Unlocking the Power of Revision: 16 Tips for Teaching Revision
As a creative writing teacher, you know that teaching creative writing can be challenging and rewarding. Unfortunately, while seeing your students explore their imaginations and create new worlds on paper can be exciting, they often refuse to make revisions to improve their work. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to teach secondary students to revise their creative writing.
Why do Students Struggle with Revision?
Students often find it difficult to revise their writing because it can be challenging to take a step back from their work and critically evaluate it. Many students are emotionally invested in their writing and may feel defensive or protective of their work, making it hard to accept feedback or identify improvement areas. Additionally, revision requires self-awareness and attention to detail which can be difficult to cultivate, particularly for younger students who are still developing their writing skills. The revision process can also be overwhelming, with students unsure of where to start or how to prioritize their revisions. However, with guidance, practice, and support, students can learn to revise their writing effectively and develop a lifelong appreciation for the power of language.
16 Best Tips to Teach Students About Revision
Teaching Revision Tip 1: Introduction to Revision
When introducing the concept of revision, explaining why they must revise is necessary. Revision allows writers to clarify their ideas, organize their thoughts, and improve the clarity and quality of their writing. By revising their work, students can develop better writing skills and become more confident writers.
Teaching Revision Tip 2: The Importance of Revision
The importance of revision cannot be overstated. A writer who doesn’t revise their work is likely to produce writing that is messy, confusing, and difficult to read. On the other hand, a writer who revises carefully can produce writing that is clear, engaging, and effective. It’s essential to help students understand that revision is an ongoing process and that it’s something that all writers do.
Teaching Revision Tip 3: Identifying Weaknesses
One of the first steps in revision is identifying weaknesses in the writing. Teachers can provide students with a checklist of common writing weaknesses, such as vague or awkward sentences, weak transitions between ideas, or lack of descriptive detail. Students can then use this checklist to evaluate their writing and identify improvement areas.
Teaching Revision Tip 4: Peer Review
Peer review is a valuable tool for revision. Encourage students to read and critique each other’s work, using a peer review worksheet to guide their feedback. The worksheet might ask students to identify areas of confusion, suggest ways to improve sentence structure, or provide feedback on the effectiveness of the writing overall. Students can use this feedback to make revisions to their work.
Teaching Revision Tip 5: Teacher Feedback
In addition to peer review, teachers should provide feedback on students’ writing. This might involve highlighting areas where the student has done well, providing specific suggestions for improvement, or asking probing questions to help the student clarify their ideas. It’s important to provide constructive, specific, and actionable feedback. For more tips on providing feedback, check out my post, “8 Secrets to Successful Student Writing Conferences.”
Teaching Revision Tip 6: Using Feedback Effectively
One of the most important aspects of revision is improving clarity. To help students revise for clarity, teachers can encourage them to use more specific vocabulary, simplify sentence structures, and eliminate unnecessary words. Students can also be encouraged to use active voice instead of passive voice, which often results in clearer, more direct writing.
Teaching Revision Tip 7: Revising for Organization
Organization is another key component of good writing. To revise for organization, students can create outlines, use transitional phrases, and structure their writing in a logical way. It’s important for students to clearly understand the purpose and audience of their writing so that they can organize their ideas in a way that makes sense for their intended readers.
Teaching Revision Tip 8: Revising for Style
Style is the unique voice and tone that an author brings to their writing. To revise for style, students can experiment with different sentence structures, use descriptive language, and play with word choice. Encourage students to find their own voice and style, while also being mindful of the purpose and audience of their writing.
Teaching Revision Tip 9: Revising for Mood
The mood is the emotional atmosphere that the author creates through their writing. To revise for mood, students should consider the purpose and audience of their writing and adjust their language and imagery accordingly. For instance, if they are writing a horror story, they may want to use dark and ominous language that creates a sense of suspense and fear in the reader. On the other hand, if they are writing a love letter, they may want to use more romantic and sentimental language to create a mood of affection and tenderness.
Teaching Revision Tip 10: Editing for Mechanics
In addition to revising for content and style, it’s important to edit for mechanics. This includes checking for spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors. Encourage students to use tools like grammar checkers, but also to develop their own editing skills by reading their work carefully and out loud.
Teaching Revision Tip 11: Revising for Clarity
One of the most important aspects of revision is improving clarity. To help students revise for clarity, teachers can encourage them to use more specific vocabulary, simplify sentence structures, and eliminate unnecessary words. Students can also be encouraged to use active voice instead of passive voice, which often results in clearer, more direct writing.
Teaching Revision Tip 12: Revising in Stages
Revising can be overwhelming, so it’s helpful to break it down into stages. For example, students might revise for clarity first, then organization, then style. This helps them focus on one aspect of their writing at a time and can make the revision process feel more manageable.
Teaching Revision Tip 13: Revising Multiple Drafts
Encourage students to revise multiple drafts of their work. Writing is a process, and each draft is an opportunity to improve. By revising multiple drafts, students can refine their ideas, clarify their writing, and develop their own unique style and voice.
Teaching Revision Tip 14: Revising as a Group
Revising as a group can be a fun and collaborative way to improve writing. Encourage students to share their work with each other and provide feedback and suggestions. This can help students see their work from different perspectives and gain new insights into how to improve it.
Teaching Revision Tip 15: Using Revision Tools
There are many tools and resources available to help with revision. For example, students can use grammar checkers, online writing communities, and writing prompts to help them revise their work. Encourage students to explore and use these tools to develop their writing skills.
Teaching Revision Tip 16: Celebrating Successes
When students revise and improve their writing, it’s important to acknowledge their hard work and congratulate them on their achievements. This can help boost their confidence and encourage them to continue developing their writing skills.
Final Thoughts
Teaching secondary students to revise their creative writing is an important part of developing their writing skills. By introducing them to the concept of revision, encouraging peer review, providing feedback, and teaching them to revise for clarity, organization, style, and tone, students can improve the quality of their writing and become more confident writers. By using revision tools, revising multiple drafts, and celebrating successes, students can develop a love of writing and a lifelong appreciation for the power of language.
