Reflection on Project 3

In the following post, I reflect on my Project 3 Public Argument by answering the questions "Reflecting on Your Own Revision Process" from the Writing Public Lives textbook.

Donnelly, Tim "Time to Reflect" 8/3/2011 via flickr. Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic License.

Reflecting on Your Own Revision Process

1. What was specifically revised from one draft to another?

The aspects that were most heavily revised in my draft were the varying aesthetics. More specifically, I added music, narration, and special effects to my video.

2. Point to global changes: how did you reconsider you thesis or organization? 

In revising my video, I reconsidered the type of argument I was trying to convey. In the editing process, I discovered that the direction I was going in wasn't what I had originally planned. I, overall, changed my voice and the overall tone of the video.

3. What led you to these changes? A reconsideration of audience? A shift in purpose?

Neither of the options listed by the book were the reasons I altered my video. As I was editing, my ideas and the argument itself started to change. I believe this is in part because of the footage itself. My video ended up being somewhat dark and ominous. This tone in turn evolved my overall argument.

4. How do these changes affect your credibility as an author?

The changes I made were successful in making the video appear, overall, more professional. This in turn will affect my credibility by increasing the reliability of my argument.

5. How will these changes better address the audience or venue?

The changes I made to my video will help to instill a sense of urgency to my audience. The more ominous and authoritative tone rhetorically helped to giver my argument an underlying sense of importance. 

6. Point to local changes: how did you reconsider sentence structure and style?

I realized very early on in the drafting process that my narration was too formal. The writing style of an essay is very different from that in a video. When I read aloud what my narration would be, I realized very quickly that it complicated the video, and took away from the overall rhetoric of the special effects.

7. How will these changes assist your audience in understanding your purpose? 

This change will be very subtle. By simplifying my narration, I place an emphasis on the darkness of the video itself. This shift in focus will cause my audience to comprehend the seriousness of the subject.

8. Did you have to reconsider the conventions of the particular genre in which you are writing?

Yes, multiple times. When I found I was starting to confuse myself with my purpose, it was always helpful to remind myself of the conventions of my genre. Doing so reinforced the direction I needed to go with my argument. 

9. Finally, how does the process of reflection help you reconsider your identity as a writer?

These questions remind me of how important it is to reanalyze your writing on various scales. For example, traditionally, I wouldn't have reviewed my draft and questioned myself about the "global changes" that could be made. I would have simply focused on the local conventions, attempting to improve grammar and professionalism. The emphasis on global changes greatly helped me in my editing process as most of my project involved global effects over local ones.