TODAY’S GOALS

• Discuss editing and revision techniques

• Peer review EN first drafts

• Get practice with global and local revisions

JOURNAL 10

• Focus: Editing and revision

• Take a few minutes to think about what your writing process is usually like with academic essays.

• How long do you spend writing your essays compared to how long you spend editing and revising them?

• When you revise an essay, what type of content do you focus on, ideas/organization or grammar/spelling?

• How extensively do you rely on programs like spellcheck or grammar check? Do you think these are sufficient for editing?

• Is there any particular type of edit or correction you frequently have to make with your own essays?

EDITING AND REVISION

• We use multiple drafts to improve our writing process and the quality of writing overall:• Overcome the limits of short term memory• Accommodate shifts and changes in the writer’s ideas• Help clarify audience and purpose• Improve structure and coherence

• Postpone worrying about grammar and correctness until the content is satisfactory

EDITING AND REVISION

• Two types of revision:

• Local revision: whenever you make changes to a text that affect only one or two sentences. • Grammar and spelling revision usually falls into this category• Local revisions should be focused on towards the end of the writing process, after global revisions or

changes that affect the content of the essay

• Global revision: when a change in one part of your essay affects other parts of your essay• Any changes to your thesis statement or thesis question will likely fall here• Also includes changes to the main ideas of the essay, the structure, purpose, audience, and genre• Changes to topic sentences and transitions also fall here• You should be globally revising your essay throughout the writing process and certainly with every

new draft. • Global revisions are the most important revisions

PEER REVIEWS

• What is the purpose of a peer review?

• What types of feedback should we focus on?

• What are the most important elements to look for in an exploratory narrative peer review?

EDITING PEER REVIEWS

• Peer reviews, in general and especially with first drafts, should focus on global revisions

• Critique the ideas and content of the essay and save the local/grammatical revisions for later drafts

EXPLORATORY NARRATIVE PEER REVIEW

• Introductory paragraphsa) Engaging/attention grabbing strategyb) Thesis question (broad, not determinate)c) Writer’s background/initial view explained

• Body Paragraphsa) Transitions smoothly from source to source & sources clearly identifiedb) Quality, credible sources usedc) Main idea and at least one important point from each sourced) Writer reflects on how it has changed his or her understanding of the topic

GROUP ACTIVITY: FIRST DRAFT PEER REVIEW

• In groups of 2 students (3 only if someone did not bring their draft or there aren’t enough people)

• Exchange the first draft of your Exploratory Narrative and answer the questions below. Make sure to share the answers with your peer review partner before turning them in.

1. What is your reaction to the student’s introduction? Does it sufficiently engage reader interest? What strategy does it use for this?

2. What is the research question that the student use to guide their investigation? You should draw this directly from the student’s paper. Is it appropriate for an exploratory narrative?

3. How would you evaluate the sources that have been found for the essay? Do they seem credible and current? Do they examine the issue from multiple perspectives? (Check the works cited page or body paragraphs for this)

4. How would you evaluate the critical thinking and reflection in the essay? The student’s initial view should be explained in the introduction, and a little should be said about how that view has developed with the addition of each source.

5. Identify at least one positive, strong element of the essay and explain why you feel it is strong. Then identify one area of the essay that you feel needs improvement and how it could be improved

EDITING AND LOCAL REVISION

• Editing, particularly with local revisions, requires to separate skills:

1. Perception• The ability to identify incorrect forms or parts of the essay that need revision

2. Knowledge of correct forms• In order to make appropriate corrections, you must know the correct form

(spelling/grammatical/MLA format/etc.) to use or the intended goal of a piece and how best to accomplish it at the sentence level

GROUP ACTIVITY: LOCAL REVISION PRACTICE

• In your unit 1 groups

• Read through the sample page of an unedited exploratory narrative

a) Check and edit the essay for any and all local revisions

b) Number each correction you make

c) On a separate sheet of paper, provide a brief explanation of why you made that correction

Hint: there are over 20 corrections that could be made in this sample

UNIT 1 MATERIAL REVIEW

• Reflection as experiential learning• Concrete experience• Reflective observation• Abstract conceptualization• Active experimentation

• Thesis/research questions factors• Quantitative vs. qualitative• Broad vs. determinate

• Serial position effect

• Hegelian dialectic• Thesis• Antithesis• Synthesis

• Global vs. local revisions

HOMEWORK

• No class on Wednesday

• Sign up for exploratory narrative conference if you have not done so already (the spots will run out for people who try to sign up at the last minute)

• Journal Entry 11: Source Evaluation 4• Find the fourth source you will use for your exploratory narrative• Read and analyze your fourth source; Sum up the argument it makes in the journal entry as

well as your reaction to reading the source. Then play the Believing and Doubting Game to find the strongest and weakest elements of the source. Finally, reflect on how the source has changed your understanding of the research topic.

• Journal Entry 12: Source Evaluation 5• Find the fifth source you will use for your exploratory narrative• Read and analyze your fifth source; Sum up the argument it makes in the journal entry as well

as your reaction to reading the source. Then play the Believing and Doubting Game to find the strongest and weakest elements of the source. Finally, reflect on how the source has changed your understanding of the research topic.