Learning Outcome 1: Writing As a Recursive Process
When revising a long essay or paper, it can be difficult to see the piece with a different outlook or perspective. According to Nancy Sommers in her selection from “Revision Strategies of Student Writers and Experiences Adult Writers”, student writers must approaching the revision process through the eyes of a “holistic perspective” and they must understand that “revision is a recursive process”. In other words, writers must revise their work as a whole and understand that the flow or balance of the essay can be revised to mesh with the ever-changing stream of ideas that arise. When I revise my essays, I reevaluate my argument and whether or not my vision has changed. If it has changed, I look for ways where I can weave my new ideas into my present argument. In my third essay about social and climate change, my revisions reflected Sommers’ philosophy through my introduction of new ideas to add clarity and content to the essay. Although I did not make several large changes in Essay #3, I did add a section of a paragraph and a few more analysis sentences to the Naysayer section of the paper. For example, I wrote, “There are often many social movements that begin and grow, yet are never able to make a strong impact due to the fact that these protests often are only supported by people who wholeheartedly believe in the ideas presented. If strong and weak ties were utilized in situations like these, the number of supporters would grow exponentially and would maintain a long lasting effect on society” (5). These sentences revealed a flaw in society’s current method of social change and they also further stated my ideas of the most successful avenue for change. This reiterated my claims and further explained to the readers what my argument was. Before adding this section, my argument in this Naysayer paragraph was ambiguous and many of my peer reviewers stated that they were unsure of which argument I supported. This section also added content to my essay by introducing ideas that directly connect to current society.
Learning Outcome 2: Quote Integration
In Essay #3 I successfully selected, integrated and analyzed sources to help support my argument. I used quotes from Charles Duhigg’s selection “From Civil Rights to Mega Churches”, Bill McKibben’s documentary Do the Math, and Kathleen Dean Moore’s interview “If Your House Is On Fire”. My primary source was Charles Duhigg because I found his arguments the most realistic and similar to my own thoughts around the social change topic. I used McKibben and Moore’s quotes as a way to support or counter Duhigg’s claims. This allowed me to compare and contrast the most effective method of social activism. An example of where I successfully integrate and explain a quote can be found on page two and page three of my essay where I write:
“Charles Duhigg would complicate this claim with a more realistic approach where he evaluates how social connections and communities are able to foster social change based on peer pressure and a person’s social image. He explains that change and new social habits “gain their authority through communal expectations” and “if you ignore the social obligations of your neighborhood” or “if you shrug off the expected patterns of your community, you risk losing your social standing” (92). Many people are concerned about their reputation and their social standing in a community. Citizens are more apt to change their way of life because of the peer pressures felt by friendships and acquaintances, not by evaluating whether or not every decision they make is morally correct. Because many people are reluctant to restructure their moral compasses to something they are hesitant about, creating social change solely by trying to convince someone their lifestyle is not morally sound is unrealistic. Social change grows the fastest when people feel pressure from society or when they want to support a cause that they feel directly affects them or a loved one.”
In this example, I selected a quote from Duhigg that supported my thesis statement regarding social ties and the powerful influence that they possess. I used voice markers, such as “He explains…”, when introducing the quote, and I correctly cited the page source using MLA format. After stating the quote, I analyzed Duhigg’s ideas in detail by using his language of “social standing” and “community” in my analysis. I explain that his quote is realistic and that other morally centered methods of change would not be the most successful.
Learning Outcome 4: Peer Review
The tool of peer revision has helped me better understand what to look for when reviewing an essay and how I can apply the comments I suggest into my own writing. When peer reviewing, I find it useful to read the essay thoroughly one time and then revisit the paper again to make comments after rereading the essay a second time. My earliest peer review comments only focused on local revisions, such as sentence structure and word choice. However, my reviewing techniques have transformed during the semester as I now primarily focus on suggesting global and structural revisions, alongside local revisions. After coding a peer’s essay for the first essay assignment, I noticed that many of my comments involved the global categories of Ideas, Evidence and Organization. I had two Idea and two Organization codes, and four Evidence codes. For example, comment number eight shows that I evaluated the Idea category because I referenced the writer’s thesis statement and how they could use a different idea in their argument because it was more prevalent throughout the essay. I also showed evidence of this Learning Outcome in comment number three, where I offer a suggestion to address information before a particular paragraph in order for the ideas to flow and connect better to the thesis.
In the future, I will remember the importance of peer reviewing and hearing suggestions from readers. I will also ask for feedback from my peers as a way to improve my writing. I will provide positive and constructive suggestions that will truly help my peer’s paper, such as structure and flow, rather than only referencing small grammatical errors that can be fixed easily.
Learning Outcome 5 & 6: Local Revisions and MLA Citations
In the beginning of the semester, my writing frequently contained comma splices. I used this pattern as the topic of my mini lesson as a way to learn how to identify what a comma splice is and the ways in which they can be fixed. In Essay #3 this pattern was not present; I also correctly cite my quotations using MLA formatting and correct local revisions. When citing my sources, I correctly wrote the citation with the page number in parenthesis and the period after the number. This can be seen when a quote Kathleen Dean Moore on page two of my essay. I write, “Moore states, ‘Every decision we make… is an opportunity for us to express our values both by saying yes to what we believe in and by saying no to what we don’t believe in’ (6).“. This red lettering shows that the period is after the number and there is no name in the citation because I introduce the author prior to the quote. These knew skills will benefit me in other classes as I now can clearly identify local errors and correctly cite using MLA formatting.
