Blog Post 3. Reflecting on Problem & Solution Feedback.

    I just spent several straight days writing my Problem and Solution for 7-9 hours a day, so I'm pretty spent. This blog post will be a little shorter.

    Our most recent assignment for this class was a writers' workshop type deal where we shared our rough drafts and gave feedback. I always find activities like this helpful. I used to play a good bit of competitive Super Smash Bros. Melee, a game in which people battling each other must exploit each others' bad habits in order to win. A hard truth about getting better at that game is that you will never be able to identify your own flaws and habits as well as an outside party, somebody else who's studying you. I do believe that principle applies to almost any pursuit that involves any kind of skill. Anything you can improve at. Such as writing. Other people's criticism is incredibly valuable, because they'll be able to point things out that you can't see, which you can then run with and use to improve yourself.

    My feedback group consisted of Rogelio C-V. and Xue D. Both of them pointed out some points in my paper that got confusing or unclear, such as the appearance of a random figure for the cost of Hunters Point Shipyard's total clean-up operation that I just dropped into my writing without clarification. I made sure to patch that up in the final product.

     The assigned readings were pretty helpful too. I'm always worried that I will—excuse my French—come off as a dick when I'm offering criticism. I'm the kind of person who tries to be as charitable as possible at all times because that's how I feel everyone should act. I also get ticked off kind of easily. A strange combination of personality traits, if you ask me. So when it's time for me to criticize people, I tread lightly because I'd hate to offend someone with a rude remark. The reading titled "Responding—Really Responding—to Other Students' Writing" dropped a helpful tip on me regarding this matter: compliment and criticize in equal measure. That way, one may achieve a perfect balance between pointing out errors or suggesting different ways to do things, and lauding someone for what they've done right. I tried as hard as I could to follow that guideline as I gave feedback of my own. I hope it worked.