Essay Sample on Making Mistakes in Writing

Making mistakes in writing is healthy because the goal should not be the mistakes but the content or message to be delivered. The goals of any message or script can be altered by the punctuation that is why editors are hired to proofread a paper before it is published for the public consumption. For example, punctuation such as a hyphen, comma, full stop, and other punctuation can change the topic, alter the message and lead to adverse reactions. Copyediting requires specific knowledge of the message to be relayed and proper understanding of the target audience (Norris, 2016). Therefore, the authors suggest that the use of vocabulary, tenses, and colloquialism should be given due consideration. Word choice, passive voice misuses, wordy sentences, and intricate text, as well as incomplete sentences, are main grammar issues that must be addressed by the editor

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Stefon Harris: There Are No Mistakes on the Bandstand

Every mistake in jazz is not a mistake but an opportunity to explore the creative suede. The speaker argues that if everyone if given space to create something new and react positively to the out of note color, then the synergy can lead to a productive and useful note (Harris, 2011).

Kathryn Schulz: On Being Wrong

According to the author, people sometimes misunderstand the science around them. Because of the misunderstanding, more mistakes occur. People spend a lot of their time thinking about to avoid being wrong and in the process become the exact opposite of what they were escaping from (Schulz, 2019). The main message is that human beings are fallible to making mistakes and should embrace mistakes to guide them in learning.

Tim Harford: Trial, Error and the God Complex

According to time Harford, it is better to pursue a trial and error approach than sit back with a negative notion that one will not succeed (Harford, 2011). To succeed, it is better to try something and this is what makes the first draft the first step towards successful writing. Trial and error teach people a number of methods that would not give the right outcomes. One can learn how to eliminate the wrong approaches and refine the approaches that provide the right outcomes.

My Confidence in My Role as a Self-Editor and College-Level Writer

As a self-editor, I believe that I am not perfect and that is why I am always willing to learn. I have learned a lot in the writing process and have earned the title a college-level writer. For example, I have known the mechanics of writing and editing and how to use software and apps to edit my work. However, there is always room for learning that is what I am open to new learning and editing experiences. There is no perfect writer and the first draft may be just that a draft which may be a lift of incoherent and non-cohesive writing which will be edited later to make it more coherent, and cohesive. Therefore, the first draft is never perfect and every writer has an opportunity to use the first draft to gather ideas, refine the thesis and objectives and complete the final version.

YouTube Channels, Websites, and Apps

Grammarly.com is one of the apps I often use to correct contextual grammar that cannot be corrected by the Ms. Word spelling and grammar module. Grammarly.com can easily recognize mistakes such as typos, spellings, misused words, and capitalization. Other mistakes detected and can be corrected using grammarly.com include punctuation, convections, coma misuse within clauses, inappropriate colloquialism depending on the intent, audience, style as well as the emotion and domain targeted. Pursue Owl is particularly useful for learning how to format the paper according to the required format. For example, there is a lot of information on how to format the paper according to APA, MLA, and Harvard as well as how to format the references list and the in-text references.

Evernote is useful for synchronizing notes and making the notes accessible from any location across different devices. I particularly use Evernote for taking short notes as I read. The Oxford Dictionary is useful to me as I use it to improve on my vocabulary use as well as to understand various concepts. EasyBib is just like citation machine and citethisforme.com app for formatting and the references list according to the preferred style. EasyBib provides over 20 citations or referencing styles. To improve the final draft paper, I will enlist the help of editors from the University of Maryland, Baltimore Writing Center to help me edit my paper by proofreading and providing sight on areas that need improvement. I will also use more apps especially the Revision App and GoConqr that I have never used before. I will also learn how to use Mendeley software to manage my references.

References

Harford, T. (2011). Trial, error and the God complex. TEDTalks [Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5wCfYujRdE&feature=youtu.be

Harris, S. (2011). There are no mistakes on the bandstand. TEDTalks [Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7shXEFuxHAA&feature=youtu.be

Norris, M. (2016). The nit-picking glory of The New Yorker's Comma Queen. TEDTalks[Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rToBZSrxjgM&feature=youtu.be

Schulz, K. (2019). On being wrong. TEDTalks [Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QleRgTBMX88&feature=youtu.be