Shitty first draft- project one
As much as I would like to say I was able to write a successful "shitty first draft" like explained in the article, I had a lot of trouble doing so. Knowing that an essay I'm writing has to be turned in, I automatically try to do my best to make it a decent paper, even if its going to be revised a million times. The topic itself was a little difficult to write because I felt like there were a lot of aspects that needed to be included with a decently low word count, so my revisions are probably going to be hefty.
Maybe my draft ended up being shitty after all, but following the "low stress" orders that were declared by the shitty drafts article was not easy. I feel like I may be writing too vaguely about the topics that I'm discussing and that maybe my examples aren't strong enough. I do appreciate how our first draft doesn't have extremely high expectations because it leaves room for peer discussion, revision and improvement. Writing my first essay for my first college writing class is obviously a little nerve-wracking, especially with a new teacher that may have different expectations and grading standards than teachers in my past.
On the next draft that I write, my goal is to make a check list of all things that need improvement, and to create an outline that more clearly provides a direction for where my paper will be going.
Maybe my draft ended up being shitty after all, but following the "low stress" orders that were declared by the shitty drafts article was not easy. I feel like I may be writing too vaguely about the topics that I'm discussing and that maybe my examples aren't strong enough. I do appreciate how our first draft doesn't have extremely high expectations because it leaves room for peer discussion, revision and improvement. Writing my first essay for my first college writing class is obviously a little nerve-wracking, especially with a new teacher that may have different expectations and grading standards than teachers in my past.
On the next draft that I write, my goal is to make a check list of all things that need improvement, and to create an outline that more clearly provides a direction for where my paper will be going.
I originally worried about wanting the perfect essay, just like you. Ultimately though we were told to write shitty drafts so I stopped worrying about writing a perfect essay. I was more worried about getting the words on the paper. I think that I am going to have to revise my essay a ton but that's fine. It definitely needs to be restructured and reworded because it is super repetitive. I am going to try to adapt to the class and see if this new method of writing works for me. I enjoyed not worrying about how my first draft looked. It took some of the stress away from the writing process.
ReplyDeleteI can completely relate to you. I was so stressed knowing that my first draft was going to be read that I felt that it had to be perfect. I was worrying about it for days. However, after reading the "Shitty First Draft" story, I felt so much better about writing this article. I have learned it's okay to start off shitty, it is what makes you into a better writer! We all have to start somewhere in order to succeed, no matter how shitty we start off. It is okay that our drafts may have turned out pretty bad as long as we follow the do not stress rule given to us. These drafts can only help to better our final papers.
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