Monday, April 04, 2005
Thanks for the Comments...
I have this 8-10 page English paper due tomorrow, and right now it's still a 6-page draft. This is the same paper I wrote about in my last post, the one that got "critiqued" by my classmates. I've always wondered what's up with that word, "critique." What's up with the "que"? Is this an attempt to make the act of critiquing sound more constructive, or something elite?
Critiquing, as it occurs in college English classes, can be quite vulgar and "unimpressive" (see the comments to my last post). I just got done reading through my classmates' written comments on my paper, and it left me pretty aggravated.
I know the sayings about writing, "the only good writing is rewriting," or in order to write well you have to "kill your babies." Let go of what you value, be willing to destroy even the things most precious to you in your writing... OK. Aside from the fact that killing my babies is not an appealing idea, it's definitely not something I'm going to do with a mob of angry, irrational classmates egging me on.
Just because I need to clear my head of this clutter in order for me to move on and tackle this paper... here are some of my impulsive reactions to my classmates' critiques of my essay:
Critiquing, as it occurs in college English classes, can be quite vulgar and "unimpressive" (see the comments to my last post). I just got done reading through my classmates' written comments on my paper, and it left me pretty aggravated.
I know the sayings about writing, "the only good writing is rewriting," or in order to write well you have to "kill your babies." Let go of what you value, be willing to destroy even the things most precious to you in your writing... OK. Aside from the fact that killing my babies is not an appealing idea, it's definitely not something I'm going to do with a mob of angry, irrational classmates egging me on.
Just because I need to clear my head of this clutter in order for me to move on and tackle this paper... here are some of my impulsive reactions to my classmates' critiques of my essay:
- Didn't yo momma ever tell you that if you have nothing nice to say, dont' say it at all? Yes, those of us in the business of "critiquing" need to highlight weak points and offer suggestions, but bashing and derogating isn't going to encourage many people to do a better job. Just like you believe an essay can always be improved, don't underestimate the fact that there's always something good in an essay. Give some credit where it's due. Even one nice word can drastically improve the way someone will take your comments.
- If you're going to call my essay "convoluted" at least have the decency to spell it right.
- Don't be so narrow-minded. Can you hold your breath and not judge after reading the first sentence? Can you read through it once before forming an opinion and only then go back and re-consider? It's so obvious when you read my essay only once in a 2-minute rush before class. And your comments sound kind of ignorant when you do that (wo, snap).
- It's an essay for school, are you going to get personal with me about this? Some of you write like you want to step outside and fight it out.
Mary J., I'm tried of this drama too. Mom got two calls today. I'm a bit down in the doldrums, so much work, so little time, no energy.
