Page 287 - Foundations of Learning, 4th Edition (Revised)

on their own work. And, she copied down a quote the instructor had on the board and taped it to
her computer:“Don’t get it right, just get it written.”(James Thurber, American writer and humorist.)

Step 7—Assess the Draft

Abby’s classmates are very helpful; they’d like to see a response from the college president! They
agree to give her essay draft a formal writing assessment. Here are some of the highlights from that
assessment: They like her ideas for involving the city and they think her facts on costs strengthen
her argument. They suggest that she strengthen her thesis;“unfair”isn’t very clear. They also suggest
that she write a more engaging introduction, perhaps the story of a classmate who really struggles
to pay parking fees. In talking about parking, several classmates have had the insight that they could
carpool or take the bus to save on gas, too.

Step 8—Revise the Draft

Abby takes her classmates’ suggestions into consideration. She determines which revisions will
strengthen her essay and which might take it off course. She clarifies her main position, her supporting
points, and makes her introduction more engaging. With the recommendations her peers have
made, Abby is able to create a strong conclusion.

Step 9—Proofreading the Draft

Abby spends a good deal of time re-reading her essay for language and punctuation errors. She
doesn’t want the college president to stop reading her essay because of a grammar or spelling error.

Step 10—Produce a Final Copy

Abby prints off two copies: one to turn in for the assignment and one for the president.

Assessing Writing

PROCEED TO ACTIVITY 11.1 (page 293)

By this point in the semester and this textbook, we hope we have persuaded you that assessment is a vital
part of learning. Through assessing your own and other classmates’ writing, you improve your own writing
skills. A goal of assessment writing is not to “grade” or “criticize” another’s writing; rather it is to articulate
the strengths of a piece of writing: If the writing “sweeps you away,” to use Stephen King’s phrase, how
does it do that? Another purpose of assessing writing is also to articulate areas of possible improvement:
If the writing doesn’t “sweep you away,” why not? Sometimes it’s hard to assess the strengths and needed
improvements of our own writing. The things we write make perfect sense to us, of course. Since the goal
of formal writing is communication, however, it’s helpful to receive feedback. It is in everyone’s best interest
to take peer reviewing seriously. The more proficient you become as a reviewer, the more confident you
are likely to become as a writer. The French writer Colette (1873-1954) explains the difference between
a writer and an author this way: “Sit down and put down everything that comes into your head and then
you’re a writer. But an author is one who can judge his own stuff’s worth, without pity, and destroy most
of it.” We are NOT suggesting that you destroy most of your writing, but offering a memorable way to
view the process of writing a draft and then revising it.

What follows is Abby’s draft of her argument essay. This is the draft that her classmates will assess. Abby
is not happy with her conclusion at this point and is looking forward to any suggestions her classmates

Chapter 11 — Writing in College 281