Revision Strategies Cyber-Assignment (adapted from October 11, 2012)
Today we watched a film, "Revision Strategies," which is a program from the Write Course series.
Writing Assignment
In a short three paragraph essay, min. 250 words response, define the word revision and talk about your revision strategies. How do the Revision Goals portion of your revision process affect the outcome of subsequent drafts?
I suggest you cite one source in each paragraph using 1. short citation, 1. free paraphrase, and 1 block quote. Include a citation from the film, "Revision Strategies" (The Write Course), Hacker's Rules and two chapters from the Writing with a Thesis textbook ("Revision: Help from the Audience" and "Revision: The Psychology of It All") in this reflection.
Do not forget to cite the 3 sources in a works cited section of the post. See Hacker (458-459). You will be able to use this assignment in your portfolio essay 2 when you complete the course portfolio.
Citing sources:
I gave students two chapters from the textbook, Writing with a Thesis by Skwire and Skwire.
To cite 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). Read the entire section on Revision in Hacker's Rules if you have not already done so. (See pages 33-45).
Here is one citation:
The Write Course: "Revision Strategies." Annenberg Learner. 1980s. VHS.
posted by Professor Wanda's Posse at 8:08 AM
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Milin Khunkhun
Professor Sabir
English 1A (10-10:50)
5 September 2013
Revision Strategies Cyber-Assignment
Revision Strategies Response
Many writers assume that revising a piece of literature only involves critiquing grammar and structure. Yet, revision requires a writer to put in much more effort and hard work into their paper. In the film “Revision Strategies,” it mentions that many writers do not differentiate what editing and revision is. Editing involves checking spelling, grammar, and format. Revising is to question the paper of its audience, credibility, and requires one to even re-write the entire paper (Revision Strategies).
A key factor in the revision process is the writer and a helper. When writing any type of literature, there is a “psychological challenge [that] lies at the heart of all revision”(Skwire 251). The writer has this attachment to the first draft that they do not want to harm.
The paper is your baby. Your painful labor has created something out of nothing, made the invisilble visible. You wouldn’t be human unless you felt everything about your baby was beautiful, but the truth is that most newborn babies, like most first drafts, are raw, rough, and wrinkly. It takes still more time and trouble before they start looking as beautiful as you had imagined-but try telling that to any parent (Skwire 251).
Because the parent truly believes that their baby is beautiful, they do not want to let their child leave their hands and become something else. For a paper, or baby, to become something better and stronger it must experience others, or the audiences, views. But, some of the comments will not satisfy you or the baby, so the parent must remember what “the great novelist and Nobel Prize winner William Faulkner [said that you are] ‘the sole owner and proprietor’” (Skwire 217). This means that even when comments are not going to benefit the paper, the writer has the power to decide what the final revisions are going to be.
One important aspect of the revision process a writer must see is the global matter of the paper. The global matters are focus, purpose, organization, content, and overall strategy, which should always receive more attention. A common habit of writers is that they “often resist global revisions because they find it difficult to view their work from their audience’s perspective” (Hacker and Sommers 36). A writer believes that their work is clear because they understand the idea but what is clear to them may not be clear to the writer. A good way to view the audience’s side and incorporate it is by distancing yourself from the draft and put it away for a while. Then go back with a fresh view and mind.
Works Cited
The Write Course: “Revision Strategies”. Annenberg Learner. 1980s. VHS.
Skwire, David, and Sarah E. Skwire. Writing With a Thesis: Rhetoric and Reader. 10th ed. Boston: Thompson/Wadsworth, 2008. Print.
Hacker, Diana, and Nancy I. Sommers. “Making Global Revision; Then Revise Sentences.” Rules for writers. 7th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2012. 36. Print.
Kimberly Young
Professor Sabir
English 1A, 8:00-8:50am
6 October 2013
Revision Strategies Response
No one is going to get his or her writing to be perfect the first time, and that’s why we have a process of revising ( The Writing Course). When most people come across the word “revision” they think of grammar errors and the sentence structure of an essay. Revision is more than that, it not only includes grammar and sentence structure but also reorganizing and beautifying. For example, David Skwire and Sarah E. Skwire compare revising an essay to taking care of a new born baby:
The paper is your baby. Your painful labor has created something out of nothing, made the invisible visible. You wouldn’t be human unless you felt everything about your baby was beautiful, but the truth is that most newborn babies, like most first drafts, are raw, rough, and wrinkly. It takes still more time and trouble before they start looking as beautiful as you had imagined-but try telling that to any parent (251).
Revising an essay is difficult just like a newborn baby becoming beautiful. It would take a lot of time to transform a newborn into a beauty, the same is for an essay. It would take a lot of hard work and time to develop an essay that is perfect and something that would receive an A.
Secondly, revising is not all about how you like the essay to be, it should address the audience also. Letting people read your essay is a good way to get some feedback; it would help explain what your paper see and what it is addressing. Sometimes “ what is clear to [author], because [he or she] know[s] what [he or she] mean to say after all, is not always clear to [his or her] audience” (Hacker and Sommers 36). Making sure you address the audience is a huge part of an essay, and through revising multiple times, an author should be able to see if they have addressed everything. Through the process of revision there might be pain and hardships, but it is through these hardships that essay begin to become polished. Letting a person read the paper would also help to identify if the message being enforced across the essay is the correct one.
Many times through revising, writers are able to catch parts that don’t fit into the position it is in and need to be moved around. Revisions are not strictly grammar; it is unlimited. For most papers, revision is necessary and without it the charm of the paper wouldn’t be there. From this, I have learned that revising is not all about grammar but also reorganization. After this, I think I should take a look at my essay to see of there are any parts I would need to rearrange.
Works Cited
The Write Course: “Revision Strategies”. Annenberg Learner. 1980s. VHS.
Skwire, David, and Sarah E. Skwire. Writing With a Thesis: Rhetoric and Reader. 10th ed. Boston: Thompson/Wadsworth, 2008. Print.
Hacker, Diana, and Nancy I. Sommers. “Making Global Revision; Then Revise Sentences.” Rules for writers. 7th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2012. 36. Print.
Susan Gyemant
Professor Sabir
English 1A 11/11:50am
4 October 2013
Revise Rewrite
Comical relief is apparently not reserved for primetime television. In class today we saw, The Write Course: "Revision Strategies," produced and directed by Paul Bosner – a dated instructional video leaning heavily on the infomercial vibe. Unfortunately, the cast names escaped me before I had a chance to jot them down, except for Norm, but I’ll explain who he is later. In the interest of this assignment’s deadline other cast members will be named after an aesthetic feature or a unique personality trait such as: bald guy, blonde lady, cynic woman with glasses, helpful brunette, and so on.
From the opening scene one could assume that the video was about a couple scouting for real estate (“bald guy” and “blonde lady”), instead we learned that “bald guy” was showing one of his colleagues a residence which he proposes to convert into a halfway house; hence the obstacle that drove the narrative. The man was in the process of writing a position paper to persuade the community in approving the halfway house project. He announced that he “needs help making it more convincing.” Without going into too much detail, “blonde lady” offered one piece of advice, “writing well is rewriting.” In other words, if you keep this in mind as the central focus, writing well is a dependable consequence. Unlike a lot of writers, “bald guy” was more willing to ask others to look at his writing before it was finalized (Skwire 217).
Back in the office, “bald guy” is surrounded by his colleagues who were all aware of his assignment and chimed in with helpful advice. In sum, blonde lady, cynic woman with glasses and helpful brunette agree that first he should take a second look at the argument and confirm that it is directed at the appropriate audience. If necessary, they add, a paper can be reorganized to make the point more understandable. Norm came in as leader of the “writing improvement committee,” corralled to assist with the re-write, but ironically Norm was also strongly opposed to the halfway house project proposition (unknown to all except blonde lady). His advice, “recognize writing for what it is – a process, don’t expect to sit down and start writing perfectly” (Norm). In other words, be cautious of editing prematurely.
cont.
Susan Gyemant
continued
Norm shared his own video on writing strategies where Dr. Linda Flower echoes his theory of editing prematurely, she calls it, “perfect draft syndrome” (Flower). Many college students are thus afflicted, I am one of them. Additionally, amateur writers are reluctant to accept common advice even rejecting it at times, and coming up with handicapping habits. They might argue that the task of writing should be a creative exercise and not one dictated by standardized rules. However, Dr. Flower would argue that a paper should follow a step-by-step guide, she offers these four points of reference: look at overall paper, make sure there is organization (logical order), ensure there are strong points and read out-loud in order to iron out transitions (Flower).
If writers were fearsome of the chorus line advice summarized thus far, then hearing that author Irvingstone, from Norm’s video, writes up to seven drafts before he is satisfied with the final result would come as a shock!. Like Irvingstone, authors Sarah and David Skwire of Writing With a Thesis: Rhetoric and Reader, believe in the importance of revisiting ones writing, they say, “intelligent revision is always necessary and frequently difficult.” They add that part of the difficulty of implementing editing strategies is the writers own mental block, if students can accept writing with all its processes, the finished product will reflect that.
Concluding the writing strategies video, Norm, who initially was against the halfway house project, gave positive feedback on the “revised” position paper. In fact, “bald guy’s” revisions were so persuasive that Norm seemed empathetic, almost resigned when he announced he would visit the site in question. As Flowers might say, the paper made its transition from “ugly duckling to swan” (Flowers).
Works Cited
The Write Course: "Revision Strategies." Annenberg Learner. 1980s. VHS.
Skwire, Sarah E., and David Skwire. Writing With a Thesis: Rhetoric and Reader. 10th ed N.p.:
Wadsworth, Inc, 2007. Print
Michael Cunningham
Professor Sabir
English 1A 10-10:50
11 October 2013
Revision Strategies
When we think of the term revision we think that all it wants us to do is check for minor mistakes such as grammar. The term revision means the act of the processing of editing, or even an edited or new version, a version enhanced. So when we take the definition of revision we go back and check our work and look for more than grammar, but a way to enhance the overall image and quality of the paper. We have to be able to read our essay from the point of view of the audience so we can understand how to revise it. After we have enhanced the paper at least two to three times and then it will be ready to turn in the final draft. As stated in Rules for Writers, “What is clear to them, because they know what they mean to say after all, is not always clear to their audience. To distance yourself from a draft, put it aside for a while, preferably overnight or even longer (36)." We need to make sure that we are able to put the draft on hold for a while so that we can come back and look at it from a different perspective.
Another way that we can think of our papers as newborn babies, because in ways they are similar. For instance, when David Skwire compares revising essays to having and taking care of a newborn baby.
The paper is your baby. Your painful labor has created something out of nothing, made the invisible visible. You wouldn’t be human unless you felt everything about your baby was beautiful, but the truth is that most newborn babies, like most first drafts, are raw, rough, and wrinkly. It takes still more time and trouble before they start looking as beautiful as you had imagined but try telling that to any parent.(251).
So when you’re done with your first draft it is not fully ready for photographs, you have to pretty it up and beautify it and get it ready. The first couple drafts are going to look rough, but it is going to get better.
When we use our revision goals for our essays it does nothing but improve our papers by 100%. It improves our paper because when we can look at them and see what we need to add or even take out of our essay. This is a major step that all readers need to take so that we can make sure our papers are polished and ready to go. When we as writers can master the revision step we are then known as good writers.
Works Cited
Hacker, Diana and Nancy I. Sommers. “Making Global Revision; Then Revise Sentences.”
Rules for Writers, 7th Ed. Boston/ St. Martin’s, 2012. 36. Print.
Skwire E. Sarah and Skwire, David. Writing With a Thesis: Rhetoric and Reader- 10th edition.
Wadsworth, Inc, 2007. Print.
The Write Course: “ Revision Strategies.” Annenberg Learner. 1980s. VHS.
Deana Watson
Professor Sabir
English 1A 10:00am-10:50am
10th October 2013
Revision Strategies
When it comes down to writing takes time. Its a process that takes a lot of thinking and patience. Not everyones writing is prefect the first time they begin to write their paper. different processes occur when writing, the most important is the revision process. when coming across grammar errors and fragment sentences its a little more than just adjusting the errors. For example, David Skwire and Sarah E. Skwire compare revising an essay to taking care of a new born baby: The paper is your baby. Your painful labor has created something out of nothing, made the invisible visible. You wouldn’t be human unless you felt everything about your baby was beautiful, but the truth is that most newborn babies, like most first drafts, are raw, rough, and wrinkly. It takes still more time and trouble before they start looking as beautiful as you had imagined-but try telling that to any parent (251).
A essay is like a new born baby, not all of them come out beyond beautiful while some of them have to grow into their beauty features. such as a essay revising it to make it grow into its beauty features. revising isn't just about letting someone else read it, its more of seeing it again and again making sure everything sounds like you have some type of knowledge. when focusing attention on the flow of words it becomes easy not to make a lot of errors, its helpful when writing an essay to take a break from writing to avoid too many errors and corrections. taking a break or waiting a day to come back start fresh. when revising papers there are a couple of things to look for. Looking at the overall paper, such as corrections, cutting out portions, side notes. next look at the organization of the paper, MLA format and the spacing of the paragraphs. making sure every paragraph has a main point and is directed to an audience. revision is unlimited to any type of editing, and is the main part of a persons knowledge.
Works Cited
Hacker, Diana and Nancy I. Sommers. “Making Global Revision; Then Revise Sentences.”
Rules for Writers, 7th Ed. Boston/ St. Martin’s, 2012. 36. Print.
Skwire E. Sarah and Skwire, David. Writing With a Thesis: Rhetoric and Reader- 10th edition.
Wadsworth, Inc, 2007. Print.
The Write Course: “ Revision Strategies.” Annenberg Learner. 1980s. VHS.
Ariana Yu
Professor Sabir
English 1A, 8:00-8:50AM
6 October 2013
Revision Strategies Response
Revision is not simply re-reading ones paper and editing small mechanical errors. However, it is a much longer process that can be even more time-consuming than the writing process. Many unskilled writers edit prematurely, thinking it needs to be perfect the first time. Many writers “think rewriting is a punishment” (The Write Course). However, revision is a very important step in writing. It is where writers sit down to look at the overall paper, look at the paper’s organization, examine each paragraph to make sure they connect, and focus on the sentences and words to see if they flow (The Write Course). During the revision process, the entire essay can be transformed, which is perfectly normal.
When I revise, I basically follow the process stated above. Although I am not a big fan of revising, since I view that as my first draft going to waste, I am starting to like a a lot more than before. I often resort to Hacker for advice on how to revise. I found this tip to be very significant:
Many of us resist global revisions because we find it difficult to view our work from our audience’s perspective. To distance yourself from a draft, put it aside for a while, preferably overnight or even longer. When you return to it, try to play the role of your audience as you read (Hacker 28).
Before I read this, I used finish off my revision for my papers in one day. However, I noticed that taking a break from my paper allows my brain to rest and look at it a different perspective. This is also why peer review is extremely important in writing. Getting other people’s feedback helps with the Revision Goals. It will also boost the quality of the overall paper because the writer now knows how a reader reacts after reading the paper.
Works Cited
Hacker, Diana, and Nancy I. Sommers. “Making Global Revision; Then Revise
Sentences.” Rules for writers. 6th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2012. 36. Print.
Skwire, David, and Sarah E. Skwire. Writing With a Thesis: Rhetoric and Reader.
10th ed. Boston: Thompson/Wadsworth, 2008. Print.
The Write Course: “Revision Strategies”. Annenberg Learner. 1980s. VHS.
thanks
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