Chapman 1

Henry Chapman

Professor Davner

English 15

27 November 2018

Writing in Digital Spaces

Writing in digital spaces is becoming more common every day, and it can be a very

effective form of communication for multiple reasons. An example of writing in digital spaces is

social media. In the WIDE Study of the writing practices of first year college students, social

media was included multiple times on the list of most frequently written genres. However, in the

same study, when the students were asked which genres they valued the most, social media didn't

appear on the list at all (Grabill et al. 249-251). This raises a question: Why is social media used

so much if it has such little value?

I have come to the conclusion that social media is indeed valuable and effective, but the

majority of people just do not view it as such. This negative view is formed because most people

use it for entertainment purposes or to stay connected. While these are important, most people

value other things over staying connected and entertainment. For example, most people value

their career over entertainment. Therefore they value writing that has to do with their career, like

a résumé or a report, more than writing that is for entertainment, like writing a funny tweet.

These values most likely form because their well-being is dependent on their career. This can be

seen in the WIDE study.

Jumping to the conclusion that social media is invaluable based on what only some

people use it for is invalid. People like the subject from Stacey Pigg’s study Coordinating

Constant Invention: Social Media’s Role in Distributed Work proves that social media can be an
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extremely powerful form of writing. For example, the subject being observed used social media

throughout his whole blog writing process, often reading posts similar to his own for inspiration

and ideas to benefit his writing. Many social media platforms have algorithms that learn what

interests you, and automatically deliver similar content. This makes social media platforms very

effective for creative inspiration, delivering content that you are likely to benefit from. For

example, if you like another dad blogger’s posts, then Instagram’s explore tab is more likely to

show you more dad blogger posts. This aided the subject’s creative process, giving him more

material to write about. This illustrates how social media is a digital communication platform

that can present ideas to us. I can relate to this, as social media fuels my creativity. It presents

ideas to me that I would have never seen otherwise.

Also, social media can connect writers with readers and other writers. The subject in

Pigg’s study described spending a significant amount of time interacting with other users that

had similar interests. This earned him some readers and gave him the valuable opportunity to

connect and collaborate with many other writers in the same niche as him. Collaborations are

beneficial for all writers involved because it allows them to share information and tips for

writing, and to introduce one’s readers to the other writer’s content, further growing their

audiences (Pigg 713-732).

Some other non-digital writing technologies, such as magazines and newspapers, have

benefits similar to those of social media. However, for the mentioned purposes, social media is

faster and more accessible. Most Magazines and Newspapers require the reader to wait for a

delivery to their home or to take a trip to a physical location in order to receive the media. This

takes anywhere from minutes to days. Social media, on the other hand, is almost instant. In

seconds, it gives its readers access to its entire database of content. Social media platforms are
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also more open and quicker than their non-digital counterparts for writers. Getting published in

physical media generally takes great skill, connections, recognition, and time, while, in a matter

of seconds, anyone with internet access can write a post on social media that is available to the

entire world.

Another example of a valuable and effective digital writing platform is Wikipedia, an

online encyclopedia. It is so unique because everyone has the right to edit its articles, making it

an enormous web of collaboratively written articles filled with knowledge. Because of this,

changes are continually made every day, so there is never a “Final Product.” This gives it the

quality of dynamic dimension. Kohl et al. state,”we want to understand texts—as they develop in

Wikis and also occur in Wikipedia—as processes, whereas the processes of the emergence are to

be analyzed regarding the temporal course of events. Although the static text appears as a unique

event in a historical continuum, the dynamic text embodies the history of its emergence by the

act of the participant’s writing” (749). This means that the articles are continual conversations

that are open to everyone in the world with internet access. Because of the openness of these

conversations, they can hold different views and perspectives that were written on the topic.

Reading the different versions of the article allows us to get a more broad understanding of the

topic. Or, in Dave’s case, twitter and blogs are constantly updated and added to, so dynamic

dimension gives him constant inspiration.

Another reason that dynamic dimension is valuable is because it means that the articles

are up to date the majority of the time. Some topics have rapidly changing information, such as

science fields that are relatively new and still being researched. Due to the openness and

accessibility of Wikipedia, if something changes, the information can be quickly and easily

updated. This is way faster and more efficient than physical writing spaces in the same scenario.
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For example, when information in a science book becomes outdated, that book then serves little

purpose. In order to update the information, another edition of the book needs to be printed. This

requires time and resources that a Wikipedia article update does not, ruling Wikipedia more

efficient in these quite common scenarios (Wikipedia).

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The Role of Revision in Writing

Contrary to popular belief, revision is not just an act of “polishing” or proofreading that is

performed after the author finishes writing what he/she has to say. As Doug Downs said in

Threshold Concept 4.4, “To create the best possible writing, writers work iteratively, composing

in a number of versions, with time between each for reflection, reader feedback, and/ or

collaborator development.” This workflow brings about revision - the “significant development

of a text’s ideas, structure, and design” (Downs 66). Revision is crucial in the development of an

effective text because it shows the writer problems within the text and allows for improvement.

Downs states that writing is not perfectible and that texts are very rarely “right the first

time” (66). This means that a text can almost always be improved upon in order to increase its

effectiveness. One way to initiate improvement is through revision. Downs also says “revision

works because writing shares a characteristic of other language-based endeavors: using language

not only represents one’s existing ideas, it tends to generate additional language and ideas” (66).

The additional knowledge generated from revision improves the writer’s understanding of the

concepts being discussed, and also their future composing decisions. This understanding allows

them to write more effective texts.

Anne Lamott describes a method of revision in “Shitty First Drafts” that is a very

common practice. Similar to Down’s description, this method involves writing multiple drafts of

a text, with time in between each one. The first draft is “a down draft [where] you just get it

down,” (855). This version is important because it allows the writer’s ideas to be, as Charles

Bazerman and Howard Tinberg describe, “externalized into an independent artifact that can be

examined, revised, or otherwise worked on by the writer, collaborators, or other people,” (61).

This allows the writer to see the text similar to a reader’s perspective in order to see areas that
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need improvement. However, the writer will never truly see his/her text from a reader’s

perspective because the writer has his/her own meaning or understanding of the text in their

mind. Readers, on the other hand, receive only what is written. Bazerman and Tinberg say that

“Collaborators, team members, supervisors, editors, and others who may share the work of

producing text do not share the initial writer’s attachment to the anticipated meaning and have

only what the inscribed words bring; they thus provide better measures of what the text actually

conveys” (62). This is why having another person collaborate with you in the revision process is

so important. It generates helpful feedback that you could not get while working on your own

because you already have your own understanding of the text. This feedback points out areas in

the text that need revision in order for the text to be more effective for the reader, and often gives

suggestions for improvement. As we have previously discussed, effectiveness is the most

important aspect of a text, therefore revision is a very important part of writing.

Past experiences have proven to me that revision is important in developing an effective

text. During the revision process, I usually have someone look over my work and provide

suggestions for improvement. The feedback I have been given is very helpful, often pointing out

places of ineffectiveness. For example, during the revision process of past essays I have written,

fellow students have pointed out places where I wasn’t clear enough, or places I left out crucial

information, ideas, definitions, or explanations. Looking at my essay as a whole, I then made

changes to the areas that were problematic to the readers in my next draft in order to increase the

effectiveness of my essay for future readers.

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Critical Reflection

As Doug Downs wrote in Threshold Concept 4.4, “to create the best possible writing,

writers work iteratively, composing in a number of versions, with time between each for

reflection, reader feedback, and/or collaborator development” (66). The assignment sequence in

English 15 is designed for continual improvement. We constantly revisit past assignments, and

build off them for future ones. It is a process of constant revision, with time in between each

revision for reflection. Because of this structure, my approaches to writing and my essays have

improved over the semester.

Looking over and comparing my Essay 2 (Writing in Digital Spaces) and Essay 3 (The

Role of Revision in Writing) has shown me how my approaches and strategies for writing an

academic essay have improved. For example, in Essay 2 I wrote the second paragraph on the

value of social media. I gave an explanation, but I didn’t align my claims with any source

material. I figured that the next paragraph would take care of it. What I should have done to

support my claims in the second paragraph was tie in Stacey Pigg’s work on Social Media (69).

In Essay 3 However, I made sure to align my claims with source material. I wanted to be able to

support what I was saying with a trusted author, and put myself in conversation with them. For

example, in the introduction, I made the claim that revision is not just proofreading or polishing.

I backed up this claim with the same Doug Downs quote that I used in this essay’s introduction.

It gave a description of what revision truly is, supporting my claim that it is not just polishing

your writing.

Another improvement that I noticed was that I moved beyond simply comparing and

contrasting to place course texts in conversation with each other. In Essay 2, I just used quotes to
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support each individual claim that I made. However, in Essay 3, I made connections between

course texts and used quotes from them to build off of each other to support my argument. For

example, in the third paragraph, I used 3 different texts for my explanation. I said “Lamott

describes a method of revision in “Shitty First Drafts” that is a very common practice. Similar to

Down’s description, this method involves writing multiple drafts of a text, with time in between

each one. The first draft is “a down draft [where] you just get it down,” (855). This version is

important because it allows the writer’s ideas to be, as Bazerman and Tinberg describe,

“externalized into an independent artifact that can be examined, revised, or otherwise worked on

by the writer, collaborators, or other people,” (61). This allows the writer to see the text similar

to a reader’s perspective in order to see areas that need improvement” (Henry Chapman "The

Role of Revision in Writing" 1). I placed quotes and ideas from Lamott, Downs, and Bazerman

and Tinberg in conversation with each other to give my explanation of the revision process,

which was a central part of my argument. I did this in order to show that the texts and ideas

being discussed align, which further strengthen the textual support for my argument.

The last thing that I noticed while reflecting on essay 2 was that I didn’t use course

concepts as a framework for my argument. I never used any of the Threshold Concepts.

Threshold concepts are important because they are the basis of what we learn in English 15.

When I moved on to Essay 3, I made sure to use threshold concepts as a framework for my

argument. I decided that threshold concepts 4.1 and 4.4 would be what I used. For example, as I

mentioned in the previous paragraph, I quoted Doug Downs and Bazerman and Tinberg multiple

times. The threshold concepts of externalization and revision were the framework of my

argument that revision is crucial in the development of an effective text.

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Works Cited

Bazerman, Charles and Howard Tinberg. "4.1: Text is an Object Outside of Oneself That Can Be
Improved and Developed." Naming What We Know: Threshold Concepts of Writing
Studies. Edited by Linda Adler-Kassner and Elizabeth Wardle. Utah State University
Press, 2016, Boulder.
Downs, Doug. "4.4: Revision is Central to Developing Writing." Naming What We Know:
Threshold Concepts of Writing Studies. Edited by Linda Adler-Kassner and Elizabeth
Wardle. Utah State University Press, 2016, Boulder.
Grabill, Jeff, et al.”Revisualizing Composition: Mapping the Writing Lives of First-Year College
Students.” WIDE Research Center, Michigan State University, 7 Sept. 2010,
www2.matrix.msu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/WIDE_writinglives_whitepaper.pdf.
Henry Chapman. "The Role of Revision in Writing" ENGL15-001 Assignment Sequence. Edited
by Aliza Davner. Fall 2018, Penn State DuBois
Henry Chapman. "Writing in Digital Spaces" ENGL15-001 Assignment Sequence. Edited by
Aliza Davner. Fall 2018, Penn State DuBois
Kohl, Christian, Wolf-Andreas Liebert, and Thomas Metten. “History Now: Media
Development and the Textual Genesis of Wikipedia.” Language and New Media. Ed.
Charley Rowe and Eva Wyss. Creskill, NJ: Hampton Press, 2009. 165–82. Print.
Lamott, Anne. “Shitty First Drafts.” Writing about Writing. Edited by Elizabeth Wardle and
Doug Downs, 3rd edition, Bedford/St. Martins, 2016, New York.
Pigg, Stacey. “Coordinating Constant Invention: Social Media’s Role in Distributed Work.”
Writing about Writing. Edited by Elizabeth Wardle and Doug Downs, 3rd edition,
Bedford/St. Martins, 2016, New York.
Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 22 July 2004. Accessed Web. 4
Oct. 2018.