SQR 3

Brie Fenton

Eng 1301.28

Trang Phan

09/07/2010


Revision Strategies of Student Writers and Experienced Adult Writers


There has been little research on revision up until now. Writing processes have directed the attention away from revision. James Britton’s linear model of the writing process has stages; conception, incubation and production. In this process, revision is looked at as a separate stage at the end of the writing process. The model is based on traditional and rhetorical models.

Linear models make revision into an afterthought. Roland Barthes says “there is a fundamental tie between teaching and speech; writing begins at the point where speech becomes impossible.” Over the past years, revision was redefined as a sequence of changes in a composition- changes which are initiated by cues and occur continually throughout the writing of a work. The methodology case study identified four revision operations: deletion, substitution, addition and reordering. Also, four changes were spotted: word, phrase, sentence, and theme.

Most students studied did not use the terms revision or rewriting. They preferred simplier terms such as marking out, redoing and reviewing. They believe most problems in their essays can be solved by rewording. Writing is the same as translating. You are translating your thoughts onto a page. Your thoughts do not need to be discovered but rather communicated. If you worry most about repetition, you can substitute words or phrases or delete them.

Why do you think students prefer to use other terms rather than revision or rewriting?

I believe students prefer to use terms such as redoing, reviewing and reviewing because its more specific. If you say youre just revising a sentence it doesnt explain what your fixing. By saying youre rewording then youre saying exactly what youre doing. Its simplier but I think it works better in the long run.