of forces you to write sentences that sound meaningful but in reality deliver no message. You can also be specific when writing, give great details about what you are talking about or trying to explain. Simple words are always better because it gets the point across, you should only use longer words if your meaning is so specific that no other words will do. These are only a few of the many different things that you can do to sound “smart”, just speak from the heart and you will succeed. Using these steps will also start to make your writing more interesting for yourself and your reader because it makes it easier to see that you are passionate about what you are writing about and it makes it easier for your reader to understand and follow along.-Kaila O
"Toqa" What questions do I have to ask myself when I am writing so I can have more or deeper information? How do I organize my ideas before writing? How can I improve my writing that shows smooth and deeper ideas than connect smoothly and clearly? How can I know my mistakes in wiring so I can check my writing before I submit my final paper? How can I put a human sense in writing (to show emotions) that make the reader want to complete the paper?
ReplyDeleteToqa, always keep in mind who the audience is. Sometimes it might change as you write the paper, thats where revision comes into play. Revision is more then going through it again, its letting others read it so they can give find any mistakes that have slipped by, give you different points of view and make sure your paper is still following the main idea.-Erica C.
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DeleteToqa wrote this in response, but had trouble posting
Thank you Erica, you are absolutely right about thinking about my audiance while i am writing . Because audience is playing an important role in my way pf writing the easy and it may effect my tone in some places. And i alway do revision before submitting my final draft. And I always find something to correct that I didn’t notice at the first time. I think that revision is important because it make me see the easy from a outside as whole piece. And to evaluate the connections between the ideas Because sometimes while you are writing you my focuse in one part than the others.thank you , Toqa A