This is my second time reading “Shitty First Drafts” and I can still relate to it the same way I did last year in my writing class. I think its an excellent section to read because I feel like anyone that is starting the writing process can connect with it. The first draft is meant to be messy. It the first step in full exploration. When I write my first draft, I try to get all my ideas that correlate with the prompt down. Then I go back and pick which I want to more further with. It’s the same as when she brought up the “down draft.” I think its essential to write every perspective you have on a prompt that way you can make connections and explore further.
REVISION PLAN
In regards to my final draft, my main goal is to expand upon the ideas I have already constructed and connect them to a stronger thesis. When I write, I tend to just throw up a bunch of different ideas and then pick from them. This helps when revising later, however, it usually strays away from my thesis. So, I want to go back and create a better thesis that fits the rest of my writing. I also want to narrow down my scope because I’m afraid of I’ll be spending too little time on more things instead of really expanding and reflecting on my thoughts and argument.
Steps I will be taking:
- Creating a better, stronger thesis
- Narrowing the scope of my ideas
- Going through my body paragraphs to cut out or add in ideas that will better argue my thesis
- Generating new topic sentences to connect to my thesis
- Eliminating any repetitive phrases
- Filter out the rhetorical questions I used
I think the hardest element of my plan will be revising my body paragraphs to connect to my new thesis. When drafting, my thesis was helpful because it allowed me to write about a wide scope of things. But now that I am narrowing down my writing, it may be hard to filter out what fits and what doesn’t. Organization will help with this, but this may still be an obstacle that I will face.
If a challenge does come up, I luckily have been provided with a number of helpful resources. To start, the feedback I have received has been super helpful. It was able to provide me with my audience’s perspective and I can incorporate it into my writing. I also have the writingfellow to turn to if I face a challenge. SASC is another vital option in the mix as well as turning to my professor, as her feedback has been a super helpful as well.
