Learning outcome 1.)
In my most recent paper, when it came to revision it took me some time to revise because I looked at my paper as a whole and tried to analyze the organization first and how the paper flowed. Then I took to my grammar and noticed how some my sentences weren’t long enough, or they were too long so I had to change somethings at the local level as well. That was all at the beginning of my paper, I went back to the paper numerous times and made many changes, along with the help from my peers who edited and left comments as well. The thought process that went into what I wanted to change was simple. I usually have an overarching idea or theme that I like to stick to when I write papers so if something I write starts to move away from that I try and reframe the statement to fit the paper. When it comes to local revision my thought process primarily sticks too, if I read it out loud and it makes sense then I keep it, if it sounds awkward and weird then it gets changed. My philosophy about revision is simple in the idea that if the paper flows correctly and the wording isn’t awkward then there isn’t anything to change.
Learning outcome 2.)
The way I used sources in my papers was simple, the sources were used as a way to strength my arguments and help debate my point to the level that the other side deemed wrong. It took sometime for me to get used to introducing the quote in the text before I even used it. Before this class I would try and integrate the quote so that when it was in my essay it read as if I was saying the quote, giving it a seamless integration. But when you introduce the quote you sort of give away that form of seamless integration that I was previously used too. But Introducing makes a lot of sense because your reader now has background on the author and knows what your talking about. A quote from my third essay in this class will demonstrate how I introduced the quotes, “In Anderson’s essay, he mentions how the internet is basically a giant “Skinner’s Box” that the endless rewards of the internet flow in endlessly, “dispens[ing] never ending little shots of positivity”(7). The internet is using our increasingly short attention spans by having us keep searching for new stimulants, we are stuck in a “gloriously unpredictable cycle”(7)”. I also learned how to analyze and bring the quote back to my thesis which is a very useful skill I had learned from this class.
Learning outcome’s 5 and 6.)
When it comes to MLA formatting I feel like I have a pretty good grasp on that section of understanding. Since middle school I think I have been using MLA formatting for my essays. I have gotten better at introducing my quotes so when it came time for my citations, I was able to simply place the page number because you already knew the author. When it comes to local revision this area is a little hard for me because of my dyslexia. When I try to edit papers it usually takes me a while when trying to find mistakes because my brain thinks their right even when their wrong. I find it best when I read my essay out loud, thats when I find the most spelling areas because I can hear the awkwardness that is in the sentence.
Learning outcome 4.)
When it came to reviewing my peers work that proved to be a more difficult challenge. Before this class I had not done a lot of serious peer editing in high school and honestly I don’t really like editing other people’s papers. I don’t like doing it because usually someone else already finds everything wrong with the paper and I feel like why should I even bother if the person before already figured it all out. But towards the end of the Peer review sessions I was able to climb this mental hurdle and give honest, good feedback. In the most recent essay i edited I made a comment regarding their thesis which was better than any comment had given before because it was a sign that I was thinking beyond organization and the way her sentences sounded. “Towards the middle of the paper i questioned an idea that was presented, comment three reads “With this easy access to a powerful tool that can do the work for us society can become addicted to this necessity. Comment (Are we addicted to being lazy? or are we addicted to the endless streams of information?) Code: I. I tried to give new light to the situation and give a different angle of thinking.” This is the comment I gave when trying to question the authors thought process and how they were writing the essay in a helpful and positive way.
