As I have gotten older in age and gained more experience in writing, I have come to learn that revision is not what I was taught in elementary school. In elementary school students are taught that revision is more word replacement, and spelling and grammar corrections. Now, I see revision as a step in the writing process that allows a writer to make their writing better by reconstructing the written piece as a whole and not by small parts. After writing a draft, it is necessary to go back and reread your written piece with a different headspace, this allows for a better understanding of what your initial thoughts were when writing the first draft. When writers do this in their revision process, new concepts can flourish and/or further development of ideas can originate.
This is what students should be taught from an early age in their writing/school careers. Revision is not done by removing or altering a word to make it sound “smarter” or to stop repetition. Students should also be taught that first drafts are not perfect. First drafts are meant to contain mistakes, this allows a teachable and reflection moment for students to improve their writing skills. It is okay to make mistakes in writing, the skilled writers who are successful all went through a learning process which made them into who they are today. Keeping this in mind, when revising you can not just depend on rephrasing or word substitution, because this will not compose a better version of your writing overall.
Leave a Reply