Analysis Of Anne Lamott's Essay Shitty First Draft

Improved Essays
When writing a paper there are steps that need to be taken to have a perfect paper to be proud of. But sure there are going to be some complications and moments to give up, but not only students have trouble in the matter of fact professional writers have the same problems too. Although many authors seem to be perfect writers, they are not, they face the same problems as students do. They do not write perfect papers, as professional writers, there are going to be mistaken when writing an essay.
Anne LaMott in her essay “Shitty First Drafts” she believes that every good writer or writer should write a shitty first draft because the writer will produce a better second draft and “terrific third drafts”(222). Anne Lamott is a well-regarded writer
…show more content…
William Zinsser illustrates the importance of simplicity that someone should keep in mind while writing an essay. Writer's think using big words will help their essays, but for Zinsser, it is a big no because using this type of words, not means the essay will be better than a writer that uses simplicity through their essays. William Zinsser talks about the secrets to have good writing, which is to have clean components for each sentence. In his essay Zinsser was defending the readers who read writers' work because is not readers fault, not knowing what is going on while reading the work but, is actually the writer's fault for not making certain things clear while writing. With this statement, it relates to the Anne Lamott essay having a shitty draft and revising it at least two times to have the terrific third draft. For Zinsser essay, it showed how he incorporated with other authors such as Roosevelt. Zinsser had many pieces that were similar to Roosevelt such as “clear thinking becomes clear writing; one can’t exist without the other” (Zinsser 234). Both authors relate to each other because simplicity is both on their theory to have a good type of writing. Simplicity can always be used to be a writer and have perfect work for the readers and …show more content…
Robbins in “Finding Your Voice as an Academic Writer (and Writing Clearly)” reflects on the developing a voice for academic writing with the importance of ideas, facts, and conclusions but to also have a point of view or stance. It mentions that can also be expressed in one's choice of research topics and with the need of courage when the manuscripts are rejected or receive harsh comments from reviewers. With her essay it mentions that each writer needs to find their own voice. The voice does not need to be outstanding but well-educated, she says needs to be educated because how will it look when a person talks without grammar punctuation. For some people it might seem irrelevant to watch how they speak but are the first thing what bosses, teacher, and audience look for to see how the voice sound when a conversation is in process. For writing back to Anne LaMott first when writing a shitty draft come in handy when writing an essay. Brainstorming is a way to get ideas out but also to see how the essay will see if ideas should get added or removed to make the essay more understandable or

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    That perhaps the taboo of technology creating a dumber generation is in fact a misrepresentation. This is explained when Lunsford expresses that, “Young people are for the most part aware of the context and audience for their writing” (Lunsford 572). In other words, students are choosing on their own free will to alter their writing style. That the decision to not use proper punctuation or sentence structure isn’t because of the effects of technology, but more of a deliberate and calculated decision to express one’s character. It is further explained that regardless of the various types of writing styles, ultimately students are learning more through what she called “life writing” or writing outside of school curriculums.…

    • 980 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    A huge rhetorical aspect of this piece is the amazing understanding Lamott possesses of her audience. Shitty First Drafts was original published in Lamott's sixth book Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life so it is safe to assume that by then Lamott had already established herself as a professional writer, so she realizes that her primary audience for a book about the writing process will exist almost solely of other writers, professors, and students. The intended audience has been further verified by the inclusion of Lamott's article in the college textbook Writing About Writing, which is primarily read by students, and hopefully, their professors. From the first page, Lamott attempts to connect herself, as a human and writer,…

    • 344 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    In the excerpt “Shitty First Drafts” (1994), Anne Lamott, a professional writer and author of several food reviews, explains that no good author “sits down routinely feeling wildly enthusiastic and confident. Not one of them writes elegant first drafts.” Lamott supports her explanation by illustrating to the audience “panic [that] would set in” as she attempted to write a first draft, and by informing the reader how to quiet the voices in their head so they can write their heart out. The author’s purpose is to instill in the readers and future authors that no one can write a perfect piece in one try, rather it is a process that can take as many as three drafts. Lamott writes in a somewhat humorous tone, evident in “All right, one of them does,…

    • 193 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Decent Essays

    In my opinion, whoever said that the process of writing was fun and creative was delusional. I find writing to be incredibly daunting and as painful as the sound of fingernails scraping a chalkboard. Reason being, I never learned that one should begin a paper by writing a “Shitty First Draft.” In the past, I would practice getting it right the first time around without any direction or sense of organization. However, after reading Anne Lamott’s article about “Shitty First Drafts,” I’m thankful I am not alone in my quest to write the perfect piece all at once.…

    • 291 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The essay was very easy to follow with its organized structure. Informal essays must be easy to follow and able to inform the reader. With this in mind Ben Wiseman used small paragraphs to describe each of his points in an organized and concise way.…

    • 554 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Rhetorically speaking, the title of Shitty First Drafts is a very eye catching title that stands out in a book complete with other mundane titles such as The Composing Process of Unskilled College Writers. The title Shitty First Drafts immediately catches the interest of the reader who then is drawn further into the article by the effective hook “Now practically even better news than that of short assignments is the idea of shitty first drafts.” (528, Writing About Writing, Shitty First Drafts). This hook implies to the reader that the subsequent article will cover a topic that they will enjoy and will include, compared to the average article on the subject of writing, offbeat humor, as displayed by the word choice of 'shitty' instead of a more professional, mundane word such as 'awful', 'terrible', or even worse 'bad'. Furthermore, Lamott limits the length of the…

    • 476 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Well known for her research and publications on student writing, Nancy Sommers—now Harvard’s Expository Writing Program Director—discusses the student’s revision strategies on her journal College Composition and Communication: a compilation of some of her articles. Throughout this essay, I will be focusing on three articles from Nancy 's journal: Revision Strategies of Student Writers and Experienced Adult Writers (1980) with Laura Saltz as cowriter, Between the Drafts (1992), and the Novice as Expert (2004). Revision Strategies of Student Writers and Experienced Adult Writers (1980) juxtaposes through a case study the revision strategies of first-year college students and experienced writers. Between the Drafts (1992) narrates her personal experience with revision strategies. The Novice as Expert: Writing the freshmen (2004) examines how first-year college students—Sommers believes— should approach writing.…

    • 1077 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    "Shitty First Drafts," by Anne Lamott dismisses the myth of the “perfect first draft” by explaining how horrible first drafts really are. It seems that she is writing to a young, student-based audience. Lamott mixes in a lot of humor which makes it fun and interesting to read and since she writes in a very informal tone it helps her connect to the reader more than if she wrote more professionally. Along with this Lamott seems to be trying to see through the audience’s eyes by telling her personal story about writing restaurant reviews for magazines.…

    • 706 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Writing essays to some it 's a simple assignment of writing down ideas to others it could be A long process of analyzing, organizing, and writing which could be overwhelming. Readers who spend more time reading and analyzing an article will make it easier to reframe their thoughts and draw better ideas of the text. In the article “ Reading and Thought” by Dwight Macdonald sends the message that most people now don 't spend enough time reading. People aren 't taking the time to stop and think about what they 're reading before expressing their opinions. As most people miss out on the opportunity to be well informed and make tight decisions based on the information they could retrieve.…

    • 1263 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In his essay “Thought,” Louis H. Sullivan greatly stresses the importance of thinking critically and creatively, and presents the argument that one must think not in words but rather in images, rhythm, and other wordless forms of communication. Sullivan resorts heavily on comparisons and analogies and metaphors to convey the impractical usage of words. “But in passing I may say that real thinking is better done without words than with them, and creative thinking must be done without words,” Sullivan argues, and he goes on to explain the intellectual heft and rigor of thinking creatively and highlights its rewards. Sullivan also asserts that one must think in the present and the present alone, for his reasoning is that “you cannot in the past,…

    • 831 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    EOF Student Reflection

    • 831 Words
    • 4 Pages

    He showed me that with every argument comes a counter argument; adding a counter argument reinforced my argument greatly. Another technique I applied to my essays with Professor Castro’s instruction was planning. In high school, planning an essay seemed like a waste of time because the assignments were always just five paragraph, five sentence essays. Since we had to write these essays in such a short amount of time for tests, I was able to produce the work the night before. On the other hand, Professor Castro has shown the divergence between high school and college; planning and editing are two essential steps in writing.…

    • 831 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    My Literacy Autobiography

    • 984 Words
    • 4 Pages

    My Literacy Autobiography I was in the second grade when I first fell in love with reading. Reading was always my escape from the real world. I was never a fan of writing. Writing papers was my biggest fear when I was in grade school. As I got older, the number of books I read began to lessen.…

    • 984 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    English W131 Reflection

    • 1178 Words
    • 5 Pages

    During this semester of English W131, I have experienced both accomplishments and setbacks while learning how to improve my writing skills. Throughout the course, I have learned that writing is not only about how much information is in the paper, but also about how well the writer’s thoughts are expressed throughout the text. Practicing many different styles of writing as I did in the class has helped me tremendously with my delivery in my writing. I believe that this course was one to prepare us for future writing courses with professors we will encounter who will give us feedback that may puzzle us because it will require more work and more thinking. Although I have had difficulty in the class, I do believe that I have learned from my mistakes and that I am finishing the course with stronger writing skills that will help me though the rest of my college career and life.…

    • 1178 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In Anne Lamott’s article “Shitty First Drafts,” she believes that every good writer should write shitty first drafts because the writer will produce better second drafts and “terrific third drafts.” she said when you write your shitty first draft, just write whatever you have on your mind because no one is going to see your first drafts. She said it is okay to make mistake because you don't get better if you don't try it and mistakes make you better. All writers struggle to write shitty first drafts, but they never give up. After you’re done reading the first draft, start revising your first draft then begin to structure into the second draft.…

    • 831 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Sometimes you are assigned to read articles for homework and they actually turn out to be helpful for you. Thats exactly what happened to me when I was assigned to read “Shitty First Drafts” by Anne Lamott, which caught my attention from its title. I wondered why is it called “shitty.” Anne Lamott explained how important it is to write shitty drafts before your writing becomes better. I thought to myself, I usually get B’s and C’s on my essays and Lamott says to become a good writer you must write shitty drafts first then why don 't I do that?…

    • 700 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays