REVISION

 Just as in responding to a student's writing, we don't talk about mechanics/editing, so it is with revision. Revision is a reflecting on and reorganization and/or addition or subtraction of thoughts and ideas - a time to think about the reader and how to get the reader to think and feel the ideas and emotions the writer has put in place. Editing/mechanics is the last phase of the writing process, and I won't touch on it here.

So, how do we get students to revise? It's difficult. Once it's on the page, students generally consider a piece finished. Moving their ideas around, dropping out parts, adding to or substituting words for what they've already written is a foreign concept unless they have been taught differently. Many (maybe most) students take suggestions for change as criticism of their entire thought/writing process. So, how do we sensitively deal with revision?

My favorite revision strategy to start with is Adding. When teaching writing, the most common problem I have seen is brevity. Students get the basics on the page and consider it finished. To help them understand the essential need for revision, use a piece of your own - one you've written using the barest of details. Post it where students can easily see it - this can work with an overhead projector, Smartboard, paper copy tacked on the wall or a copy sent to their computers. While students are looking at your draft, read it aloud and then ask questions: Is there anything more you would like to know? What do you think is missing? Which part do you want to know more about? What doesn't make sense to you? 

As students respond, jot down their questions/suggestions. This is an important part of the process. If the writing is posted on the wall, you can give students post-it notes to paste next to the piece. If it is on the Smartboard, students or you can jot the questions down on the piece...you get the idea. The important thing is that you, the writer, have a host of ideas that you can use to revise your piece. 

Step two is to take the ideas given to you and revise your draft, presenting the new piece to students the next day. Generally, we suggest that the writer chooses what they want to respond to or include from the suggestions, but I think, for the first example, try to include everything suggested. Finally, read your new draft to students the next day. Additional questions can then be asked: Is there anything I should now leave out? Does some of the information added need to be moved? Which draft do you like better?

Once students see how this works, they are more interested in opening up their own writing. They can try this by swapping drafts with a partner or work in trios. When students turn in their final drafts, I ask them to attach earlier drafts and any notes/suggestions they had for revision. A portion of their grade is dependent on their going through the process.

Finally, this means that we don't expect students to write just one draft. We are teaching process - that good writing comes from reflection and revision of drafts. We need to provide time and opportunities for them to use the process.

Helpful Books: Deep Revision by Meredith Sue Willis, The Revisers Toolbox by Barry Lane and The Revision Toolbox by Georgia Heard