Revision Strategies Cyber-Assignment
Today we watched a film, "Revision Strategies," which is a program from the Write Course series. I also gave students two chapters from the textbook, Writing with a Thesis by Skwire & Skwire.See http://www.textbooks.com/ISBN/9781413030822/Sarah-E-Skwire-and-David-Skwire/Writing-With-a-Thesis-Rhetoric-and-Reader_-_1413030823.php
In Hacker look at "Revision" (35); "Global Revision (36).
In a freewrite, write a short three paragraph response where you define revision and talk about your revision process. Include a citation from the film, Hacker and chapters from textbook in this reflection. You will be able to use this assignment in your portfolio essay 2 when you complete the course portfolio.
Do not forget to cite the 3 sources.
Here is one:
The Write Course: "Revision Strategies." Annenberg Learner. 1980s. VHS.
Questions to consider:
We watched the video: Revision Strategies (The Write Course). Please reflect on the video in a narrative that considers your revision strategies. How has Stewart Pidd Hates English affected your revision process?
Why is the opportunity to revise a welcome one for advanced writers? Why do some writers dread such assignments?
Use examples from the film. How is revision defined and what steps are offered? How is re-writing a step in the writing process? What did the scholar, Sandra Pearl, mean about editing prematurely?
What myths did Dr. Linda Flowers say about the "perfect draft syndrome"? Are you so afflicted? What is writer based prose vs. reader based prose? What is inspiration?
What did you learn about the writing process that you didn't know before, or if you knew it, you were not about to articulate it before now?
Global Revisions
On page 35 there are links to practice models.
This is another link:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/72714653/4/Make-global-revisions-then-revise-sentences
Homework: Keep reading Dyson. Tuesday we will meet in A-232 for a writing workshop. Remember, Thursday, Oct. 18, 2012, we are attending Hamlet at Cal Shakes. If you are going, I need the $20 Monday.
In Hacker look at "Revision" (35); "Global Revision (36).
In a freewrite, write a short three paragraph response where you define revision and talk about your revision process. Include a citation from the film, Hacker and chapters from textbook in this reflection. You will be able to use this assignment in your portfolio essay 2 when you complete the course portfolio.
Do not forget to cite the 3 sources.
Here is one:
The Write Course: "Revision Strategies." Annenberg Learner. 1980s. VHS.
Questions to consider:
We watched the video: Revision Strategies (The Write Course). Please reflect on the video in a narrative that considers your revision strategies. How has Stewart Pidd Hates English affected your revision process?
Why is the opportunity to revise a welcome one for advanced writers? Why do some writers dread such assignments?
Use examples from the film. How is revision defined and what steps are offered? How is re-writing a step in the writing process? What did the scholar, Sandra Pearl, mean about editing prematurely?
What myths did Dr. Linda Flowers say about the "perfect draft syndrome"? Are you so afflicted? What is writer based prose vs. reader based prose? What is inspiration?
What did you learn about the writing process that you didn't know before, or if you knew it, you were not about to articulate it before now?
Global Revisions
On page 35 there are links to practice models.
This is another link:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/72714653/4/Make-global-revisions-then-revise-sentences
Homework: Keep reading Dyson. Tuesday we will meet in A-232 for a writing workshop. Remember, Thursday, Oct. 18, 2012, we are attending Hamlet at Cal Shakes. If you are going, I need the $20 Monday.
posted by Professor Wanda's Posse at 11:20 AM
22 Comments:
Joseph Carlo O. Tolentino
Professor Wanda Sabir
English 1A 8:00 – 8:50
13 October 2012
Revisions of an Unskilled Writer
Revising essays has always been a challenge to all kinds of writers around the world. English teachers, professors and English Degree holders all agree that the key to making a perfect essay is by Revision. The problem, however, is that majority of the population are unskilled writers who do not have the same training and experience as skilled writers commonly have. To a skilled writer it is pretty much counted as common sense that their first draft will rarely, if ever, come out perfect. On the other hand, most unskilled writers are satisfied with the first thing they finish and fail to think about all the mistakes that can happen. Every unskilled writer need to wake up and realize that revision, no matter how boring or difficult it can be, is a necessity to create compelling and attention grabbing essays.
A very informative video named The Write Course: "Revision Strategies" explained that writers can have the “Perfect Draft Syndrome” where the writer thinks that the first essay must be written perfectly and the changes are done on the spot while the person still continues to write. The characters in the film had clearly pointed out that any changes done to the essay should wait until the entire draft is finished, failure to do so can result to premature editing and possibly lead to problems(Learner). Following the films idea, unskilled writers often have the “Perfect Draft Syndrome and need to learn that waiting till the entire essay is finished can make it easier to revise and correct the mistakes.
In other cases it is not the boredom or difficulty of revising that stops a writer from following through with the revision. Some cases come psychologically where writers often hope that they do not find any areas to change. It was even mentioned by Sarah E. Skwire and David Skwire, authors of Writing with a Thesis: Rhetoric and Reader, that “The paper is your baby. Your painful labor has created something out of nothing, made the invisible visible” (251). Now comparing a newly written essay to a baby, no one can really tell the parent of the baby-or the writer in this case-that their offspring is not perfect and contains countless flaws. Even though the writer knows that they have to revise their essays, the challenge remains in their attitudes where they try to see a perfect picture when it is flawed in reality. To solve this problem the writer really needs to look at their paper from a different person’s perspective. As Hacker points out “Writers often resist global revisions because they find it difficult to view their work from their audience’s perspective”(36) writers need to let go of their parental attitude and simply view their essays as nonliving sentient beings not as children. Should the writers succeed in letting go and proceed with revising their essays, even the most unskilled writers can have a chance at creating a wonderfully written essay.
Works Cited
The Write Course: "Revision Strategies." Annenberg Learner. 1980s. VHS.
Hacker, Diana. Rules for Writers. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2012. Print.
Skwire, David and Sarah E. Skwire. Writing with a Thesis: Rhetoric and Reader – 10th edition.
Beverly: Wadsworth, Inc, May 10 2007. Print
Luchanda Williams
Professor Sabir
English 1A 11-11:50a.m.
October 14 2012
Revision Strategies
Many people skip global revision because they find it hard to see from the prospective of an audience. Hacker believe it is a good idea to take a break and later come back to it. The writer also states that "An effective thesis sentence is a central idea that requires supporting evidence; it is of adequate scope for an essay of the assigned length; and it is sharply focused."(Hacker p23) When writing a thesis it is important to have clear support for your main idea. It is important to remember that you are not writing for yourself but also an audience.
In class we watched a video called "The write course" which states that the basis to good writing is rewriting. It also says that when revising it is important to step back an see if you are able to reach an audience. In addition it explains that rewriting means to see again, it is being able to put yourself in the shoes of the audience. The video also explained editing and how it involves the changing and the moving of words.
In "Revision help from the audience'' it talks about boredom not being what makes revision difficult, but the writer hoping that they won't find anything which needs revising. In addition it talks about when having someone revise you paper not all the advice that is given is good and that you more than anyone is responsible for your paper. It also talks about how most people give advice base on their feeling that they have towards you and gives you a respond base on what they feel rather than what they think. Furthermore if they do see a problem they may not act upon it as they may be afraid to speak up.
Work Cite
The Write Course: "Revision Strategies." Annenberg Learner. 1980s. VHS.
Skwire, David and Sarah E. Skwire. Writing with a Thesis: Rhetoric and Reader – 10th edition.
Beverly: Wadsworth, Inc, May 10 2007. Print
Hacker, Diana. Rules for Writers. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2012. Print.
Rachel Avalos
Professor Sabir
English 1A 8-8:50AM
14 October 2012
Revision Freewrite
The process of revising an essay is a lot longer than most people realize, there’s more than just a glancing once over to check for spelling or grammar errors. Writing of any type is rarely as easy as just writing it perfectly the first time, most ideas are not fully articulate when they’re first written down on paper and not having instantly clearly stated ideas is fine. The process of rewriting and almost completely changing the paper is daunting to newer writers, they are worried about how long it will take and will probably be frustrated that they have to rewrite many of their ideas. The film “Revision Strategies” talks about how most new writers do not want to rewrite their papers and are stuck on the idea that they will write a perfect paper instantly; the film goes on to clarify that even famous authors have to change their work in order to make it easier for the audience to understand (Learner). Just as with almost any skill, a person wants to be able to create wonderful pieces instantly generally they do not want to recognize that a good piece of work will take time, effort, practice and the acceptance of having to change ideas.
For most writers the thought of having to dramatically change their paper is definitely discouraging, and they will generally just edit the paper for sentence structure instead of looking at how the entire paper fits together. Global revisions should be made first since, “there is little sense in revising sentences that may not appear in your final draft” (Hacker 27). Before even starting to get into nitpicking the grammar and sentence structure, a writer must look at their paper from their audience’s point of view and change their paper so it is clear to read and is appropriate for their audience. Unfortunately, reading a paper from the point of view of the audience is difficult, so in order to distance one’s self from the draft there are a couple of possibilities, such as putting the draft aside for a day or two, or having someone else read the draft. The person reading the draft should look at the draft for overall clarity and organization instead of editing the finer problems of the paper.
Unfortunately, if friends or family are reviewing an essay then the author may not get the constructive criticism they need to improve. Too often even when having peers review a paper the writer will get unhelpful comments from people who are “pretending to like something-or keeping one’s mouth shut- to avoid offending the writer or disagreeing with the majority” (Skywire 218). Not being critical or honest when reviewing someone's paper could hide flaws that they do not see because they are the author, therefore an author has to be more specific when they ask someone to review their paper and press the person for specifics if they are vague in their comments. Writing is a long and difficult process in which some ideas must be discarded completely before moving on to
editing and refining the paper.
Hacker, Diana. Rules for Writers. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2009. Print.
The Write Course: "Revision Strategies." Annenberg Learner. 1980s. VHS.
Skwire, David and Sarah E. Skwire. Writing with a Thesis: Rhetoric and Reader – 10th edition.
Beverly: Wadsworth, Inc, May 10 2007. Print
Wai Man (Remy) Tang
Professor Sabir
English 1A 8-8:50 AM
14 October 2012
Revision
To many people, writing is already a difficult challenge. Then comes revision and our brain explodes. I think people hate revision more than writing, mostly because they do not want to struggle with thinking of how to write out their thoughts even better than how it is already. I know I hate it so when I have to revise my papers, I interpret it as a grammar and spell check instead. This way of thinking does not work well for me. Revision, as I have learned from watching the video named The Write Course: Revision Strategies, is to finish a whole draft of whatever it is I am writing about, and then rewriting it in the perspective of the audience. Most of the papers we write are ususally used to convince others our point of view. Therefore, this leads to most writers writing and explaining their thoughts, but not really showing how and why the audience would agree with them. I have the same problem when I write. I find it very hard to see another point of view besides my own, but if I want to have good writing, thinking in terms of the audience is essential.
Of course, that is not the only thing we have to do when we revise our writing. Sometimes, it is hard to see where we need to make corrections in our papers. This especially happens when we have just finished writing, because all we see then is a perfect paper that does not need correcting. When this happens, Hacker advises that we leave the paper alone for a day. Then we can come back to it with a fresh mind. Even my english teacher in twelveth grade said this to my class. When we practiced revising this way, it made the papers sound much better than they originally were.
But there is still yet another problem for why people do not revise their papers. It is that they hope and try not to see the flaws in their works. It is mentioned in Writing with a Thesis: Rhetoric and Reader, that some writers think of their papers as their babies. Like it is hard to give birth to a newborn infant, so it is hard to create a piece of good writing. If their works is their babies, then naturally, they would not want to admit that flaws exist. Writers must let go of this way of thinking, but if they want to continue thinking like this, the finished and completely revised paper should be the adult. This makes more sense to me, because it seems to me that giving birth is hard, but nurturing and raising a child to an adult is even harder. So if the initial writing is a baby, then the revision process is like bring up a child.
Bibliography
The Write Course: "Revision Strategies." Annenberg Learner. 1980s. VHS.
Hacker, Diana. Rules for Writers. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2012. Print.
Skwire, David and Sarah E. Skwire. Writing with a Thesis: Rhetoric and Reader – 10th edition. Beverly: Wadsworth, Inc, May 10 2007. Print
Keelan Sunglao-Valdez
Professor Sabir
English 1A
11:00-11:50
13 October 2012
Revision Strategies
Making revisions are a crucial step when it comes to improving one’s writing. It is a way of improving the statements and ideas that best project the argument. Many people carry the misconception that revising is simply a means of editing grammar or punctuation. There is a fine line between what is editing and what is revising.(The Write Course:Revision Strategies) After the ideas are planned out in the first draft, the first revision is a second draft that is organize and is written for an audience.A paper can be revised as many times that is necessary for it to reach prime condition. There are many strategies when making revisions. For example, after a revision is made, it is best to set it aside and review it later with a fresh mind. Another strategy is to have another person to read over your revisions and provide constructive feedback.
The feedback necessary to make those essential revisions is not always easy to come by. For example, seeking “the advice of personal acquaintances-parents, spouses, roommates, romantic interests” (Writing with a Thesis 217) can generate problems when revising one's work. For obvious reasons, friends and family are hesitant when contributing constructive criticism to your work. An honest review is best obtained by an audience familiar with proper grammar and a knowledge of the necessary elements of a well-written paper. An effective review does not solely rely on the chosen revisor, it is also the writer’s responsibility to provide a detailed list of specific questions concerning the composition of their writing. By doing so, one will attain essential revisions that yield improvement to their writing.
When revising, making global revisions are necessary to enhance the objective of the writing. The basis of making global revisions are to focus on the paper as a whole, while critiquing the structure of the paper.The key points of making global revisions are developing things such as the purpose, the organization, the content, and the focus of the paper.(Hacker 27-28)Reviewing and editing these points will strengthen the foundation and message of the paper. After the final revision is made, the can mechanics of the writing be fine tuned, and grammar or punctuation can be edited. These steps are a crucial part of the writing process, in order to receive the most out of ones writing.
Works Cited
The Write Course: Revision Strategies. Annenberg Learner. 1980s. VHS.
Hacker, Diana, Nancy I. Sommers, Thomas Robert. Jehn, Jane Rosenzweig, and Van Horn, Marcy. Carbajal. Rules for Writers. 6th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2008. Print.
Skwire, David, and Sarah Harrison. "Office Hours: Revision: Help from the Audience."Writing with a Thesis: A Rhetoric and Reader. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1990. 217-18. Print.
Michelle Chen
Professor Sabir
English 1A 11-11:50
11 October 2012
Revision Strategies
I know many people that just writes essays and just turns it in. Some people get lucky and gets an "A" but not everybody is lucky. To have the best of the best essay, you should always revise. When I say revise, I bet the first thing that comes to mind is editing. Revising and editing are two different things. Revising is going back rereading what you wrote, editing is marking every mistake and fixing it. Having an outline before your drafts will make the essay 10x better. There's not a certain amount of times for revision, just keep doing it till the person you have reading it says its good.
Watching the video in class made the definition of revising a lot more clearer and now I actually believe it's a very important step in writing. A couple things you should always ask yourself is, "Does the paper speak to the audience?", "What's the objective?" and also think about what the audience is interested in. If you aren't sure if it's good or not and there's nobody that is willing to read it, put it away for at least a day and then go back to it with a fresh mind.
Works Cited
The Write Course: Revision Strategies. Annenberg Learner. 1980s. VHS.
Makonnen Richardson
Professor Sabir
English 1A
For myself, I typically revise as I’m writing although Im fully aware that it is both unpractical short-sighted. However from experience, the thought of having to go over what I just spent possibly a few hours on for every paper I write is overbearing thus giving me the mindset to make the first draft the “Right” draft initially through habit. Generally, I’d like to consider myself as a decent natural writer so I never honestly put much thought into revision for anything. But I’ve learned through Hacker that revision is always effective and key and more times than others leads you to an idea that would’ve never crossed your mind. He states that an effective thesis sentence is a central idea that requires supporting evidence; it is of adequate scope for an essay of the assigned length; and it is sharply focused."(Hacker p23) Key because this is the foundation of it all, and essential because it gives a frame for your audience intended.
On my own I watched "The write course" basically stating that the basis to good writing is rewriting. Emphasizing on stepping back and taking breaks to take in a new perspective as the audience, it teaches to be accommodating and aware in your thoughts as you implement them into your work. Basic editing and how certain words affect and exhibit change were explained, but the focus was already exhausted.
In "Revision help from the audience'' it talks about boredom not being what makes revision difficult, but the writer hoping that they won't find anything which needs revising. Meaning its not the necessary work that wer’e trying to avoid, but rather the truth in accepting our possible faults in our ideas. Secondly, not all advice is good advice, so it speaks on making critical decisions dealing with constructive criticism ensuring your responsibility for your paper.
Works Cited
The Write Course: Revision Strategies. Annenberg Learner. 1980s. VHS.
Hacker, Diana, Nancy I. Sommers, Thomas Robert. Jehn, Jane Rosenzweig, and Van Horn, Marcy. Carbajal. Rules for Writers. 6th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2008. Print.
Skwire, David, and Sarah Harrison. "Office Hours: Revision: Help from the Audience."Writing with a Thesis: A Rhetoric and Reader. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1990. 217-18. Print.
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Wei Zhang
Professor Sabir
English 1A 8:00-8:50
10/14/2012
Response after Watching “Revision Strategies”
When I was studying in high school, my teacher told me not to stray off the subject when I write an essay, especially in College Entrance Examination, if so, I would only get half score at most. It means we must follow the theme to write each paragraph and sentence "An effective thesis sentence is a central idea that requires supporting evidence; it is of adequate scope for an essay of the assigned length; and it is sharply focused."(Hacker p23)
Last class, we watched a video named “Revision Strategies”, which told us how to make a revision after we finished the first draft and what are the perfect revision strategies when we decided to revise an essay.In this write course, “Revision Strategies”, all the characters explained that all the writers can not make a perfect revision at rough draft, we had better do some revision after complete the whole essay. Making a revision immediately is not a good way to write a perfect essay.
According to the explanation of the video and the Hacker`s book, I realized the importance of revision strategies. If we do not revise the essay carefully by correct strategies, we may give the audience some confuse about the theme and the main idea of the article.
Works Cited
The Write Course: "Revision Strategies." Annenberg Learner. 1980s. VHS.
Hacker, Diana. Rules for Writers. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2012. Print.
Skwire, David and Sarah E. Skwire. Writing with a Thesis: Rhetoric and Reader – 10th edition.
Beverly: Wadsworth, Inc, May 10 2007. Print
Emily Lam
Professor Wanda Sabir
English 1A 11-11:50am
11 October 2012
Freewrite for Revision Strategies
Today in class, we watched a video called Revision Strategies. It was a series from The Write Course. The purpose of this video was to give people tips and strategies on how to write their paper the proper way. In the video, the characters claimed that it is important to know the difference between what revisions and edits mean. A lot of people get confused on the definition between those two. At one point during the video, one of the character mentioned that revision means to see it again, reread the essay, and imagined yourself in your audience’s shoes. Editing means to correct the punctuation, check for spelling, check for grammar, and changed the little errors in the essay.
Before I watched the video, I already know The Writing Process to write an essay. Although I knew majority of what the video was talking about, the video also pointed some things out that I did not know before. Some of the characters said that it was good to rewrite what you wrote so that you could say what you want to say on paper in a better way. It is not expected that the first time you write an essay will be guarantee that it will be perfect. A lot of writers focus on how the paper will turn out and worrying about the sentence structure and losses focus on how the reader will feel when they read the essay. That is exactly how I feel when I write a paper and the Write Course said it is normal to feel that way. It is very important to keep the audience in mind. They also said that it is good to rewrite what you wrote so that you could catch your mistakes and it will give you practice on how to write better. A lot of writers just rushes into getting their idea down on paper and just forget about everything else that helps make the essay a better paper.
One of the examples that happened in the video was that Norm pointed something that caught my attention. When he was talking about guides to writing, he mentioned that it is important for writers to focuses on their attention on words and making sure that they flow to make it easier for the readers to read. Jenny also pointed out that it is always good to use familiar words because it is a better choice to use in your paper. It helps to be more specific and detailed on your paper. I also learned that there are a lot of common things that a lot of writers do when they write an essay. The writer is usually overwhelmed about the fact that they have to write an essay and it takes a lot of time to make an essay almost perfect. For instant, a lot of proofreading will be needed. It will take a long time especially when you need to ask at least two different people to read it and what is their perspective on the paper. I thought it was only me that feels this way, but according to studies, a lot of writers feel this way and that is why when writer needs to write a paper, they feel like it is a drag to do so. The worksheet that was called Office Hours: Revision: Help from the Audience, talks certain things that could relate to the video. It was talking about when a student needs another student to do their peer review, it is important for them to tell the other student that needs to be fixed. If the student that is correcting the paper and does not tell the other student and just tries to be friendly by saying that this perfect is fine, it will not help the other student to understand what is wrong with their essay. In the video, the characters showed that it was important to help each other out with the male’s essay. It is very important to say something and not just be nice about it, no one will learn that way.
Work Cited
The Write Course: “Revision Strategies.”Annenberg Learner. 1980s.VHS.
Hacker, Diana. Rules for Writers. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2012. Print.
Skwire, David, and Sarah Harrison. "Office Hours: Revision: Help from the Audience."Writing with a Thesis: A Rhetoric and Reader. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1990. 217-18. Print.
Messi Chaib
Professor Wanda
English 1A 11-11:50
Defining Revision:
Revision is a necessary step that every writer has to do. It is very important to ask people about your writing before your paper goes to the instructor because people advice and ideas are very helpful and can be wrong as well so the last decision is yours. While doing the revision it’s better to choose an audience such as classmates who know the requirements and help you to find and discuss the mistakes that both of you can make, rather than asking a roommate, relative or parents who do not know the requirements of the essay and do not give you any help because they will not oppose your ideas and tell you that you made mistakes to keep you happy(Office Hours,p217) which is misguiding where you think that your paper is perfect while it may be full of mistakes and that will not improve your essay .
An audience like classmates always helps me to find my mistakes that I did not notice while writing the paper and the more revision I do the better my paper is and I start getting a better idea about the subject and how to make my reader understands my writing and satisfy him with my arguments . During the revision process I like asking specific questions about the introduction, the body then the conclusion which makes you go through the paper in details rather than asking a general question like” Do you like my paper or what do you think” (Office Hours,p218) which doesn’t help you to fix your mistakes, clear your idea and meet the requirements.
The revision makes your paper understandable by going through the words, sentences and paragraphs checking if they are clear, well organized and if it explains your ideas and if your reader understands it easily without your presence like in the film "The write course" where the writer went through his paper many times and made many changes on it until he got his mistakes fixed and made his paper understandable. I always find new mistakes while doing the revision with a classmate remember some requirements that I missed and find extra that will not be in the final draft(Hacker,p27) or missed information that will satisfy the reader. The revision is harder than writing the paper first time because revision needs more time and concentration rather than brain storming in the first draft. Revision is a step where the writer transforms his paper from a general idea to a specific idea taking his paper from a “D” to an “A” so the more revision the writer does, the closer his paper gets close to an “A”.
Work Cite
The Write Course: "Revision Strategies" .Annenberg Learner. 1980s. VHS.
Skwire, David and Sarah E. Skwire. Writing with a Thesis: Rhetoric and Reader . 10th edition.
Beverly: Wadsworth, Inc, May 10 2007. Print
Hacker, Diana. Rules for Writers. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2012. Print.
Amanda Lara
Professor Sabir
English 1A
8:00AM-8:50 AM
October 14,2012
Revision Free Write
In the film “Revision Strategies”
I am not usually someone who asks others to revise my work before I turn it in. I agree that having someone revise my work I would be a better writer. Sometimes the issue is that it is difficult to stay focus, that’s why it is suggested that we wait a bit and take a break so we can have a clear mind. I have taken multiple writing classes in every class they have always suggested that we have another person revise it. In the film “Revision Strategies” they suggest that we wait until we have developed the final draft to have someone review it. That way they have the finished works.
In the film it suggest that we cut up the essay and puzzle it back together. This helps us make sure that we are organized. I have heard this strategy in other classes. It is important that we keep our audience entertained and that we do not lose distraction. I also learned about the “perfect draft syndrome” which is when Perfect Draft Syndrome’ is when a writer has the tendency to attempt reader-based writing before writer-based writing. This is done in hopes the writer can simply accomplish the perfect draft. Most writers can’t do this effectively, and it creates an unnecessarily frustration in the writing process. Mr. Flowers then said that every writer is a good re-writer, which makes sense, because if you are good, you have to learn to edit your work, accept mistakes, learn from them to be a better writer.
This helps with making sure that your essay is clear and it is on topic. When revising someone’s writing, we shouldn’t just pay attention to the grammar and spelling but also to make sure that it is well written out and clear for an audience. In Diane Hackers book she talks about how global revision is a one step that involves, focus, purpose, organization, content, overall strategy, and generally receive attention first. One of the questions that is suggested for the writer to answer is “do I make my point”? page 36&37. As the person revising we have to make sure that the thesis is clear and developing a checklist for global revision may help.
Works Cited The Write Course: "Revision Strategies." Annenberg Learner. 1980s. VHS.
Hacker, Diana. Rules for Writers. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2012. Print.
Skwire, David and Sarah E. Skwire. Writing with a Thesis: Rhetoric and Reader – 10th edition. Beverly: Wadsworth, Inc, May 10 2007. Print
Gabe Shalaby
Professor Sabir
English 1a
8:00-8:50
10/14
Revision
The process of revision is an essential one. In the film "Revision Strategies" they inform us that a rough draft really should be just that. Experienced writers essentially jot down their ideas in a sensible order to get it down then go back and refine their work multiple times (Learner). This is a very useful strategy because you get what your point across quickly and don't lose your train of thought. You then have time to sculpt it and refine it to perfection.
The idea of having other people review your work before it is finalized is hardly a revolutionary train of thought, but you have to remember to not "let yourself get carried away however. Not all advice is good advice" (Skywire 251). This is a very important concept to me because that's generally what I do. I end up using the reviewer's revisions most of the time because I assume that I'm just being over protective of my work and that I am clouded in seeing it's issues. I don't use every suggestion every time, but the majority of them get incorporated into my text.
Hacker seems to confirm the usefulness of the ideas in "Revision Strategies". She informs us that revising as we write our work, rather than banging out a rough draft and coming back to our work at a later time can be treacherous. You may be exposing yourself to a lot of uncalled for stress if you revise as you go. This is due to the fact that in a full revision you may completely eliminate whole parts of text from your work. (Hacker pg. 28)
Works Cited
Hacker, Diana, et al. Rules For Writers. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2008. Print.
Skwire, David, and Sarah E. Skwire. Home | College Textbooks | Languages & Literature Textbooks | General Readings For Writers Textbooks
Writing With a Thesis : Rhetoric and Reader. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1990. Print.
Messi Chaib
Professor Wanda
English 1A 11-11:50
Defining Revision:
Revision is a necessary step that every writer has to do. It is very important to ask people about your writing before your paper goes to the instructor because people advice and ideas are very helpful and can be wrong as well so the last decision is yours. While doing the revision it’s better to choose an audience such as classmates who know the requirements and help you to find and discuss the mistakes that both of you can make, rather than asking a roommate, relative or parents who do not know the requirements of the essay and do not give you any help because they will not oppose your ideas and tell you that you made mistakes to keep you happy(Office Hours,p217) which is misguiding where you think that your paper is perfect while it may be full of mistakes and that will not improve your essay .
An audience like classmates always helps me to find my mistakes that I did not notice while writing the paper and the more revision I do the better my paper is and I start getting a better idea about the subject and how to make my reader understands my writing and satisfy him with my arguments . During the revision process I like asking specific questions about the introduction, the body then the conclusion which makes you go through the paper in details rather than asking a general question like” Do you like my paper or what do you think” (Office Hours,p218) which doesn’t help you to fix your mistakes, clear your idea and meet the requirements.
The revision makes your paper understandable by going through the words, sentences and paragraphs checking if they are clear, well organized and if it explains your ideas and if your reader understands it easily without your presence like in the film "The write course" where the writer went through his paper many times and made many changes on it until he got his mistakes fixed and made his paper understandable. I always find new mistakes while doing the revision with a classmate, remember some requirements that I missed and find extra information that will not be in the final draft(Hacker,p27) or missed information that will satisfy the reader. The revision is harder than writing the paper first time because revision needs more time and concentration rather than brain storming in the first draft. Revision is a step where the writer transforms his paper from a general idea to a specific idea taking his paper from a “D” to an “A” so the more revision the writer does, the closer his paper gets close to an “A”.
Work Cite
The Write Course: "Revision Strategies." Annenberg Learner. 1980s. VHS.
Skwire, David and Sarah E. Skwire. Writing with a Thesis: Rhetoric and Reader . 10th edition.
Beverly: Wadsworth, Inc, May 10 2007. Print
Hacker, Diana. Rules for Writers. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2012. Print.
Bianca Hsueh
Professor Sabir
English 1A 11-11:50
14 October 2012
Defining Revision Freewrite
When writing an essay, you need to take into account your audience. In her book, “Rules for Writers”, Diana Hacker writes, “Writers often resist global revisions because they find it difficult to view their work from their audience’s perspective”(36). The best way to write is to keep in mind who the piece of writing is for. By doing this, you will know the purpose of writing the essay, and what points should be brought up in the essay to make it stronger. Amazingly, I have not taken this step into much consideration when I write analytical essays. Instead, I mostly write my essays with the mindset that whoever is reading my essay has never read any of the material that I read to create the essay. When I do this, I find that my essays are stronger because I have explained some situations better than I would have before.
I found that I already follow what David Skwire wrote in his chapter, "Office Hours: Revision: Help from the Audience" from his book, “Writing with a Thesis: Rhetoric and Reader.” In his book, Skwire talks about how one should revise someone else’s paper. He claims that, “The words of praise, heartfelt and well-intentioned as they may be, mean very little” (Skwire 217). When revising someone else’s paper, a person may feel as though they are obligated to say something nice to the writer because they want to be nice to them. However, the nice things that they say to that person are useless in terms of writing a good paper because they do not suggest any constructive criticism or advice on how to improve the paper. I feel that Skwire correctly states my frustrations when other people revise my papers. When people edit my papers, they fail to write any advice on how I can improve my essay or my writing strategies. Instead, they just say that my essay is perfect the way it is and that there is nothing that I need to change. As much as that sounds nice that they think that my essay is good, my peer reviewers are not helping me in writing an essay that I can be proud of. The compliments that they give me are not telling me how well the essay flows or if the essay pertains to the thesis. Therefore, I believe that if you are having trouble with an essay, you need to find somebody who is not afraid to give harsh criticism; they may seem mean, but the comments that they make are the ones that will truly help them to revise.
I agree with the video "The Write Course: 'Revision Strategies'" when the actors said that the only way to write a good essay is to revise it and rewrite it. When I write essays, I never write it perfectly the first time; it takes me hours of rewriting what I already wrote to perfect it. I first look at every sentence that I wrote to check for grammar and spelling errors, then I look at the ideas that I put into every sentence. After, I look at how the whole paragraph works with the individual sentences that I wrote, including the fluency between the sentences in the paragraph. The next step for me is to look at how all of the paragraphs work with each other. If they do not go together, then I usually end up changing a paragraph that I thought did not fit with the other paragraphs. I also make sure that I am sticking to my thesis so that I am sure that I am proving the point that I wanted to make when I was writing my essay in the beginning.
Works Cited
"The Write Course: 'Revision Strategies.'" Annenberg Learner. 1980s. VHS.
Hacker, Diana. Rules for Writers. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2012. Print.
Skwire, David and Sarah E. Skwire. Writing with a Thesis: Rhetoric and Reader – 10th edition. Beverly: Wadsworth, Inc, May 10 2007. Print
Jared Iulio
Professor Sabir
English 1A 1100-1150
10/15/2012
Revision
Revision is something that i have had issues with since middle school. The way that I would approach writing something comes directly from the way it is processed in my mind. It is as if I am writing down something exactly the way that I would say it in a verbal conversation. This isn't always an easy task, as I often thoroughly consider my words before saying them. This is where the tips that I have learned through the revision video that we watched, and what I have learned in previous English classes are utilized.
After typing out what I would consider the entirety of my paper, I go over it quickly, and revise/edit what needs to be changed to ensure that the paper flows properly and that my message is portrayed in a cohesive and sensible manner. After that I dissect every little section and mull over every detail to ensure that there are no “holes” in my arguments and if there are, that I have valid counter arguments to maintain and bolster the stance of my writing.
Now, of course with following this method writing a paper takes me a substantial amount of time and effort to finish. Being a perfectionist, I am never satisfied with simply writing a paper once and calling it good. It needs to be perfect. Every detail must be revised until it is written in the absolute best way possible. Whether that calls for reading each individual sentence of every paragraph to ensure absolute cohesion, or something as simple as checking to see that proper grammar and punctuation are adhered to, the revisions will be done.
Works Cited
The Write Course: Revision Strategies. Annenberg Learner. 1980s. VHS.
Hacker, Diana, Nancy I. Sommers, Thomas Robert. Jehn, Jane Rosenzweig, and Van Horn, Marcy. Carbajal. Rules for Writers. 6th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2008. Print.
Skwire, David, and Sarah Harrison. "Office Hours: Revision: Help from the Audience."Writing with a Thesis: A Rhetoric and Reader. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1990. 217-18. Print.
Virginia Tan
Professor Sabir
Eng 1A 8:00-8:50
14 October 2012
Revision
Revision is one of the writing processes that everyone has to go though; it what make a perfect paper. During the process of revising, writers will come across a myriad of mistakes. They may spend their entire day revising it. From time to time, some writers may contend that revision is boring drudgery. (Writing with a Thesis 251) For some people they just revising a little and then turn it in. They think it is a waste of a time; they just want to hurry up and get it out of the way.
In the video “Revision Strategies” stated that revision means revising the whole essay. Every writer required to rewrite they think is some kind of a punishment. No matter you area skillful or unskillful writer revision is required. Also they think that it is important to know who your audiences are so we know who we are writing to; and who we are persuading. In addition, it is good to go back and fore to find mistakes and edit them. During revising we should look all over the paper, not section by section. We should look at the big picture, we should think big. Some writer found it hard to reviewing their own paper. Sometimes it’s goo d to leave the essay aside for a while and come back to it after a few days. At that time we will have fresh mind and it can easily spot the mistakes. (Hacker 36)
Writing a paper is one of the most difficult things for me to do. Which means revising is second most difficult thing for me. Sometimes when I starting writing I will be stuck or have nothing to write about. When it come to revising it’s even more difficult. The reason is that I have horrible grammar. Also it is hard to find my own mistake my essay. Every time I get my essay back I will want to revise it as soon as possible. I don’t want to be in my way or wait until the last minute; it will be a mess. For some writers, revising is a piece of for them for me is heavy rocks on the shoulder.
Bibliography
Hacker, Diana. Rules for Writers. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2009. Print.
The Write Course: "Revision Strategies." Annenberg Learner. 1980s. VHS.
Skwire, David and Sarah E. Skwire. Writing with a Thesis: Rhetoric and Reader – 10th edition.
Beverly: Wadsworth, Inc, May 10 2007. Print
Jeannae Williams
Professor Sabir
English 1A
October 2012
Revision-To look over something in order to correct or improve. To make a new version of
Revision is all about taking passes evrytime with a different purpose. Looking over ones written work to improve same pattern of sentences repeating its self. Revisions is to benefit the writer towards a well written essay. It is best to let other individuals read the writters paper to get some feed back on what needs to be revised, so that the writter's information can be improved. It would be better for one's professor to revise, so that the writter can get a truthful evaluation instead of others reading and revising on a scale of not wanting to be mean about what one has written.
I was taught that revising is a two day process. Before one gets to the revision step one has to go through two stages; first is the pre-writting and second stage is drafting. one has to think about the topic and research on the topic, once that's done then it is time for some brain storming. One can have clusters or even a list of ideas. Now, one is ready for an outline.
Drafting is part of the process before one get to revisions. This step is when one sits at the computer with his/her outline and setting up formats, so that margins are correct then one just bang out one's essay. Their should be no stopping, correcting or reading in the process. The writer is now ready to do that revision step. To look over written work and correct what needs to be improved.
Hacker, Diana. Ruels for writes. Boston: Bedford/st. Martha's, 2009. Print
The write Converse: " Revision Strategies." Annenberg Learner. 1980s. VHS
Skwire, David and Sarah E. Skwire. Writing with a Thesis: Rhetoric and Reader-10th esition. Beverly: Wandsworth, Inc, May 10, 2007. Print
Antionette Armour
Professor Wanda Sabir
English 1A 8-8:50
13 October 2012
Revision
I think revision in welcomed by advanced writers because revision and self-editing has made them advanced writers. You have to understand and learn your mistakes in order to be a great a writer. Some people dread revising because they do not want to face the fact that they made mistakes and perhaps their whole paper is a mistake. People that dread revision usually only revise their sentences thinking that they have revise their whole paper rather than global revision. Global revisions should be made first since, “there is little sense in revising sentences that may not appear in your final draft” (Hacker 27).
In the film, The Write Course: "Revision Strategies" explained that writers can have the “Perfect Draft Syndrome” where writers revise their paper while continuing to write. Unskilled writers often have the “Perfect Draft Syndrome and need to learn that waiting till the entire essay is finished can make it easier to revise and correct the mistakes. I usually have this problem because I hate to see that I have any mistakes. In the film it was also mentioned that writers should write their paper, find another activity, and then later on go back to your paper and revise it.
Before the film and reading the assigned reading, I always had a problem with revision, so I would get my family members to revise for me; however, my teachers would usually tell me that I should have had someone to revise my paper. Through this lesson I learned that getting ”advice of personal acquaintances-parents, spouses, roommates, romantic interests” (Writing with a Thesis 217) can be a huge problem because it is hard for them to give constructive criticism verses someone who knows me through education or does not know me at all.
Works Cited
The Write Course: "Revision Strategies." Annenberg Learner. 1980s. VHS. Hacker,
Diana. Rules for Writers. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2012. Print.
Skwire, David and Sarah E. Skwire. Writing with a Thesis: Rhetoric and Reader – 10th edition. Beverly: Wadsworth, Inc, May 10 2007. Print
Tatiana Johnson
Professor Sabir
English 1A 11-11:50
23 October 2012
Revision Strategies
Revision is about looking something over to make improvements. Revision helps a writer have a better written essay. Revision is very important when it comes to writing or typing anything. You have to revise to make sure there are no errors and everything makes sense. Diane Hacker discusses how global revision is a one step that involves, focus, purpose, organization, content, overall strategy, and generally receive attention first. When I am typing a paper I revise as I’m typing on Microsoft Word because they underline a word if it is misspelled or not used correctly. Revision is always helpful and needed. When getting a paper revised be sure to receive feedback on the revision.
Works Cited
Hacker, Diana, Nancy I. Sommers, Thomas Robert. Jehn, Jane Rosenzweig, and Van Horn, Marcy. Carbajal. Rules for Writers. 6th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2008. Print.
Skwire, David, and Sarah Harrison. "Office Hours: Revision: Help from the Audience."Writing with a Thesis: A Rhetoric and Reader. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1990. 217-18. Print
Lhadze Bosiljevac
Mrs.Sabir
English 1A
8:00a.m.-8:50a.m.
Revision Strategies
In today's class, although the movie seemed outdated, the theme and the idea was there: in order to have a strong essay one must have revised a numerous amount of times. Not where they have the perfect draft syndrome, but to where it makes sense and the evidence is proven. The movie provided a light humor to writing, and ideas that can come in handy in time.
True revision has no time limit. You can really never be finished. A new idea may come up for that topic that can be stronger that of the one previous. Looking back at my blogs I could probably revise for months until I felt I was done. Good writers see revisions as extensions, not to do the work last minute; but to occupy the time wisely. With this, these writers can master their own writing. This might take a day to look away from the paper as shown in the movie "Revision Strategies". To give some time, lets your mind look at the paper fresh. Good writers might give it a day to then go back with a non bias and quick assumptions of words that may not be in the paper.
In all my years at middle school and my freshman to sophomore year in high school, revision could take from 2 days to 2 months. Depending on the professor and the time it was due within. Of course, I would ask my father to read and he would give such a hard, wide context of ideas I forgot how to even start a sentence. Revising would result in deleting or adding some words to a sentence. Until I realized that I need to really go into depth with the main point and not the tangent. And with revision you discover your strengths and weaknesses.
First, you begin with what you are trying to convey, for this is your first draft. Then you apply the juicy detail needed that is relevant to the topic. And through revision you pick and choose how to design this essay which in the end after the writer feels it is finished, then the work can be displayed. Always through trial and error.
Works Cited:
The Write Course: "Revision Strategies." Annenberg Learner. 1980s. VHS.
Hacker, Diana. Rules for Writers. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2012. Print.
Kendra Jones
English 1A 8:00-8:50 AM
Professor Sabir
13 October 2012
Revision
Revision is a process where the writer gets the chance to perfect the written work. Revision is a new version of something : something such as a piece of writing or a song that has been corrected or changed. Many people do not like revising there papers due to the harsh criticism they expect in return. They foreget that revising is only going to help your paper not hurt it. If you feel that your reader might not understand your key message, then give them directions on where you feel you need improvement. In Diane Hacker, Rulers for Writer, it says you should, "Ask your reveiwers to focus on the larger issues of writing, such as purpose and organization, not on word -or sentence-level is-sues. You might want to begin with a basic question: Do you see my main point?" (pg.36)
In the film The Write Course: "Revision Strategies" it was mentioned that writers should write their paper, find another activity, and then later on go back to your paper and revise it. It was also mentioned in Hacker (pg.36). I agree with this completely. When I am writing usually alot of the times I get writers block so I have to focus my attention on something else in order to get new ideas.
I will say that I am pretty good with revising mt papers because i usually have alot of grammer errors or I just need to replace some of my paragraphs. What helped my become strong at the fact that whenever I needed ”advice of personal acquaintances-parents, spouses, roommates, romantic interests” (Writing with a Thesis 217) to help me revise my essay, they never gave me the kind of criticism I felt that I needed to make my papaer stronger. Eventually I gave up on that idea and I took more time on my paper and perfected the areas that I felt that I needed.
Works Cited
Works Cited
The Write Course: "Revision Strategies." Annenberg Learner. 1980s. VHS. Hacker,
Diana. Rules for Writers. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2012. Print.
Skwire, David and Sarah E. Skwire. Writing with a Thesis: Rhetoric and Reader – 10th edition. Beverly: Wadsworth, Inc, May 10 2007. Print
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