Revision

Revision is something we do in many areas of our lives. We revise anything and everything that we believe needs fixing. People try to revise things like their boyfriends or girlfriends, their relationship with their parents, the mistakes they make at work, how they cook lasagna and any outcome they are unhappy with. They feel uncomfortable so they seek out a change that will make them feel more content, like a new girlfriend or boyfriend, not involving difficult parents in their lives or asking an acclaimed chef how to make the world's best lasagna. Their discomfort with their current situation acts as a catalyst for change or revision. 

For students, knowing when their writing needs revision is not so clear cut. Often there is no level of discomfort or feeling like the writing assignment could be better. If students do feel like their writing could be improved they frequently have no idea how to take it to the next level. In addition, they rarely think about how they can push their writing to its limits and, then once they reach that, go even further. 

This is a difficult balance to reach for educators and students. How do students know when they need to revise their writing? How do teachers motivate them to make changes? What kinds of revisions are teachers supposed to make without being overly critical? How do teachers guide students through the revision process without doing it for them?  How do we get our students to realize they have exhausted their energies on a paper and it is complete? 

When I look back at my own writing that I thought couldn't use any more revisions, I can find more that I think needs to be corrected.  I always feel like my work can be improved and that it is unfinished. However, when I can't think of anything else to do with a piece of writing, after it's been poked and prodded a million times, I concede to being finished. Teaching the skill of revision to my students seems like a lofty goal but the end result will produce independent writers who can be proud of their writing. Now, I need to learn how to revise better,  so I can effectively teach revision to my classes.