Thoughts on Drafting

Not that kind of drafting either.
SPV999. "Drafting" via Super Cheats.

The Arizona Cardinals choosing D.J. Humphries as their first round draft pick was probably the worst move they could have made, as the Cardinals were in desperate need of improving their offensive team.   Oh wait, not that kind of drafting?  Okay, okay.  I guess will spend some time analyzing the drafting of my writing instead of the drafting of football players.

A Student’s Guide to First-Year Writing presented the idea of writing paragraphs in PIE form (Point- Illustration- Explanation).  Although this idea does not correlate exactly with a QRG, it does provide a way of ensuring clarity in your writing, which is key in this genre.  I used the PIE form as beginning with the statement said or the argument being made (the point).  Then I included a picture of how that related to the rest of the argument (the illustration).  Finally, I concluded with an analysis of the statement: why the person said it, how serious the reader should consider it, and how the thoughts being expressed impact the reader (the explanation).

The book’s thoughts on creating an introduction were helpful to the drafting process but did not fully align with the QRG genre.  For example, the book explained the importance of letting your reader know the exact direction you plan on taking your writing piece.  This is essential as clarity for the reader is important in a QRG.  However, the books tips of how to form an effective thesis did not coincide with this genre QRGs do not have thesis statements as their ultimate goal is to explain rather than prove or persuade.

The organization of a QRG differs greatly from that of many other writing pieces that the book was trying to cover.  A Student’s Guide to First-Year Writing enforces the idea of having the paragraphs and ideas build upon one another.  Although this important, in a QRG, the subsections of the writing should stand alone and not be dependent on the other paragraphs, since many readers will want to skip around and only read certain portions of the article.

On the other hand, the book’s suggestions for a conclusion are spot on for a QRG.  The book highlights the importance of answering the question “So what?”  In a QRG, the reader should understand why this controversy pertains to their lives.  As mentioned in the book, the conclusion should also give an overview of what was just talked about along with an insight as to the future of the argument.  This will be essential in keeping the reader thinking about your topic even after they are done reading.


Reflection:

With no rules or set guidelines, it is helpful to look at what others have to say about the QRG genre.  I discovered three aspects that I could improve in my paper that would really add to the quality of my work.

#1: Michaela Webb provided a key point that I had overlooked when creating my conventions for the QRG and while I was writing my draft.  She pointed out that one must be "intentional with every decision and sentence."  A QRG must be detailed so the reader understands but concise so the reader will not loose interest.

#2: Along with this idea, Aaron West discussed how the book outlined a conclusion that would be too in depth for this genre.  I had thought about lengthening my conclusion to have a more comprehensive ending.  However, I may need to consider finding a way of adding these things without being overly wordy.

#3: Aaron's post also mentioned how every genre needs some organization or it would just be one jumbled mess.  Although it is important that the paragraphs stand alone, they must also follow an order that gives clarity to the argument and doesn't leave the reader having to skip around in the article to understand what is going on.  Finding this balance will benefit my QRG greatly.