You Besta Explain Yo-Self

Everyone knows that bitterness that uncontrollably strews up in your mind when you receive a paper back from your teacher with a big D circled in red ink on the top of the page. That feeling, for me at least, quickly turns from bitterness to angriness to the resented sensation of being defeated, especially if I was expecting that D to be a few letters higher in the alphabet.  Of course I’m not talking about the criticism you would receive if you wrote a persuasive paper arguing that Martin Luther King Jr. was a member of the KKK. I am referring to the criticism regarding your own writing styles, techniques and decisions. Criticism in writing is especially haunting because unlike science or math, there usually isn’t one, clear, correct answer due to the ambiguity that comes with each text and the flexibility and the range of options that come with each writing decision.
Thankfully, Clark thought to cover this touchy matter in his chapter titled “Learn from your critics. Tolerate even unreasonable criticism.” Clark argues that negative criticism could be “priceless if you learn how to use it” as he claims that with the right frame of mind, you can “transform criticism that is nasty, petty, insincere, biased, and even profane, into gold” (236). Clark declares the only way to do this is to convert debate into conversation as he notes the difference between the two: “in a debate, one side listens only to find a counterargument. In a conversation, there is give and take.” In a debate, there is a winner and a loser but in a conversation, both sides could learn something useful.
 After reading Clark’s insightful chapter covering a relative topic to an Advanced Composition, IB English II, and Writing Center student, I have a better understanding on how to handle negative criticism:

1.      Decide if the argument is useless or not: There can be no arguing about matters of taste.(Matters of taste include but are not limited to: my chili is too spicy, this room is too hot, this book is too long, etc.)

2.      Never defend your work. Instead, explain what you were trying to accomplish. Explanations will work to “turn a debate (which the writer will lose) into a conversation (in which the critic might convert from adversary to ally)” (237).

3.      Transform arguments into conversations.

Example:
Criticism: “Christina, you post a picture with every blog that you write. It distracts the reader from the message you are trying to convey and it makes you seem less reliable.”

Explanation: “I understand that in your opinion my blog would be more formal sans images. However, I was just trying to appeal to a wide span of audience and had hopes that pictures would entice and attract new, curious readers who weren’t initially hooked from my blog titles or claims.”

Of course it's always a good idea to consider alternative opinions and ideas. However, instead of becoming offeneded and defensive when receiving criticism, just explain yourself!