Revision


 * =Elements of Teacher's Role in Revision=


 * - Choose appropriate opportunities for revision** Chapman and King claim that not all writing goes through the revision process and that revision actually discourages students from writing. This notion of revision goes against many scholars like Bizzell who would argue that revision is constantly occurring throughout the writing process.


 * -Allow the student to select a piece of work to revise** Going along with their idea of selective revision, Chapman and King believe that revision is most effective if a student can pick a piece of writing which they really enjoy or believe to have potential for great improvement.


 * -Make revisions on the first draft** "//He will enjoy cutting and pasting phrases, sentences, and paragraphs to revise because these tasks are easier than rewriting" (71).// Chapman and King's assessment of revision here completely plays into the hands of student writers since many students simply believe that revision is replacing and deleting words. Rewriting is the key to revision and the only way to rework the intended and overall meaning of a piece of writing. Students are often afraid to rewrite thinking it will destroy all the work already accomplished. Students need to alleviate this fear by daring to write unafraid and without limits.


 * -Plan revision conferences** These conferences can occur with partners, small groups, or the teacher. It is up to the teacher to determine how many conferences shoould take place to benefit the writers. The more eyes that can review a piece of writing the better. Chapman and King also suggest having students read their work aloud to a partner or small group. There is a great benefit to hearing writing aloud, since writing is internalized speech. Speaking is primary, while writing is secondary. We all learn to speak before we learn to write. If it doesn't sound good read aloud, it will most likely be misunderstood in text.


 * - Determine the number of changes according to the student's needs** Maintain the original voice of the author. Too many negative revisions or changes will discourage the writer. Remember revision includes constructive criticism as well as positive reinforcement. Encouragement and respect to the author of a text is key to a successful revision process.


 * -Make revision a step in learning for the author** Be open-minded when revising students' work. Good information and original ideas can be conveyed in a number of ways successfully. Students can learn more in personal revisions than simply having a work graded with corrections to make in order to obtain a better grade. Discussing the flaws and strongpoints of a text help to develop critcal thinking and communication skills vital to writing.


 * ==Putting Style in Writing==

Chapman and King highlight the importance of a writer's individual voice when they stress how writing is affected by an individual's style: The authors provide ways for teachers to help students enhance their own unique style, aspects of mechanics, structure and language, which will elevate the readability and substance in studetn writing. These things include:
 * //"Writing style is the way the individual writer states his or her ideas on paper. This style sets the writer apart from other writers. Each author has his own unique ideas and style" (71).//

-Adding adjectives and adverbs -Avoiding bland and repetitive actions verbs -Varying sentence type -Using figurative language like metaphors, similes, and analogies -Visualizing the imagery that the writing may bring to reader's mind -Including strong descriptions and examples


 * ==Key Marks for Revision==

- A key that displays symbols and their meaning for shorthand revision is is offered by Chapman and King. This shorthand style is useful when correcting hundreds of pages of student writing, but the genralizations offered by these symbols adds little to actually helping a student rework their writing in a significant and meaningful way. This key is very vague and teachers should focus on writing in a way to communicate the problems or successes of an assignment. If a teacher is asking a student to write comprehensively for an audience, a teacher should respond comprehensively in turn to help the student along.

Along with these key marks, Chapman and King provide multiple checklists to be completed with revision. Again, these rigid and restricted evaluation lists are very limited and quite vague in terms of overall revision. There is even an author's "self-evaluation" checklist which includes such vague requirements as, "My report is informative" or "My paragraphs are in order" or "My work is interesting to read" (78). These checklists do not allow for an open-minded reading during revision, but rather provide students with certain stipulations which they need to fulfill. This form of revision is the type of revision process scholar Nancy Sommers argues is primarily practiced by less effective writers. This can greatly distract students from effectively helping another student with the overall meaning and construction of their writing.