“Revision Is Central to Developing Writing” is a piece written by Associate Professor at Montana State University Doug Downs. Doug speaks about how writers must work iteratively, constantly composing and rewriting their prose in the pursuit of creating professional writing. Furthermore, he argues that just like writing is not a perfectible skill, writing a first draft well is also practically impossible. By revising one’s work one is able to improve it and slowly mold the words into their intended meaning and structure. By teaching writers that revision is a natural step in the writing process we can create good habits and expectations in students and writers. One reason revision is so crucial is that writers often do not know exactly how their writing will end or the structure it will take upon completion. So, by revising one’s writing you can more appropriately tailor your previous work to the overall message of your writing. Another factor in revision is peer and reader feedback. By incorporating the reader into the writing process a writer gains a much clearer view of how their work will be read and interpreted, and hopefully, understood. However, much of the current rhetorical teaching in schools fail to teach students the importance of revision. Many schools simply allowing revision after a bad grade or failed essay. This creates an unhealthy assumption in the student’s mind about how and when revision and reflection are used in the writing process.
The failures of K-12 schooling when it comes to instilling healthy writing habits cause a lot of writers to never truly flourish. Without understanding the importance of revising their work many students may be misled to believe they are simply average or below-average writers who consistently get C’s or are forced to revise in order to receive a good enough grade. For example, in the aforementioned text, Doug Downs says “Novice or unreflective writers, especially students, may see revision as punishment for poor performance.” If teachers at this level instead put more emphasis on the importance of revision and reflection in the writing process many more students would instinctively develop these habits while composing essays on their own. Instead, many students simply turn in their first drafts unless prompted specifically to revise or peer edit papers. While many schools do instill the process of peer reviews and seeking help and input on first drafts they fail to emphasize the personal revision process.
The truth about writing is that first drafts will always be sloppy and often confusing at times. Without any revision, even the best ideas sound confusing or are annoying to read. Even the famous writer Ernest Hemingway agrees. As Hemingway eloquently put it: “The first draft of anything is shit.”
The first draft of anything is shit.
Without revision and reflection, our papers often end up looking like a salad with only lettuce. The bulk of it may be there but without all the complimentary factors and ingredients it is just a bland and tasteless salad that fails to create any sort of appeal. Without revision, our writing still likely works, just not well. Through constant revision, we begin to recognize our own weaknesses as writers and eventually begin writing better and better first drafts due to our newfound skill to revise and foresee issues in our writing as we write. Yet, we still find new ways to write better as we revise until eventually those techniques and corrections begin to show up in our first drafts, and the cycle continues on and on as we constantly improve at writing through practice. Revision should be understood and recognized as the most important step in the writing process since it allows us to reflect on our writing and where we can improve and grow as writers, not only for the piece we are revising but also for all future writing we attempt.
