“Substitute 'damn' every time you're inclined to write 'very;' your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be.”
- Mark Twain
The Talk-to assignment was very informative and beneficial as I start my revision plan for the Context Analysis essay. It gave me insight into how different audiences may read my text. A reader may find my essay interesting and informative, while a professor may find it choppy and redundant.
As I completed the activity, I was able to quiz myself. I felt as though I was talking to a teacher or mentor about how I could improve my essay. I tried my best to put myself in the shoes of every possible reviewer. Each time I read it, I acted as if I had never read the essay before. It was fascinating to me how I was able to examine my text in so many different ways without enlisting the help of someone else.
Using the critical distance concept, I was able to review my essay without overthinking it. Reading the text as if I didn’t write it helped me notice issues I didn’t before. Before I completed this activity, I believed my essay was fine and didn’t need further revisions. After taking a step back and reading it without my own bias, I pinpointed areas that needed editing. For example, after reviewing my work as if I were a professor, I noticed how the paragraphs did not create a good flow. The information was scattered in a confusing way and made it difficult for the reader to understand my primary insight.
As I move forward in the revision process, I hope to use the information discovered in the Talk-to. By reviewing my work as if it were the best and worst essay I had ever read, I learned that I used very informative and descriptive examples with insufficient research to support my claims. By examining the good and bad, I was able to pinpoint where the revisions needed to be made. By reviewing my work as a professor and agreeing with the critiques and suggestions, I put my bias aside and read my essay from a different perspective. I need to improve and edit areas that stop the flow of the text and create more interesting topic sentences. I also need to refocus my primary insight to address the topic of the Context Analysis assignment. By completing all of these revisions, my essay will meet all the requirements and intrigue readers.
The Talk-to activity has been constructive as I prepare for the revision process of my Context Analysis essay. I refocused my story on the topics I discussed in the invention process and created a concise primary insight. The outcome of using the Talk-to activity was very successful, and I intend to use the method again for future assignments and projects.
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