Hi folks!
We are just a few weeks out from the end of Term 1. Can you believe it? That means your portfolios will be due soon! Your portfolios are the culminating projects of a terms' worth of writing, and worth 50% of your overall grades. So, we treat them with care and dedication to the writing process. Each piece you include in your portfolio should be polished to perfection. So this means you would look over your rough drafts, read through your peers' comments, and decide what to take and what to leave on the table so to speak. Remember that in the end, the writing is yours and you decide what direction it will take. With that being said, carefully consider the comments you were given, as your writing is meant for an audience.
This week I'd like you to read a blog by a fellow writer about the art of revision. It's rather humorous and speaks perfectly to the process.
http://markdavidmuse.blogspot.com/2008/06/humorous-art-of-revision-aka-how-to.html
Comment below with your own thoughts on revision.
Ms. Zuba
I thought that the revision blog was very funny because it was so contradicting but very true at the same time. When it comes to editing and revising, I think it's very important to make sure that the author's voice is not lost by making too many edits!
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that over editing can change or lose a person's voice in an essay!
DeleteI liked how hypocritical his list was and how easily some of those lessons could go over someone's head. Personally I would in some cases re-write rather than revise
ReplyDeleteWhile I appreciated his humor I think in many cases the author was wrong and proposed tactics that could actually be detrimental to the piece. If every writer abided by the all-encompassing and restrictive rules all modern writing would be extremely boring.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Sometimes I think it's important for people to ask questions to the reader, something the author said to do. I think it's nice when the author tries to get the audience involved or when they're speaking directly to the reader!
Deletegood point emma, I agree. you don't want to take away the voice!
DeleteThis list is very punny, but if it's to be taken seriously I think these rules are too strict and could stifle the creative voice of an author. One's voice is distinctive by their use of different literary devices, word choice, and tone of voice and these rules of revision hold the writing back from being truthful and honest to the author.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was pretty funny how all the things he says not to do is exacly what he ends up doing
ReplyDeletevery observant michael
Deletewoah didnt pick that up until now thanks
DeleteI loved how he contradicted everything he said, all while providing useful tips in writing. I loled.
ReplyDeleteI agree! It made it funny.
DeleteI get that the author was joking on many of his points but I think that by creating strict rules like he did, the writer can loose their voice in the piece. I think it's important to have control of your writing and the writer should be able to include whatever he wants to show his voice.
ReplyDeleteI thought the list was really funny because I was expecting to read some long boring list on how to read a paper and realizing he was being completely contradictory was humorous.
ReplyDeleteI was happy to see that it was a short list as well!
DeleteI thought that the list was humorous but also confusing. Some of the words were hard for me to understand at first, but then I realized the humor in the contradicting phrases. I agree with most of the rules except I do think that there is some value in metaphors and analogies to help paint the bigger picture behind an essay. I noticed that we are actually taught to do some of these techniques in school, but also warned to stay away from others. I found that very interesting. Overall, I think that revision is key for any paper, but too much of it can take away from the piece of writing's character and the author's voice.
ReplyDeletei agreed most of them are true but he sucks at revising because he broke the rules
ReplyDeleteI think that's the point
DeleteThe entire article contradicts itself in every point it makes. This was done to evoke humor about revisions. It also makes the point that too much revision becomes unnecessary.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I liked how the author contradicted every rule he wrote, I think that it was kind of annoying to read. I really don't like when people put rules to writing, because I think writing shouldn't have rules. It's something you can use to express yourself, and I don't believe it should be given limitations, no matter how "good" or "successful" of a writer you are.
ReplyDeleteAlthough not knowing what all of the helpful hints meant, yet I found it annoyingly humerous how he formatted his essay.
ReplyDeleteto much editing can hurt a writer as much as it helps.
ReplyDeleteI thought that the way each lesson contradicted itself, showed how you can sort of do whatever you want with creative writing.
ReplyDeletejust like a good artist a good wrihter needs to know when to keep going forward with revisions and when its time to call it quits
ReplyDeleteThis contradicts itself a lot. Its funny but not really helpful, I wouldn't take this seriously.
ReplyDeletethe problem with some of the suggestions is that the author had to try hard to come up with so many of them that some of them are not true when it comes to revising so he put them in because they were funny
ReplyDeleteVery clever, but definately overdone.
ReplyDeleteNot helpful, it contradicts itself. He threw some good points in there but it could never be taken seriously.
ReplyDeleteI would have to agree with Kenzie Campbell. It was funny but not helpful.
ReplyDeleteI think the author was trying to hard to be funny, and the blog carried on too long. The rules he was saying were obviously sarcastic, but I found this piece annoying to read. Everyone breaks the rules of writing, just like he did.
ReplyDeleteI thought the material that was present in this article was only useful to people who really knew the elements of writing. This basically means I didn't understand it. But regardless my point still stands.
ReplyDeleteI think it was clever and gave you examples of what not to do even though everything was a contradiction
ReplyDeleteI think that it contains some good points but it also leaves me wondering, if we aren't supposed use everything he listed, what do we use? I feel that we still need to include some of these things to make our wiriting unique to ourselves.
ReplyDeleteI think the list was clever and humorously written but at the same time, I think all those rules can take away the writer's unique style of putting a piece of writing together. I did enjoy reading it though :)
ReplyDeleteI liked reading this blog because it was humoreous and intresting to read, and it was very clever of the writer to contradict himslef in every point he wrote.
ReplyDeleteI LOLed at the list. I think he is right for the most part, some of the gramtical mistakes in writing can be distracting. However, don't edit so much that you lose your voice! One tip I have is that if a sentence is not working gramatically, delete it and start the sentence from scratch. You will be able to write a brand new sentence in your voice with the same meaning without losing voice in grammar changes.
ReplyDeleteAlthough it was a funny and quick to read, I do not think this article would be of much help if I was looking for advice on what to keep and not to keep in my paper. Many of the points were worded in a confusing way and many of the others would make the writer's voice get lost.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was very funny but also very helpful when looking for things to edit in papers.
ReplyDeleteReally interesting and funny!
ReplyDeleteIt was really funny, Half of the things listed were things that I do on a day to day basis. It is really helpful though.
ReplyDeleteI thought the blog was humerous and interesting but it wasnt that helpful in the bigger picture
ReplyDelete