In Revision Is Central to Developing Writing, Doug Downs talks about how important it is to make several versions of your work. Between each revision or change in your work, you should take time for reflection and listen to feedback on the piece. He says that writing is not perfectable, and not something that’s usually right the first time. He says unrevised work most likely won’t be well suited for its purpose and the piece might not receive positive results. Downs also believes that writing can help you realize you might want to be saying something new. Getting feedback and perspectives from others can also help if you’re having a hard time writing. Downs says that revision needs to be taken more seriously in early writing.
In comparing the ideas of Revision Is Central to Developing Writing and Shitty First Drafts by Anne Lamott, you can see that both authors have similar ideas on the writing process. Both authors see the importance of multiple pieces and the revision of them. Lamott believes you should edit one piece until it turns into something great. Lamott says that in your first draft you just need to get everything in your mind down on paper. Once you get all of that down, you revise and turn it into a great piece. Downs also believes that revision is one of the most important parts of writing. Downs talks about how important revision is for teachers to teach early on. Lamott edits and revises her papers with the help of friends.
There are several steps that go into the writing process as seen in this link. Both of these authors believe that revision is the most important part of this process. Both of these writers touch on how important they believe it is to teach students how to revise from an early age. They argue it’s the most important part of the writing process. The fact that some teachers don’t require revision as a necessary part of assignments only hurts students. Changing students’ minds to think of revision as a necessary part of writing instead of a punishment for bad writing is imperative. Some think that revision is the most overlooked skill to be taught in the classroom. Some students are never given the opportunity to learn how to revise well. If you are among the ones who were never taught here are some helpful tips for revision.
