Learning Outcome 1
When reading the excerpt from Nancy Sommer’s “Revision Strategies of Student Writers and Experienced Adult Writers,” I was thinking about how I categorize myself as one of those students who has trouble finding the “something larger” when revising my essays. This showed the most in my third writing prompt of the semester. The prompt was difficult for me to write, because of the many elements I had to include to help support my argument. In my rough draft, those elements didn’t flow well. When I first typed my rough draft, I just threw my thoughts on the paper and went from there. Once I read it out loud to myself, I realized that the flow of my essay was very choppy and unorganized, and I didn’t know what I had to do to fix it. During our peer review session, my partners and myself analyzed my essay and concluded that by mentioning the sense and form drive in my introduction was throwing off the flow of the rest of my essay. I decided to move the intro of the two drives into my first body paragraph where I used baseball to help explain the two drives. By doing this, I had no problems with the transitions I included in my essay. I was able to pic out what I did wrong by rereading my writing out loud, and by taking advice I got during the peer review sessions. ENG 110 has helped me become better at picking out global edits while also stressing the local edits that are also important.
Learning Outcome 2
In the last writing prompt, which is the prompt I chose for this portfolio, required the referencing of many different resources. I was required to use an article, a video, and another classmates project to explain what beauty is, and all three sources had evidence to support my argument. This semester, I learned how to set up and deliver quotes in my writings. In the past, sine I have done a lot of journalism, I am used to just starting my quotes with “so and so states” and things like that. Now I have learned to introduce the author and include some context that sets up the quote. An example from the writing prompt is when I used Jacob’s presentation on rap music to connect to my argument. I introduced Jacob as the creator of the project, and explained his presentation, which led into the quote I used. The essay flows better when you deliver your quotes via context relating to your argument rather than using words such as “states” or “explains.” After stating the quote, I connected it with my argument. That is a skill I believe is very important in writing and I am glad I improved on it this semester.
Learning Outcome 5 and 6
Like I mentioned in the previous learning objective, the final writing project required the use of various sources to help back up my argument. Since so many different sources were used in text, the Work Cited page is very important. You have to be exact with how you cite your sources in MLA Format. This wasn’t hard for me, because I started to learn MLA Format in high school. Work Cited mistakes are local revisions you can fix if you look over the text. Grammatical errors are also locals revisions. In my writing, I tend to use a lot of commas. During the peer review, I went through my paper and fixed where I believed I made errors with my commas. I chopped up long sentences and added bridge words instead of commas. Once I read my essay aloud for a second time, it sounded a lot smoother.
Learning Outcome 4
Throughout my time in ENG 110, I believe that my revision skills have improved. During our first revision session, I remember staring at my peer’s paper not knowing what to say, and I just commented what they did well. Now, I have an easier time picking out global edits. In the revisions I included in my portfolio, I helped my peer establish her ideas and organize her paper in a better way. I also pointed out when my peer used her evidence correctly. I commented on a quote she used in her paper. The quote was delivered well, and I thought the quote she chose connected well with the rest of her ideas and the direction her essay was heading. That is something I wouldn’t have spotted at the beginning of the year. My growth as a peer reviewer has not only allowed me to help my peers grow as writers, but it also allowed my own writing to grow as well. This is a skill I hope to carry with me for the rest of my educational career.
