Loud and Proud (Read Your Work Aloud)
Note to Instructor: This assignment aligns with Step Three: Read Your Work Aloud (Slide 7 of “Revision and Self-Editing in ENA 101: A Guide to ‘Glow Up’ Your Writing” by Lauren Navarro, adapted from “7 Steps to a Foolproof Revision” by Don Fry).
Assignment:
While your instructors will often mark your essays for you, one of the goals of this course is to help you to edit your own writing. One technique that may help is to read your draft aloud, as hearing your writing rather than just reading it silently can help you to recognize ideas that may not be clear or helpful. This assignment will help you to practice this technique.
Brainstorm: What is your past experience with reading your work aloud? If you do not recall doing this before, what do you think it will be like? What do you think reading aloud might show you about your writing? Take 3-5 minutes to write your ideas.
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Read (Aloud): Find a time and place where you will feel comfortable and have five minutes to yourself. Read your draft aloud. Make sure to read it loud and proud! Mumbling will be less helpful. Make sure to mark anything that bothers you as you read. (You will have the opportunity to make changes later.)
Here are some things to notice:
- Running out of breath
- Misspelled words
- Lapses in grammar
- Sentence that don’t make sense
- Missing words
Relax: Sometimes it helps to leave your work alone for a bit and come back to it later. Get a drink of water, walk around the block, or wash your face before you look at your draft again.
Review: Go back to places you marked as you read aloud. Mark changes that need to be made, using a system that works for you.
Reflect: Write 3-5 sentences reflecting on your experience. What did you notice about your writing when you read it aloud that you had not noticed before? What was this experience like?
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