My Interpretation:
In What’s That Supposed to Mean? Using Feedback on Your Writing, Jilian Grauman proposes interesting suggestions for writers when interacting with reviewers and their feedback. I think that this essay would be a truly beneficial read for students transitioning from high school to college writing. In high school, it seems that the majority of students struggle with making revisions to their writing for one reason or other- myself included- and I think Grauman identifies many of these scenarios as common, and not at all indicative of a student’s failure as a writer. Grauman also mentions that it can be difficult for a writer to decipher and interpret the feedback on their writing, as oftentimes it can be vague or otherwise confusing. Additionally, I feel that Grauman does an excellent job acknowledging the power and control that the writer themself has over whether or not they should take action on the reviewer’s feedback.
My Opinion:
Ultimately, I believe that knowing how to interact with reviewers and their feedback is an extremely important tool for a writer. Personally, I am still working on the second challenge that Grauman lists in her paper: “deciphering your feedback”. In high school, I never knew what a teacher meant with any of their feedback and, because I was too afraid to ask questions, I only ever settled to edit grammatical or, as Grauman quotes Richard Straub, “local” errors, rather than the message, purpose, or intent of my essay.
I have gotten better both at deciphering feedback and not being afraid to ask questions when I am confused or need clarification, and found Grauman’s analysis of that process very relatable and even comforting.
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