Your Help is Needed
Essays. Gross. Essays are the thing
that most students dread completing after reading their English teacher’s
syllabus. Writing is something that we
all know how to do, something that we continuously do throughout our lives, and
something that some feel is a waste of time. Personally, I hate writing essays.
I am typically unmotivated and have no idea what to write about, even when
given a prompt.
Now, if you are anything like me,
you too may not write your essays or reports until last minute. Literally the
night before they are due. When in this situation, I know that I personally can
make a million grammatical mistakes or ramble on and on. A good way to make
sure that everything gets cleaned and fixed up before turning it in is to
revise it. However, when it is coming on three in the morning and you must wake
up for the first class in three hours, revising may be the last thing on your
mind.
After hearing that we would be
doing peer workshops in class, I am not going to lie, I wanted to die. I had no
idea that it would consist of reading our paper OUT LOUD in front of our groups.
Reading my own writing out loud is something that I will forever hate doing.
After completing the workshop though, I could honestly see how beneficial it is
to my and most likely everyone else in the class. Getting pointers and criticism
from others is scary but needed in order to improve ones writing.
Editing your own work is something
that anyone can do. Check for typos, run-on sentences, grammar mistakes.
However, it is best to have another person look at your writing. Because it is your
own writing, your brain can miss important mistakes by automatically filling it
in since it knows what you meant to say. Having a peer edit your work can help
you catch anything you missed and even give you an outside opinion on what could
help benefit your piece.
As a writer getting your work revised
by another individual, it is important to always remember to listen to what
they have to say. They are trying to help you improve your writing skills and
even improve your chance at getting a better grade. You do not have to take
everything they say to heart or change everything that they think needs
changed. Just take their criticism into consideration. And to those who are
editing someone else’s paper, be kind and helpful. Do not throw around insults
if you think their piece is bad or does not line up to what you think.
All in all, peer revising is not as
scary as it seems. The constant fear of getting judged by something you do is
awful, but in a situation like this, it is almost needed. Not all criticism is
bad, it can actually be helpful! The peer workshops are now something that I
think will be enjoyable and very beneficial for me to excel at writing my
essays for class.
I think our egos often prevent us from growing into more successful versions of our selves. For instance, I find it sometimes hard to detach my work from who I am -- but these are two different entities. I am not an essay that needs revised and my life is not defined by a snotty comment. By separating ego from our work, I find peer reviewing really helpful! Sometimes we are too biased to ourselves to see the true issues with our work -- like holding your hand directly in front of your eyes, you cannot see the true from of the hand until you move it away. Just like that, we must remove ourselves from the equation to see the reality of our work. Others' comments help us do just that! Nice post!
ReplyDeleteI definitely believe that ever since I looked at the peer workshop thing as just help me to be a better writer, I don't think it is bad to be helped all. I enjoy it actually and it makes me think of better ideas for me to add in my paper if need be I do not like reading in front of people what's so ever. When you are n a small group you can actually notice a lot of things in your paper that are little mistakes that you might not notice when you just typing it or even reading it in your head. It is best to not say mean things to people about there paper because you can hurt someone's feelings and that's never the best way to handle it. Always remember to to think before your speak because you can't take back what you say.
ReplyDeleteI definitely think that reading my writing out loud and to other people does help me grow as a writer but also other people help me find inspiration to add to my piece. With all that being said I really dislike reading my own work in front of others because I don't want them to think less of me or obviously think my writing is bad or I'm a bad writer. No one likes to be bad at anything. I sit back and try to get myself to take a deep breathe, and think, other people are probably feeling the same way as me. If I don't want to be viewed that way, either do they, and so therefore they aren't here to break me down. They are here to critique my work so I could be the best I can be and get the highest grade I can get.
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ReplyDeleteReading anything out loud has always been a big stressor for me. Reading something I wrote that has all my thoughts, feelings, and opinions is even harder! I have always struggled with being confident in my writing and whenever asked to read it aloud I panic. I have come to realize, however, how important it is to receive criticism and get help from your peers. Getting second and third opinions will only strengthen and enhance what you have already written. The peer workshops are a great way to become a better writer. I really enjoyed reading your post and can definitely relate to the stress of reading out loud.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. Writing isn't my favorite thing to do and it is often hard to sit and think of good things to write about, even when given a specific topic. Peer editing seems scary at first but overall the experience is usually positive, and others are able to contribute their ideas on how to make your paper better, which is a plus! I am glad that you had a good experience doing peer reviews, I think overall they will be beneficial no matter what class you are in.
ReplyDeleteI was definitely nervous as well when I heard we had to read our drafted essays out loud to our peers. But, in the end it made me think of ways to improve my essay in ways I never would of thought of prior. I now see the importance of them. At the same time it makes you more picky of mistakes you are making as you read it out loud to others. The experience for me ended up being a positive one. I'm going to read my revisions aloud to a peer when I'm done with it!
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