WAC Brown Bag
February 15, 2013
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Revision is “reseeing” the text. Professional
authors typically describe it as “a process of
making fundamental changes to a paper
(‘finding the argument’ and ‘actually
restructuring’),” according to research
conducted by Harvard’s Nancy Sommers
(Nowacek).
Editing and proofreading, on the other hand,
involve looking for and correcting local
errors. They can be looked at as the last
steps in the revising process.
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In her research, Nancy Sommers also interviewed
student writers. They often (not always)
described revision as “the process of making
adjustments at a more superficial level (‘just
using better words” and ‘cleaning up’)”
(Nowacek). In other words, in such cases, they
are limiting revision to editing and proofreading.
Other student writers may define revision as
professional writers do, but some of them may
lack knowledge of specific revision strategies or
have poor time management skills.
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Clarify what you mean by revision by giving an example of a
revised paper or of a paper in the process of being revised (for
instance, one of your own papers, a past student’s paper, or a
famous author’s work). (Nowacek)
Example: Julia Alvarez’ brief essay “Snow”: I show students the
published essay, the rough draft, and Alvarez’ comments on her
revising process (Alvarez 39-43).
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Provide an image or metaphor for revision. For instance, here
are “The Three Levels of Revision”:
◦ Reseeing or rethinking: changing what a piece says, or its “bones.”
◦ Reworking or reshaping: changing how a piece says it, or changing its
“muscles.”
◦ Copyediting or proofreading for mechanics and usage: checking for
deviations from standard conventions, or changing the writing’s “skin.”
(Nowacek; Elbow 23)
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Talk a bit about the mistaken idea that good writing
comes naturally. (The essay “Shitty Rough Drafts”
from Anne LaMott’s Bird by Bird concerns the value of
rough drafts even to professional authors [Nowacek].)
Comment on drafts. If you are serious about wanting
students to revise, comment on drafts, and require
revision. (Then you needn’t comment much or at all
on the final version. It’s too late then, isn’t it?)
Make sure your comments on drafts match with the
priorities that your definition of revision has set.
Focus; don’t overwhelm; be revision oriented, not so
much editing oriented. (Bean 83-84)
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Focus comments, as mentioned earlier.
Avoid abstract terms in your comments. (For
example, when you use the term “structure,” what do
you mean? This term is rather abstract and is used in
various ways. I take it to refer to organization; I’ve
found that others use it quite differently from that.)
Provide specific strategies. (See subsequent slide for
details.)
Motivate students to revise. (See subsequent slide for
details.)
Give students adequate time to revise.
Encourage students to get feedback from multiple
sources. (See subsequent slide for details.)
(Nowacek)
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Reverse outlining (Outlining AFTER drafting,
not before, or in addition to before.)
Using a checklist of questions to guide
revision (Notice on the next slide how the
checklist is organized: it echoes the idea that
revision’s first preoccupation is with reseeing
and reshaping.)
Reading out loud
Incubating (Laying a draft aside for a while to
gain a fresh perspective, coming back to it as
if to another’s paper.)
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STEP ONE: THE BIG PICTURE
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Look at the first draft in terms of larger, abstract qualities:
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is the original purpose of the writing fulfilled?
does the writing cover the required material?
has the writing addressed the specific audience?
does the overall structure seem sensible in terms of your intentions?
is your sense of authority over the topic clear?
STEP TWO: FOCUS ON DEVELOPMENT
does the main idea of the paper have enough supporting material?
does the supporting material relate logically to the main idea?
STEP THREE: FOCUS ON STRUCTURE
is there a controlling idea that can be traced through the writing?
does your lead into the paper create interest and focus?
do individual paragraphs link to the controlling idea?
do individual paragraphs have clear topic sentences?
does the ending provide a sense of wrapping up ideas?
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STEP FOUR: FOCUS ON SENTENCE STRUCTURE
are sentences clear?
does the word order in sentences seem logical?
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are verbs usually in the active voice?
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does word choice seem sensible for the purpose and audience? (“Revision Strategies”)
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Require it.
Build internal deadlines for various steps in
the composing process into the course
structure. (Hogan)
In your comments on drafts, point out what
the student has done well. Show you are
interested in their ideas and their progress as
writers. (Nowacek)
See students in one-on-one conferences to
talk about their rough drafts.
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Other students in the class: Consider using
peer rough-draft workshops. (Time won’t
allow? Do it via D2L.)
The Writing Center
Bean, John C. Engaging Ideas: The Professor’s Guide to Integrating Writing, Critical Thinking,
and Active Learning in the Classroom. 2nd ed. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2011. Print.
Elbow, Peter. “Three Levels of Revising.” Being a Writer: A Community of Writers Revisited.
2003. Web. Drapes92.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/book.pdf.
Hogan, Benjamin. “Encouraging Revision.” Writing across the Curriculum: Bridgewater State
University. Web. February 13, 2013.
http://www.bridgew.edu/WAC/TeachingwithWriting/ EncouragingRevision.
Nowacek, Rebecca. “Encouraging and Teaching Students to Revise.” Writing across the
Curriculum at UW-Madison. Web. February 13, 2013.
http://vanhise.lss.wisc.edu/wac/?q=node/71.
“Revision Strategies.” Hobart and William Smith Colleges Center for Teaching and Learning.
Web. February 15, 2013. www.hws.edu/academics/ctl/writes_revision.aspx.