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Unit 1, Day 11:  Tuesday, September 25

 

What you’ll do today in class:

 

- Workshop drafts of Essay 2

- Discuss the revision process

 

Connection to course goals:  These activities emphasize the recursive nature of the writing process and the importance of revision in producing a text that meets the context and accomplishes the writer's goals. Also, the discussion of revision is designed to produce a clearer and more constructive idea of what revising a text actually entails. Here students begin to see that revision means not only the words on the paper but the ideas they're trying to communicate through those words.

 

INTRODUCTION:

 

1.       Workshop Essay 2 drafts (60-70 minutes):

 

-          You can find a workshop sheet in the appendix or make your own, but definitely make sure that you have a sheet with specific questions to guide them.  Open response at this point in the semester is usually not productive.

-          For this workshop, try to have students work in groups of three, so they get more than one set of feedback. 

 

2.       Have students read the feedback they received on their draft and begin writing a revision plan (5-10 minutes)

 

CONCLUSION:  Remind students that as they revise their Essay 2 draft for Thursday they should keep in mind that revision is about “re-seeing” their ideas and making larger changes in terms of purpose, focus, development and organization.  Let them know that at the beginning of class Thursday they’ll write Postscript responses, which give them an opportunity to think back over their writing process and discuss what revisions they made and why.

 

Optional Activity—if time: Discuss revision.  Your goal here is to demonstrate to students that an important part of revision is re-thinking the ideas and the focus of an essay, not just correcting grammar and mechanics or changing a few words around.

 

-          Hand out the E.B. White essays (see the appendix).

-          Have the students read through the drafts, and then use the following discussion questions:

·         How does the first draft differ from the last?

·         What is the first draft about? How would you summarize its main point to a reader? What is the main point?

·         What is the last draft about? Summary/main point?

·         What changes do you see through White's various drafts?

         

Assignment for Day 12:

 

- Revise your Essay 2 draft and be ready to hand in your final draft with all process work.