Literacy Narrative Final Blog Post

Wheeewwww! Where do I begin?!  Writing this literacy narrative has not been a walk in the park.  I have struggled with about everything under the sun when it comes to writing this paper.  First, I couldn't find a topic, then I struggled with making it interesting,  and I also didn't understand what to write.  However, once I discovered my topic I pretty much just plowed my paper out from there.  I wrote my entire literacy narrative in literally about 3 days, and that was the problem.  I never really stopped to think about the actual assignment, but rather just getting it done!  When I figured out what to write, my essay started off like this......

 

However, after reading and analyzing the start of my first draft I realized that it was not what I wanted to write about,  or even read for that matter.  So it was back to the starting blocks.  My final draft is still based on the same topic as my first draft, but I go about telling the story in a completely different way.

 

Revising my work on the other hand was along the same lines of picking a topic!  I didn't completely understand how to do it.  Coming into this literacy narrative I had revising and editing totally confused.  I mistook one for the other.

 

 

 

This picture shows how I tried to switch writing styles on October 4th.  I tried writing with the "Lydia Davis" style of writing.  I tried incorporating short, choppy sentences, and questions to get my point across.  As you can see, I wasn't the best at it!  Editing and peer editing was pretty easy and successful for me.  I believe I gave a lot of interesting points and suggestions.  I also received just as many helpful points and tips.  When editing my work I had a few goals that I wanted to get accomplished, these were:

• Completely understand my writing, and which direction I'm taking it.
• Try different styles of writing.
• Work on better intros and conclusions, and ways to experiment with my writing.

I would say that I accomplished these 3 goals.  The only one that I feel like I could have had a better handle on was the first one.  I feel like I could have gotten a better understanding of my writing then I have now, but that's my personal opinion.

 

Overall I would say this literacy narrative assignment was extremely helpful.  It wasn't just a normal essay that I was just trying to get over with.  It actually required some thought and input from others on how to make it my own writing and not just some boring, factual essay.  While writing this essay  I learned the true difference between revision and editing.  I also learned how to play with my writing, and not use the basic style for an essay, but switch it up and make it interesting.  My final conclusion from this literacy narrative is more of a opinionated one, but still important nonetheless.  I have learned that writing an essay does not have to be a template or pre-designed event.  Writing an essay can and should be a reflection of your feelings, emotions, and experiences!