To quote the renowned philosopher Voltaire, “Writing is the painting of the voice.” From a young age, I have always enjoyed writing. Whether it be digitally or physically, writing has always brought me comfort and relief. It is the medium by which I am able to express emotions I am afraid to say aloud. I would even go as far to say that it is one of my most prized possessions. However, I will be the first to confess that I am by no means a great writer. Nevertheless, I have always tried to improve. I have always strived to hone this craft to the best of my ability. Throughout several years of academia- elementary school, middle school, and high school- I have observed gradual, minute improvement in my writing. However, I have never been so confident with the quality of my writing as I have over the course of these past four months of writing 101. I feel this improvement to be specifically attributed to my utilization of diligence, consistency, and peer review.
It brings me no little amount of amusement to say that peer review is, by far, the most advantageous tool that helped improve my writing. I once detested peer review because I thought it fruitless, embarrassing, and condescending. This may be due to past experience; peer review has never significantly brought me improvement. However, during this past semester, I can proudly attest that peer review has changed my writing habits for the better. The constructive criticism that peer review brings helps me in a myriad of ways. Thanks to the objectivity of my peers, I am able to view my work from different perspectives, which allows me to elaborate upon, or fix, certain ideas and notions. For example, it has often been stated by my peers that I could improve upon my fluidity to give my work more structure. I have always struggled with this because I find it hard to eloquently link certain sentences or ideas with their proper partners. Before peer review, I feel I would frequently approach a creative roadblock. I would sporadically write strong sentences and paragraphs, and then have no idea where to put them, or how to connect them. After peer review, however, I gain helpful, objective insight that allows me to overcome this writer’s block, and adequately phrase my intentions. Moreover, I am a very talkative person, and it often shows in my writing. Peer review has rescued me from my reputation for verbosity, and has offered concise alternatives that adequately display my points. Where I flourish in word count, I fail miserably in brevity and fluidity. Peer review, overall, has brought me priceless qualities, enlightenment, and a tad bit of pride. Having an audience helps me identify and evaluate my strengths and weaknesses.
The other indispensable tools this class has presented to me would be that of diligence and consistency. Consistency and diligence have been the most effective and reliable method of improving my writing skills. The more you practice, the more you grow. Consistent, diligent practice allows you to see your growth and your shortcomings, along with your stylistic tone and habitual writing tendencies. It also aids in molding your identity as a writer. For example, when I compare my work from the beginning of the semester to recent, I notice that there are clear distinctions in my writing. There is more conciseness, style, and clarity of tone. If I compare all of my work from the beginning of the semester- an analysis piece of David Brook’s New York Time Op-Ed, (https://edblogs.olemiss.edu/jkevans1/2020/11/14/the-best-reason-to-go-to-college-final-draft-using-for-epilogue-project/https://edblogs.olemiss.edu/jkevans1/2020/11/14/the-best-reason-to-go-to-college-final-draft-using-for-epilogue-project/), to my most recent piece, a personal Op-Ed,( https://edblogs.olemiss.edu/jkevans1/2020/11/04/reclaiming-individuality-amidst-social-medias-tyranny-final-draft/), the change in my writing tendencies can be clearly distinguished.
While the concept of writing well and often is not hard to grasp (it is simply practice), the execution is particularly difficult. Diligence is highly lacking in today’s modern, convenient world. More often than not, especially in academia, people will do only enough to satisfy the needs of the task. The same quality of work will not result from obligatory effort as it will from voluntary effort. That is to say a fundamental truth: we learn by practice. However, it is hard for students, especially college freshmen like me, to become motivated enough to practice, let alone to do good practice. This laziness is something I once gladly indulged in. However, as my growth as a writer became steadily apparent, I realized the importance and the impact of trying your best. By motivating myself to try my best, I began to realize my full potential. Thus, consistent writing, combined with genuine effort, or due diligence, regardless of the motivator, will inevitably result in noticeable change.
It is a rarity to literally be able to look back upon your growth. That, I believe, is why I hold writing so dear- why it is so beautiful. It is an everlasting reminder, a figurative tool by which you can gauge your growth: from where you once were to where you are now. This class has allowed me to showcase the improvement of my writing abilities, which I owe in no little part to peer review and consistency, and diligence. To peer review, I accredit my style and growth. I will always treasure peer review in that it gave me an audience which appraised and revealed my strengths, weaknesses, and idiosyncrasies when I was blind to them. Because of due diligence and consistency, I was able to expand my capabilities, and bring my potential as a writer to realization. It is because of these tools that I have learned immensely about my abilities and tendencies as a writer. I am now able to, in short, effectively expand upon my ideas, think objectively, provide structure, and exercise brevity. It is because of these tools that I have improved at all. This semester will forever remain crucial in my development as a writer.