- In “Revising Attitudes” Brock Dethier writes “…For most of us, revision is the only road to success.” This potentially means that with revision, a text will only get better (if revised in the right way of course). Most people have a bad reputation with revision and see it as a sign of failure, that it isn’t good enough. However, revising doesn’t imply that the writing is bad but that it can get better and be more focused on the ideal point that the writer was trying to convey the first time.
- A metaphor I have for revision would be doing tricks on a skateboard. In order to learn how to do tricks on a skateboard, you need to figure out what move you want to learn. This can be compared to what message a writer wants to write about. Then the skateboarder needs to first have a foundation of how to write a skateboard. This can be compared to the zero draft of a writing. Next, the skateboarder needs to try attempting the trick move. It will probably be very sloppy or messy. This can be compared to the first draft of a writing. The skateboarder will then attempt to keep trying the same trick move which is the revision of the message in the writing. Finally, the skateboarder will expertise the move just like how the writer will have a final perfect piece.
- “A piece of writing is never finished.” This is very true because every piece of writing has room to be revised. The only reason why a writing piece is “finished” is because there is a deadline. Without the deadline, anyone can keep revising a paper to make it better than before. There is a lot of frustration that comes with “finishing” a paper because the writer never feels like the paper is finished. However, Donald’s Murray’s “Revising Your Own Manuscripts” tells us that we need to stop being overly critical of our writing because that is the only way we can successfully revise a paper without rambling off topic.
Identity, Rhetoric & Propaganda in the "Fake News" Era
ENG 2100: JMWA f18 Baruch College
