Samantha Erickson
Jennifer Trainor
21 September 2009
EGN 214
Storming, Drafting and Revision
Lines askew, ink blots, sporadic numbering and illegible scribbles are of the most frequently seen markings on any given draft of my writing. Unlike the students from Nancy Sommer’s “Revision Strategies of Student Writers and Adult Experienced Writers” I rarely simply stop at word revision or replacement in my re-writing process. In truth I do not employ a revision process as sophisticated as the experienced writers Sommer’s describes but I do strive to keep my writing process consistent and professional. In most cases I begin with an elementary tactic such as as a brain storm, then move on into a more structured outline which leads into a complete rough draft of written ideas. After these preliminary steps are done I meticulously re-read until all my thoughts are represented properly, which gives me a polished final draft.

I learned the base of my revision and writing process in my earliest years of my schooling. I remember having the idea of “brain storms” and “mind webs” drilled into my head until I began to do these things naturally. This first act of writing consists of using a blank sheet of paper much like a blank space on a canvas. I move my pen around scribbling ideas as they fill my mind. This is similar to the “slashing and throwing out” process described in the passage. I tend to agree with the process as the student explains this method, “I throw things out and say that they are not good. I like to write like Fitzgerald did by inspiration, and if I feel inspired then I don’t need to slash and throw much out.” ( Sommers Line 7). These brain storms that I was taught by my elementary school teachers help me channel all of my inspirations onto paper before they leave my memory. This helps me immensely because I tend to have a rather scattered approach at times, I appreciate that this method allows me to record all of my ideas before requiring a solidified form.

My next step in the drafting process is to create a slightly more structured outline. This is the point in my writing in which I survey the ideas in which I have thrown onto the page. I use this time to focus on the most important and stimulating of my thoughts. I then channel my energy into developing these points much more in depth. I generally choose three to four main ideas for each paper, depending on the subject matter and required length of the piece. This step in my process is similar to the first “rewriting” example from an experienced writer. This writer describes their rewriting process as “[…] a matter of looking at the kernel of what I have written, the content, and then thinking about it, responding to it, making decisions, and actually restructuring it ” (line 12). In this example the “kernel” is what I have written on my brain storm, and the “restructuring” is the act of putting these thoughts into a conscious, specific order that is coherent and intelligible.

Next in the tedious process of writing and revision is my drafting process. This is arguably the most important part of my writing as it is paramount to the formation of a fully fluid piece of writing. In opposition to my outlining procedure this is the time in which I add textual examples, evidence and quotes to strengthen my claims and arguments. This can be compared to Sommers’ third example of rewriting for an experienced writer in which the author describes the abandonment process, “Rewriting means on one level, finding the argument, and on another level, language changes to make the argument more effective. Most of the time I feel as if I can go on rewriting forever. There is always one part of a piece that I could keep working on. It is always difficult to know at what point to abandon a piece of writing. I like this idea that a piece of writing is never finished, just abandoned” (line 14). During my first draft I often utilize many of the tactics that this writer comments on. I first “find the argument” by picking out my main favorite ideas that I believe can be developed into well thought out paragraphs. I also examine my word choice during this process to ensure that I am using the most powerful, effective language in my arguments. This is so I know that I am making clear, concise arguments in favor of my thesis. My favorite part of this excerpt from our reading is the notion that a piece of writing can simply be abandoned. What is most difficult in writing is at times, merely knowing when one should throw an entire idea out the window and start from a fresh perspective. I find the idea of discarding an entire point rather difficult, as it is sometimes arduous to begin once more from scratch. However, this is often the best idea, sometimes we need to re-begin to fully work through an idea. I’ve learned these tactics mostly in my high school years, and predominantly through my tenth grade honors literature teacher. He always stressed the importance of revision to make sure that our arguments were as solid as they could possibly be with no loopholes to be explored.

My final step in my writing process is when I produce my final draft. This is probably most like the inexperienced writers in Sommers’ piece. Once I am satisfied with the general ideas and structure of my work I will diligently scour my piece looking for only spelling and grammar errors as well as typos. I believe that I do most of my revision in my rough drafting, therefore it is not necessary to continuously deconstruct my writing because at this point I am hopefully mostly satisfied with it. After all of my spelling errors are corrected I read my piece one final time aloud to make sure that I am satisfied with my work. Once I’ve reached my optimum satisfaction (or deadline) I am ready to turn my work in. Once my piece is turned over it is out of my hands and no longer available for revision, this is the point in which I wish for the best.