Peer Review

Whenever one of my papers has been peer reviewed, the comments and edits have been drastically different and varied from person to person. I believe that peer review is a great way for both the writer and the editor to learn. While the writer is getting great review done on his paper, the editor also gets to practice editing papers and finding mistakes. I always believed that you do not really understand something until you can teach it to someone else, so peer review is a good way for people to find out whether or not they really understand a concept. I also like peer review because it gives a personal touch from someone who has completely different opinions and ideas about your paper. You could have two different people review a paper and they could say completely opposite things about the same subject. However, this sometimes leads to problems since some people don’t really understand exactly what they are talking about, and can sometimes give bad advice to someone. There are minor things that are wrong with peer review, such as the bad advice or incorrect information, however for the most part I think it is a great way for people to learn and to better master their skill of writing.

As a writer I always love having people find grammatical errors in my paper. I am not the best proof reader and often miss many grammar mistakes. I also like when people say where they get confused about something in my paper or if I need to explain it in a better way. I like when they tell me when I need to clarify because sometimes I know what I want to say, but don’t get my point across. As a reviewer, I like when someone makes the topic and thesis of their paper very clear. I don’t like reading something and for half of the paper having to wonder what they are saying and what point they are trying to make. I also like when I am told to look for a specific aspect of the paper to improve. There are so many things you can change and improve in a paper, sometimes it is a daunting task to have to find just one thing at a time to improve. If there were stations where one person focused on one aspect of the paper then I think editing would be more effective.

I always like when at least two people look at my paper, that way I know when something is clearly confusing or when I need to change something. If it’s just one person, sometimes it makes me wonder whether or not I really need to change something. Ideally, as many people as possible would edit my papers so I get the most feedback I can and change what I think I need to.

I like to work on peer review for a longer time than most people, I feel like I usually am still working on someone’s paper when everyone else has finished, but maybe I am just a slow reader or editor. I like when the teacher selects the pairings because that way I just get a random person reading my paper instead of someone who I might already know what they will say.

Scene Depiction Plan of Action

I chose to do my project on the LGBT society. One of the RAs in my dorm is the leader or at least a leader of this group so I will easily be able to contact her about the society. There is also someone in the percussion studio who is an active member in that society, so I will also have easy access to a regular member of the society. I also know that they meet every once in a while for meetings, however I do not know the exact times of those meetings, but the RA in my dorm will be able to tell me.

I hope to better understand this group because I think they get a lot of bad rep and whether or not they deserve it, I really don't know anything about this group of people. I hope to just maybe get some facts out to the public and perhaps prove correct or incorrect the different stereotypes society has given this group of people.

Speech Review

After my speech I felt pretty confident. I had said everything thing that I needed to, I had spoken for enough time to match the requirements, I had spoken with a confident tone, and  I had stood with a good strong stance. Everything seemed to have gone well and of course I was relieved that I did not have to give a speech anymore to a room full of strangers. However, when I watched my video I was sorely disappointed as I realized everything I could have done better. While I did look at the audience for most of the presentation like I had planned and executed, I also looked back up at the screen multiple times unnecessarily because I had memorized all the points I wanted to make and the only thing on the board were pictures that, while relevant to the presentation,  did not contain any information that I did not already know. I also stood with a relaxed stance which I was aware of because I wanted to give out a relaxed feeling so that people did not feel uncomfortable with me and because I wanted to have more of a conversation with my audience instead of talking at them. I also was tired since it was an earlier class and my voice seemed tired since I was very sleepy. However, I see now how it could possibly come off as lazy or unprofessional. Finally, while I spoke with a confident and relaxed voice, it also lacked excitement and any kind of movement that would draw people into my speech. Like my stance, my tone could have given off a wrong sensation of laziness and unprofessionalism instead of relaxed and casual setting.

If I could go back and change my preparation and presentation, the biggest difference I would make is to tape myself before I actually presented. I would tape myself so that I could have seen all these mistakes before my presentation. I would have been able to change a lot and actually get what I was trying to say across the way I wanted it to. I also would have gotten more sleep the night before and woken up earlier to make sure I was awake for my speech so I could be active and involve my audience and make them interested to hear what I was saying. Although my speech had many mistakes, I was still pleased with my speech overall. Of course there were things to change, which is why I am glad I got to see my presentation, but I also was pleased that it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. A great learning experience, and a great project for this class.