USING YOUR INSTRUCTOR’S COMMENTS
The comments your instructor provides are an important resource to use in revising your essays. You can use them not only to revise an essay but also to improve your writing throughout the course.
REVISING AN ESSAY USING YOUR INSTRUCTOR’S COMMENTS
Often your instructor’s comments provide a road map for you to begin your revision. An essay by a student, Kate Atkinson, appears in Figure 9.5. Her assignment was to write an essay defining a specialized term, and Kate chose “guerrilla street art” as her subject. In the marginal comments, Kate’s instructor comments on a range of elements in the essay, including the effectiveness of the introduction, paragraph unity and development, word choice, and source citations. Atkinson read the comments carefully and used them to revise her essay. Her final draft appears in Chapter 18.
USING YOUR INSTRUCTOR’S COMMENTS TO IMPROVE FUTURE ESSAYS
When you receive a graded essay back from an instructor, it is tempting to note the grade and then file away the essay without reading any accompanying notes or suggestions. To improve your writing, however, take time to study each comment. Use the following suggestions to improve future essays.
- Reread your essay at least twice. It takes more than one reading to process numerous comments on a wide range of topics. Read your essay once to note grammatical corrections. Then read it a second time to study comments about organization or content.
- If you did not get a high grade, try to determine why. Was the essay weak in content, organization, or development?
- Make sure you understand (and can correct) each grammatical error. If you cannot, check a grammar handbook or ask a classmate. If you still do not understand your error, check with your instructor.
- Record grammar errors in an error log. When you proofread your next essay, look carefully for each type of error.
- Using Figures 9.3 and 9.4, highlight or mark weaknesses that your instructor identified. When writing your next essay, refer back to these flowcharts. Pay close attention to the areas you had trouble with as you revise your next paper.
- If any comments are unclear, first ask a classmate if he or she understands them. If not, talk to your instructor, who will be pleased that you are taking time to study the comments.