Here is probably something we can all relate to: hating showing other people our work. Well, it could just possibly be me, but I digress. When I show other people my work I silently watch their every move and expression. I get so nervous about what they think about when reading my paper, and then I spiral and think that everything I wrote was just all entirely wrong. And then there is probably the worst feeling of them all: reading their feedback once they give the paper back. As if I wasn’t already on the verge of a panic attack. Unfortunately, feedback is the most important thing for a writer. At least, Jillian Grauman seems to think so in her work “What’s That Supposed to Mean? Using Feedback on Your Writing”.
Grauman: Feedback
Feedback is terrifying. It makes me feel almost inferior in a way, like I said before, because I am always very insecure about what could possibly be on that page even though I’m the one who wrote on it. Sadly though, it is not something to take lightly. As a writer it is important to have an open mind, which can be super hard because writers can get very protective of their styles and works. Meaning no one is allowed to comment or touch their work. I am one of those writers to the T. One thing I’ve noticed is that those styles can slowly adapt and change based on observing others and their writing. It might sound super frustrating and, quite frankly, unrealistic, but it’s actually true.
I, myself, have experienced this in my own writing as I am an avid reader as well, and sometimes I even surprise myself with how different it can be from one day to the next. Something I’ve learned is that you need a plan of attack. For example, think of a challenge. You want to win a race, or you want to be the best at something. Well, what do you need to do first? Practice. Practice, practice, practice, it’s all you can really do because you will not win by jumping head first. That’s exactly what writing is. You will not be the best if you randomly sit down one day and write. Well, maybe you could, but then you would just be annoying. Kidding, obviously… well, like fifty percent.
Back to feedback. Of course we know it’s scary, but it’s not going to be all the time. It may be confusing though, and that’s something none of us are ever prepared for. There are local and global comments to start, which is where you’ll find those who are extremely picky or just want to point out minor things. Local is more grammar while global is organizing and storytelling. You’ll mostly find these comments in between the lines, and I’m not kidding, they’ll squeeze them in there. They could also be in the beginning or end of your work which is where they’ll normally write more.
That’s where the types of feedback come in. There are always going to be some that prefer to judge, or to coach, or even just react. I’m more of a reactor myself, and that’s basically those commenters who are just like ‘oh yea I totally agree!’ and then just copy exactly what was being said as to why. I admit it, it’s not a great type of feedback, but you can always mix and match them too, you’re never just restricted to one.
Here is the kicker: don’t take any of them to heart. If you don’t want to listen to them, do what is best for you. Go with your gut, because only you know what you really want to achieve out of it. You can set your own goals, but also know that it’s good every once in a while to acknowledge how your writing makes someone else react no matter how stubborn you may be. Split up the negative and positive feedback up to find your strengths and weaknesses and boom you have a great start to your revision process.
Swales: Discourse Community
Taking a little bit of a shift in topic as we discuss something that may not seem like it couldn’t connect but actually does. John Swales in his work titled “The Concept of Discourse Community”, has a pretty self explanatory title. The question: How does this at all relate to feedback? A discourse community is just the center of ideas, you might say, but let’s look at it like this: it solves a task. When in a discourse community you have an objective; as does feedback. The objective is to make something as clear as possible to get to the next step, but they just do it a little differently.
The first one is very similar to feedback, as feedback or ideas can be said in documentation or aloud to make sure everyone is on the same page. This also includes sources of inter-communication like walkie-talkies, meetings, or even just regular conversations; this helps when not all staff or members are not present in a physical setting but a little farther away.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve experienced miscommunication because of the lack of this, especially being the youngest so they don’t trust me with a lot of information (which is super frustrating). They also love to assign roles to these meetings. It gives someone the role of power and will essentially help everyone figure out what they’re schedule for the day is going to look like and how they are going to do it. One small thing: if you’re giving ideas for certain roles that you gained knowledge of from somewhere else, make sure to understand it in its entirety.
Memberships and subscriptions are one of the easy ways to get info from a company, and it just so happens to be the most expensive. Because we just love inflation. With those, people on the outside will be able to know what happens on the inside, just the bare bones though. Like those little warnings you get when a company’s website shuts down and all you see is ‘systems down’ or ‘error 404’. In this though there is a certain level you have to achieve in order to get more information on the actual employee side.
There is a reasonable ratio of novice and expert that needs to be met, as it shows having a suitable degree of relevant content and discourse expertise. Companies can also talk through a form of lexis, or abbreviations. It makes conversations shorter and easier to follow once everyone knows what those acronyms mean. In a real life scenario you could be texting and they’d respond with ‘idk’ or ‘omw’ which requires less time and reading.
Conclusion
So, how do these compare? Well, like I said before both a discourse community and feedback both rely on communication. When everyone is on the same page it’s smooth sailing until the next situation arises, and then it’s basically just a repeating cycle. But it’s also a learning experience that not many people want to actually work with, but once you get the hang of it, you will definitely see the changes in your writing and how you work in a professional setting or even just living in the outside world.
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