Reflection on Project 2

Below is my reflection on my project 2 essay using the questions from Writing Public Lives.

1. What was specifically revised from one draft to another?

I made a lot more global edits for this project than I usually do in my writing. I  completely redid both my introduction and conclusion (I know that was required for blog posts, but they both really needed to be reworked). I also rearranged a lot of sentences within the body paragraphs.

2. Point to global changes: how did you reconsider your thesis or organization?

After suggestions from my peer editors, I reworked my thesis to include the specific strategies that my author used in her article. This made it more precise and effective. I also made sure to say whether or not the author was successful with the rhetorical strategies that she employed. 

3. What led you to these changes? A reconsideration of audience? A shift in purpose?

Most of the global changes, especially with my intro and conclusion, were to make sure I was directly addressing the prompt and my audience. My first draft was too much like an analysis of the controversy rather than an analysis of her rhetoric. 

4. How do these shifts affect your credibility as an author?

Addressing the needs of the audience helps a lot when establishing credibility. If the readers can understand the argument, they are more likely to believe it than if it is targeted towards an audience that they are not part of. 

5. How will these changes better address the audience or venue?

Connecting my audience (students) to a skill that they will need (analyzing rhetoric) is essential. Without this knowledge, they will be more susceptible to being manipulated by rhetoric. Also, because they are the target audience, they will be more inclined to read the article and understand it. 

Because the audience is such an important part of this project, addressing their needs directly will also help improve my grade. 

6. Point to local changes: how did you reconsider sentence structure and style?

Most of my local revisions were based on organization. I moved a lot of sentences around to help my paragraphs flow and transition more effectively. There were also some sentences that needed to be combined to make it clear to my audience that they were part of a singular thought rather than two separate ideas. 

Due to the conventions of an essay, most of my sentences are more complex, and my tone and word choice are more formal. Changing from the QRG and blog styles to the essay style took some conscious thought. I had to reword a couple of sentences because they ended up sounding too informal or casual for this project. 

Image by Calamelli, Massimiliano. "Review mirror." Uploaded 9/11/10 via Flickr.
Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic license. 

7. How will these changes assist your audience in understanding your purpose?

Sticking to convention will help me inform my audience. Because the purpose of this project is to teach/inform, I needed to be somewhat formal so that I don't insult my audience's intelligence. However, if I had any terms or ideas that were complex (which I really didn't), I would have had to define those so that I didn't confuse my audience of new psychology students. 

8. Did you have to reconsider the conventions of the particular genre in which you are writing?

I've written enough essays to be fully aware of the conventions, but at times, I had to remind myself to stick to the essay format. Switching between formats takes some thought, but it isn't terribly difficult. 

I sometimes think that my blog posts sound too formal, so writing an essay wasn't a problem. The QRG on the other hand gave me some trouble, because I have a hard time writing informally and using short sentences. 

9. Finally, how does the purpose of reflection help you reconsider your identity as a writer?

This reflection helped me realize what I need to be aware of as I continue my career as a student. Sticking to convention is essential, as is writing directly to the target audience. Having switched from QRG writing to essay writing helped show me how important convention is. Even though the basic ideas behind project 1 and project 2 were similar (address a controversy in your field), the style, audience, and purpose of each one made the final products radically different.


Reflection

I read Kelly and Alyssa's reflections. We all mentioned that, in editing, we had to make sure that we were writing for the right audience and purpose. Knowing the rhetorical situation of the assignment is probably the part that I had the hardest time with, and they both might agree with me about that.