After reading “Shitty First Drafts” by Anne Lamott, I feel a sort of connection with her words. It is great to hear that other people can relate to this same thing and that it may just be a fairy tale that people can actually write polished writing on their first try. I like her tone, it is casual, yet striking with a vibe of insensitivity. It is important to feel how insensitive it seems like she is being because it gives the paper more meaning. It’s supposed to make the reader feel as if they should have always written awful first  drafts and that they have no toher option if they want effective writing. I like the line “It’s not like you don’t have a choice, because you do — you can either type, or kill yourself” because the strength of the words is very intense. The idea is that we always have a choice, but which one could bring most meaning to you? Or even, how could you ever write something worth reading without writing at all? The passage as a whole is very interesting and I like the connection between writer and reader.

Revision Strategy: 

Goal: To rework my thesis and connect back with every single paragraph, and to also add an effective counterargument.

Steps:

  1. Think critically about what my paper is trying to argue, so I can rework my thesis to the content of the paper, rather than changing my whole paper to fit my thesis.
  2. Read aloud my paper at least once to see where it goes off track from my argument.
  3. Focus on opposing opinions and start crafting a counterargument that accents the thesis very nicely.
  4. Have someone read my paper and focus on global edits so I can really focus my paper on my new thesis.
  5. Polish.

My biggest challenge will most definitely be reworking my thesis to fit my paper better. I am worried that it will not be a strong enough thesis. I will overcome this pressure and challenge by talking to people I know that are effective writers and take their opinion on it and the flow of their paper. I will be very open to opinions.