The Maker's Eye Revising Your Own Manuscript Summary

In “The Maker’s Eye: Revising Your Own Manuscript,” Donald M. Murray makes it clear that any individual who writes their first draft is only just beginning the true process of writing. As Murray states, writing is a never ending process that constantly needs new revisions. His main goal of this passage is to allow writers to understand some of the strategies and approaches that come with revising a draft. Murray does provide many supporting evidence to convince a reader of his strategies to be very useful and I agree with this author on improving writers’ writings.

To begin with, Murray has a way of saying exactly what he wants to say by saying it in the correct vocabulary in which his audience falls under. For example, Murray is intentionally trying to convey readers who fall within the ranges of being an “amateur” writer. For the reason that his intentional audience is “amateur,” Murray knows not to use high vocabulary but rather base it on everyday language. It is this reason why many of his readers will take note of what he says to do since what he wants is

comprehendible. I say that this is a good way of relating to the audience and giving exactly what the audience wants to know. As Murray states, “deliver information which a reader wants to know or needs to know in a manner which is easily digested.” Furthermore, Murray did well in saying facts that numerous students can relate to, resulting in an attention grabber and causing those students to pay even closer attention to his useful strategies. With Murray stating “when students complete a first draft, they consider the job of writing done,” he immediately catches the attention of those who thought their first draft was good.
Secondly, Murray explains how criticism is an important aspect to making one’s writing better especially by getting feedback from other peers. When it comes to criticism, being open to suggestions is something every writer should do. Incorporating the thoughts of others allows the writing to be viewed from different perspectives giving a better meaning. I agree with Murray about being open to criticism for the reason that other individuals have different ways of thinking and they may read things differently or have better ideas to include in the writing. In many of my past English assignments I would get feedback on writing and I would take it as something beneficial to my writing skills. Criticism is simply something beneficial that every writer should be encouraged to receive whether it is good or bad.
After reading the main components that Murray states writers’ look for I was able to see how it is true that they are what makes a writing come together in a certain order.

Murray has all these steps done in the manner of the author’s perspective only. Firstly the author has to gather “specific, accurate, and interesting information.” Secondly the author has to find the meaning to his information followed by being aware of his or her audience. After, the author looks for form, structure, and development to create a certain pattern. Lastly, voice is what a writer listens to for a smooth writing. Many writings are set up in a certain way especially writings such as poems. Poems have a structure to how the poem looks as a whole and rhythm it follows. This is also a reason as to why I can agree with Murray about these being steps writers follow to make sure their writing is shown in a specific

way.
Overall I enjoyed Murray’s reading it was very thought-provoking as well as informative to including many useful strategies for writers. As I read I realized that there are many steps a writer must do to be a good writer and even then the job of revising is never done. I understand why a true writer would feel that their work is never done or that the work needs more changes; there is always going to be that feeling of striving for something better. As Murray states, “The maker’s eye is never satisfied, for each word has the potential to ignite new meaning,” writers are constantly trying to find ways to change their words or look for criticism because they know that they can make their work better. Just as Murray say writing is never ending and I fully agree with his work.