Revision: History, Theory, and Practice (Reference Guides to Rhetoric and Composition)

Revision: History, Theory, and Practice (Reference Guides to Rhetoric and Composition)

Alice Horning

Language: English

Pages: 272

ISBN: 1932559752

Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub


Like its predecessors in Charles Bazerman's series on Reference Guides to Rhetoric and Composition, REVISION: HISTORY, THEORY AND PRACTICE explores the wide range of scholarship on revision while bringing new light to bear on enduring questions. Starting with its overview of conventional definitons and misconceptions about revision, whether surface or deep, REVISION then offers both theoretical and practical strategies designed to facilitate post-secondary writing instruction. The twelve contributors examine recent cognitive writing models and the roles of long- and short-term memory in the writing process, demonstrating theoretically why revision is difficult for novices. REVISION pays close attention to the meaning and function of revision for various writers, from basic to professional, creative, and second language writers. REVISION concludes with a detailed presentation of practical pedagogical strategies for teaching revision, with emphasis on revision in textbooks, technology-rich contexts, and peer review. Authors include Anne Becker, Cathleen Breidenbach, David Stephen Calonne, Douglas Eyman, Catherine Haar, Alice Horning, Kasia Kietlinska, Robert Lamphear, Cathy McQueen, Colleen Reilly, Jeanie Robertson, and Carol Trupiano. ANNE BECKER is a special instructor and the coordinator for journalism and communication internships at Oakland University. ALICE HORNING directs the Rhetoric Program at Oakland University and is a professor of Rhetoric and Linguistics. She has published several books on the nature of texts and human literacy, including, most recently, REVISION REVISITED (Hampton, 2002). With Debra Dew, she is the co-editor of UNTENURED FACULTY AS WRITING PROGRAM ADMINISTRATORS: INSTITUTIONAL PRACTICES AND POLITICS (Parlor Press, 2006).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

chapter. Other research shows that a lack of metalinguistic awareness is a significant problem in terms of BWs’ revision. Much of what happens when BWs revise focuses on language per se is amply illustrated in Sondra Perl’s 1979 study of five unskilled college writers “The Composing Processes of Unskilled College Writers.” Perl’s report on Tony, one of the writers in the group she studied, shows that he mostly focused on editorial issues in his revisions, making 210 of his 234 changes to his

computer strategies (New 80). Also, collaborative writing assignments may have a positive influence on student revision practices. Alan Hirvela’s experimental, fully collaborative communities of readers and writers offer ESL students an opportunity to negotiate choices throughout the entire creative process, from drafting, peer reviewing, to revising. This group production offers ESL students “greater opportunities for meaningful review of what they are learning and practicing in a writing

phrases and insights. Our hope for students is that they understand the conventions of the writing situations they find themselves in, while at the same time maintaining the freedom to change the situation in response to principle or passion. Following is a brief overview and summary of the chapters of the text. In Chapter 2 on “Distinctions and Definitions,” Catherine Haar explores what “revision” currently means, and who subscribes to the meaning given. In the growth and development of

Professional Writers and Revision Alice Horning A key feature of professional writers’ working strategies for writing that distinguishes them from student or novice writers is their approach to revision. No professional writer would ever consider submitting for publication or professional review a piece of writing that had not been thoroughly revised. The professional writers studied in Revision Revisited, none of whom had “writer” in their job titles, had no difficulty with the idea of someone

writing. However, when she was in difficulty with a writing task, she sought out counsel from others as she worked on the document she was producing. Metastrategic awareness is helpful in just this way: writers know when they are in trouble and know how to shift to a different, typically non-preferred approach, to solve a writing problem or create Professional Writers and Revision 119 a stronger draft. Novice writers seldom have sufficient strategies available to make such a shift possible. A

Download sample

Download