This week I have thought a lot about the way that I like to revise my work the most. The reading this week spoke about many different revision strategies, and I realize that I have different preferences for revising my work by myself and for revising my work in groups.
On my own, I prefer to revise my work by reading aloud and editing as I go along. When I get slowed down in my reading, I know that there is something missing for fluency in meaning or that there is a grammatical issue. In the moment, I go back and correct the error in my paper before I continue reading. This is really my initial editing strategy. Then I prefer someone else to read my paper and provide comments about flow and content. If there are any blaring grammatical issues, I also appreciate feedback on that too. However, in my first round of drafts, I am more interested in getting the content of my paper perfect.
In groups, I prefer instructor directed peer editing. I think it is important to make all members of a group aware of the specific ways the paper should be improved. Positive and constructive feedback is important side by side so that the writer does not feel defeated by all negative feedback. I think color editing has been my students’ favorite revising strategies because the use of colors allows them to see what is missing from their papers and what is present. Many of my high school students have even told me that they chose to use color editing on their own and with their friends in college.
My goal as a writing teacher is to help my students find their “best revision strategies” and to teach them how to use these strategies on their own one day when I am not there to orchestrate the steps for them. This revision independence is a skill that I believe all writers and readers need to be able to develop before entering college in order to be successful.
We both share the same goals Prof. I want my students to be independent learners, once I teach them a strategy, they can use it for the rest of their lives.
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