Blog #6

I feel like my experience of writing a first draft was a bit different from Lamott’s description.  I, like her, also felt that just getting out the words and ideas without worrying about quality was a good thing, as I can also get paralyzed when first starting a paper. I tend to not know how to start things correctly, even if I know what I want to say, because I want it to be good the first time. However, she mentions in her writing that nobody has to see the first draft, which is the opposite for us: multiple people have to see the first draft. In this class, our first drafts do have to be somewhat good, even if they’re not perfect. I also didn’t really like that she bashed people who do write smoothly and get things right on the first draft. I don’t think there’s any right way to make art, and it kind of came off like bitterness or jealousy in her writing.

Revision Plan Strategy:

My goal in revising my paper is to improve the the content of it by adding Peter Singer’s shallow pond analogy and EA’s concept of replaceability when it comes to artists. I also want to make my opinion more clear throughout the essay, as several of my peers commented that I presented too much evidence without giving my take on the subject. I will take several steps to amend these problems:

  1. Review all feedback I’ve gotten from my peers and combine identical or similar comments, so I can get a good idea of what problems I need to fix
  2.  Amend small-scale issues , so I can get them out of the way and make it easier to focus on larger problems
  3.  Consider if there are any problems with the essay’s structure, and find places to add in extra content
  4.  Write and add extra content (shallow pond allegory and replaceability)
  5.  Amend large-scale issues with the essay
  6.  Review essay one last time to check for grammar, spelling, structure, and flow

I think my biggest challenges with this part of the essay writing process will be writing the sections for the shallow pond analogy and replaceability. I had originally forgotten these parts when writing my essay for the first time, so it may be difficult finding a place where they fit with the already established structure of it. It may end up sounding disjointed, and I’ll need to edit the essay further.

If I have trouble with this step, I know of a couple resources I can use. I have my English books, They Say, I Say and The Little Seagull that may have some useful information on adding new sections to an essay. If I can’t find what I need there, I’m signed up for weekly Writing Lab classes, and I can ask my teacher there to look over my essay for me and help me revise it.

3 Comments

  1. sdupont2

    I think that your plan to achieve your goals for your final essay are great. The step by step should really allow you to get all your main points into your essay. It will also make sure you add in the shallow pond analogy. Having your writing lab teacher read your essay is very beneficial and a smart thing to do! It will also be a good way to make sure that the Peter Singer reference flows into the essay. Having someone read your essay once it is completely finished is something that would help as well, and reading the essay out loud to yourself. This will help make sure that it all makes sense together.

  2. edupler

    I really liked her ideas of getting your thoughts onto paper instead of having something polished on the first try too! It is pretty nerve-wracking to have multiple people read the first draft because it can be such a mess. I think your revision plan strategy is very detailed and shows that you have put a lot of thought into it. I like how its laid out step by step and I think your paper will really benefit from this.

  3. elishaemerson

    Your revision plan is amazing. Thank you for all your hard work.

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