Improving Student Writing Skills - cse crafts

The Writing Process
Revising
Revising is often neglected in the writing process.
Students often feel that they have already written the
paper, and they see any extra work, such as revising, as
just that—extra work. But in revising lies the greatest
potential for learning. While revising, students learn
techniques to make their writing better—techniques
they can apply the next time they draft. Students will
see “before” and “after” versions, and by comparing the
two, they will demonstrate to themselves the specific
elements that make for a better piece of writing (Adams,
1991). In this multistep process, it is effective for students
to first revise their own work and then get comments
from a peer or adult.
Keep in mind the following ideas when teaching students
to revise their work:
• Teach the Mechanics of Revision
Generally, students have three options for demonstrating
revision. They may mark directly on their draft, they
may recopy onto a new page as they go, or they may first
mark on their draft and then recopy it for legibility. The
first method does away with much busywork, allowing
students more time to focus on important elements of
writing; however, when asking peers or adults to help
revise their work, students will need a legible draft that
can be easily read and that allows for a fluid reading. You
will need to demonstrate these mechanics.
Also, before asking students to revise their work, teach
the common revision/proofreading marks. The most
important points are showing students how to add and
delete material and demonstrating techniques they
might not think of, such as actually cutting up their draft
and pasting it back together to change large-scale organization.
Not only will students be marking their own
work, but they will eventually be revising others’ work.
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