Revision Statement

        In the past, I have struggled a lot with making my writing really feel like “me.” I’ve always been a pretty average writer. I do pretty well, but never anything exceptional. This is partially due to the fact that I’ve never had many opportunities to write about things that interest me. Over this semester, I feel like I’ve really had the chance to explore different things in my writing and talk about things that interest me.
        My writing usually struggles from a string of smaller issues. For example, in my Epistolary Essay, I had a lot of trouble fully fleshing out my ideas. There was a lot for me to say but I wasn’t sure exactly how to say it without coming off as cheesy or insincere. When I went back to revise it, I focused on fully forming the ideas I had already started developing and adding things to clarify each part of my ideas. I was able to expand on my ideas about risk vs. reward and the importance of being part of a community. I also removed some parts that I felt disrupted the flow or didn’t add the point of the essay,
        The Multitextual Essay was something I was really excited about. I’m very passionate about music and I tried to take this assignment as an opportunity to write about something that I cared about and wanted to share with the world. I was surprised about how much I enjoyed this assignment even during the writing portion. However, I did struggle with fully incorporating information from Station Eleven into my commentary. I once again struggled with knowing what I wanted to say but not knowing how to fully explain it, partially out of laziness. So, the result ended up being only partially connected to the material and seemed a bit out of place. In the revised version, I think I greatly improved at incorporating information and making my commentary flow better, adding more information to tie in Station Eleven as I went. I also finally learned how to cite sources without a generator, which is a small easy improvement, but definitely an important one that I’ll need for the future. Whether it’s for other classes or for personal projects I will be able to make use of it.
        Making the Crack is Whack podcast episode was definitely what I struggled with most this semester. I didn’t struggle for some of the common reasons like not being able to edit audio or things like that (the more technical aspects). Instead, I struggled with working with my partner to create a coherent podcast that we were both happy with. I think this project overall helped me to improve my ability to work with a partner that I’m not familiar with, as well as developing my research ability. I learned how to find scholarly articles and use them in my work. However, there were aspects of the original episode I wasn’t the most happy with. In certain places it felt somewhat disjointed and unprofessional to me. When I went about making my follow up episode, I considered these things I wasn’t as happy with and tried to create something that was more streamlined and more efficiently delivered information. I also focused on a specific aspect of the topic that I was particularly interested in so that it would be easier for me to write about.
        I think one of the most important things I learned this semester was that writing is much more fulfilling when you are able to write about something you care about. It also helped me to establish a writing voice that I felt was really mine. My writing tends to come off overly professional and cold at times, and I feel I was able to improve it over this semester and develop a voice that was more unique to me and the way I actually talk.
        Now that I have revised my works, I have a better understanding at how to fully develop my ideas and writing that is more cohesive and easy to understand without the reader having to do as much of the interpretation themselves. This is definitely still something I will have to continue to work on in the future, but I have made considerable strides in this direction. I now fully understand the value of revision and how necessary it really is to make a work better. Rarely is something the best version of itself in its initial form.