In English 110 I have gained the skills to revise and edit my work as well as edit my peer’s papers. Over the course of the semester, I have learned to make global and local edits on my papers. This allows me to narrow down my writing and focus specifically on my thesis. Along with my revising strategies I have become more comfortable with active reading. This helps me not only when annotating other articles and essays for class but active reading has also allowed me to become far more comfortable editing and commenting on my own essays as well as my peers.

In Susan Gilroy’s essay “Interrogating Texts: 6 Reading Habits to Develop in Your First Year at Harvard” she talks about the importance of active reading and annotating the text. By writing in the margins and incorporating different ideas questions and comments a conversation is started with both yourself and the author. Gilroy states “annotating puts you actively and immediately in a ‘dialogue’ with an author”. When the reader is comfortable enough to generate comments freely it becomes much easier to understand the text or if annotating a peer’s paper the writer has a deeper understanding as to what they should revise and look over. I like to ask questions when annotating as well as make comments to remind me of what is going on in the paragraph. I also highlight important points within the text to remind me of key points. A good example of this is when annotating YoYo Ma’s article “Necessary Edges”. I like to write in the margins as Gilroy talks about using the space to write words and phrases. When participating in peer review I like to leave notes in the margins for the author to look at.