I definitely feel like I have reached a sort of camaraderie with other students in this class because of commenting and reading their posts--I interact with some people more than others, it seems, but that's life, lol. Being able to read introductions, random posts, reading diaries, and stories gives you a view into another person's interests and personalities, thought process, and creativity that you don't always get in lecture and discussion classes. Comments are extremely helpful in learning how to refine and edit stories so as to get the most out of your writing, and being able to get so many different perspectives on stories exponentially increases the constructive nature of editing and rewriting.
The most useful comments are those that point out both the strengths and weaknesses of my writing/story. While I always love getting compliments (who doesn't? Lol.), the constructive criticism over what areas could use improvement are definitely the most helpful. (This is true for both story and project comments.) Personally, I tend to make most of my short comments into longer comments, but I try to point out at least one strength and one weakness in each comment that I make. Sometimes the strengths and weaknesses pertain to the design/layout of the story or project, but more often they pertain to the content (e.g. grammar, style, plot, character development, etc.).
This is pretty much the only class in which I comment so often on other students' work, but I love the interaction that this class provides. Being able to read others' work and write and receive criticism opens your eyes to the creative possibilities that are out there, and in noting weaknesses in others' work you can often notice the same or similar issues in your own work.
Therefore, change nothing, for the commenting component of this class is uber-helpful and interactive!
Arrivederci!!!
Image Information. Editing a paper, photo by Nic McPhee, 2008. Flickr.
Compulsive Editing Support Group, comic by Debbie Ohi, 2010. Writer Unboxed.
Hi Jessica,
ReplyDeleteI thought the pic you used for this post was just perfect! It's the experience that I feel when I'm writing a paper and submitting the final draft.
Regarding your post, I really like how you noticed that you sometimes see your own mistakes in writing by reading other people's stories. I think that's really true, but it's subtle, so it's good that you noticed it.
It's also really cool that you are open to constructive criticism. Growing up, I hated it, but I think it's grown on me because it really does "stick" in my mind when I get it.
Anyway, thanks for sharing your thoughts here!