Writing my first draft I went into it very stressed. I felt like I needed to get it perfect the first attempt which is what many people think they must do according to Lamott. When writing my free draft I tried to free my mind in terms of worrying about grammar, spelling, and citations, but I did not allow myself a ‘child’s draft’. I agree with Lamott that allowing yourself a free first draft is important, but I do not think allowing it to be so inadequate you have to rewrite three fourths of it is helpful. It takes a lot of time and energy to write a draft of a paper, and being in college time is limited. Writing a terrible first draft means more time needed during big exam weeks. Slowly creating a strong draft allows you to spend manageable amounts of time on the second and third drafts, without rewriting and entire paper in the middle of studying for two exams. I did not expect Lamott to encourage a draft that is so bad it can include child language and a large portion of the writing needing to be omitted. Personally I just know I do not have time to make a first draft that will need to be rewritten entirely.
My goal for revisions is to work on reorganizing sentences and making sure each is placed in the best possible order. This will help strengthen my argument and my overall essay. Another one of my goals is to make sure all the authors of the readings are introduced properly and in the correct place. Lastly I want secure my argument and connect all aspects of my thesis together under the overarching idea of metaphors in medicine.
- Print out essay and as I go through each peer edit, mark what I am changing. For each different peer edit use a different color pen.
- Break up what page or two paragraphs I am working on at a time.
- Move 2 paragraphs at a time from one google document to a new one.
- Make edits on the document.
- After each two paragraphs are edited read through them out loud and see if it flows.
- Continue until the conclusion.
- Read through entire paper and make necessary changes.
- Meet with writing fellow to go over changes and organization.
- Go through revision process again.
I see my biggest challenge being finding and managing time for a revision process with this many steps. I feel like I may end up following my plan exactly how I would like. I think when it comes to changing the organization of the essay it will be challenging, because I always question my organization. I plan to use our writing fellow as a resource. I already have an appointment set up with her and I hope that will solidify my organization and I will feel more confident after the meeting.
