Revision Review

     My first and final drafts differ in a few ways. My first draft was basically the shape of an idea, without any real support yet, and little to no organization. My first draft was also quite a bit shorter than my final draft and missing a lot of key and minor details that weren't added until later on. I didn't make a lot of major revisions, more like I made a lot of minor ones. I cleaned up the grammar and organization, added quite a few details, tweaked some run-on sentences and sloppy transitions, and voila, I had a final draft. Honestly, it was odd that I edited as much as I did, but I deviated quite a bit from my typical writing plan with this paper. I don't usually edit papers at all, what I do is more like a revision. I tend to edit as I write, but with this paper, I realized I couldn't do that because I wouldn't have a rough draft (or a final draft, depending on how you look at it).

     While editing, I noticed that my most common errors are sloppy or non-existent transitions, run on sentences, and the occasional comma splice. My grammar and style tend to be pretty good, its just that sometimes I have an idea and write more in a stream of consciousness style, and the end result tends to need a few commas, periods, and word substitutions. For most of these errors, I noticed them on my own as I was reading over my paper a second time, though peer editing helped me as well. For me at least, peer editing is more useful for figuring out if I'm being clear and concise enough, and if my style of writing is getting my point across, than for finding grammatical or technical errors.
   
     I think my essays strongest point was in all the details I included, and how they supported the main idea of the narrative. The weakest point would be that I may have gone a little off topic and on a tangent with some of the details (they may have drawn the focus away from the main point of the narrative). Overall I think it turned out pretty well.

Writing 101 So Far

     Writing 1 has helped me improve my writing in several ways. I've noticed my blog posts steadily getting stronger, and better organized. The first assignment I had no idea what was expected, or even what to write about, but as the class has gone on, and more blog posts have been assigned and written, I've slowly gotten more comfortable with the expectations, writing the blogs themselves, and even the topics chosen.

     I've also noticed my writing steadily improving. Before this class, I did little to no pre-writing for anything that wasn't a final paper or worth a huge chunk of points, but now I find myself brainstorming and outlining everything from the semi bi-weekly papers, to the weekly blog posts. Its been an interesting adjustment for me; everything takes much longer now, but in the end, my writing also has much better organization and flow.

     The class as a whole has forced me to be more introspective on my writing, writing processes, and behavior in a classroom environment. I went through most of my academic career thinking I was a great writer, and that I could write anything on just about anything, and write well. Now I have a little more perspective. I'm not quite as good as I thought I was, and I have some aspects that I have improved, and some aspects that could still do with some improvement, but I'm working on it.

     As for the changes I've seen in my classroom behavior, I've come to realize that sometimes its OK to be silent. I don't have to answer every single question, or dominate every discussion, I can just throw my two cents in when I have something truly unique to say, or when my opinion can further the discussion. I still don't know exactly why silent classrooms make me so uncomfortable, but I've learned to accept the inevitable, and deal with the situation appropriately when it arises.