{"id":57147,"date":"2021-05-05T08:00:37","date_gmt":"2021-05-05T15:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/world.edu\/?p=57147"},"modified":"2021-05-04T11:51:40","modified_gmt":"2021-05-04T18:51:40","slug":"heres-why-students-dont-revise-what-they-write-and-why-they-should","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/world.edu\/heres-why-students-dont-revise-what-they-write-and-why-they-should\/","title":{"rendered":"Here\u2019s why students don\u2019t revise what they write \u2013 and why they should"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

When high school students get into the habit of revising their writing, it has a\u00a0positive impact<\/a>\u00a0on the\u00a0quality of their work<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Despite the proven benefits of revision, students often\u00a0resist making changes<\/a>\u00a0to the initial versions of what they wrote \u2013 because it requires\u00a0additional effort<\/a>. Or, if they do revise, they only do it in a\u00a0mediocre way<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Finding ways to motivate students to revise their writing is crucial given that only\u00a027% of 12th graders in the U.S.<\/a>\u00a0write at a level that is \u201cproficient<\/a>.\u201d Proficiency in writing refers to correct spelling and grammar, logical presentation of ideas and appropriate use of details and evidence.<\/p>\n

Learning how to revise one\u2019s writing is something that will serve students well in a variety of ways. Research shows that while writing is an effective way to help students learn\u00a0content in different subject areas<\/a>, revision helps them to\u00a0develop a deeper conceptual understanding<\/a>\u00a0of the topic on which they are writing.<\/p>\n

College and career<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Revision is also a vital part of preparing a college application essay. Students who have made it through the college admission process say that they\u00a0spent considerable time and effort<\/a>\u00a0revising their essays. In light of the fact that many colleges have\u00a0made the ACT or SAT optional<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0especially during the pandemic<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 these essays have become all the more\u00a0important for a student\u2019s college application<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Writing is also recognized as an important professional skill\u00a0beyond high school<\/a>. Digital forms of written communication are used in\u00a080% of blue-collar and 93% of white-collar jobs<\/a>.\u00a0Revision<\/a>\u00a0is\u00a0key to mastering<\/a>\u00a0the\u00a0writing skills<\/a>\u00a0required in a world where\u00a0virtual work<\/a>\u00a0is increasingly common.<\/p>\n

Diversity in student motivation<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Given the clear benefits of learning how to revise one\u2019s work, how can students get motivated to invest the time and effort it takes to do a meaningful revision? As a\u00a0researcher who focuses on motivation<\/a>, I did a study with colleagues in 2021 that\u00a0offers insights<\/a>. I found that it all comes down to the reasons a student has to write well.<\/p>\n

Some students want to improve their writing skills, while others worry about how well they are performing in relation to their peers. Keeping these motivational differences in mind, here are five ways to create the best conditions for students to revise their written work.<\/p>\n

1. Reduce anxiety<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Anxiety is accompanied by negative thoughts and physical discomfort, which can diminish a student\u2019s ability to concentrate during writing. Writing anxiety can also make students\u00a0reluctant to review their writing<\/a>. It is important for students to accept that writing well takes effort and that\u00a0feeling anxious about writing is normal<\/a>. Creating a classroom environment that encourages students to seek help can make students\u00a0less anxious<\/a>\u00a0and lead them to\u00a0improve their writing<\/a>.<\/p>\n

2. Select topics of interest<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Unless students see writing as a personally useful activity, they may not feel motivated to revise their work.\u00a0Writing genres<\/a>\u00a0that allow students to explore their interests can motivate them to write well.\u00a0Research shows<\/a>\u00a0that structuring\u00a0enjoyable writing experiences<\/a>\u00a0in the classroom can make students open to revising their writing.<\/p>\n

3. Build confidence<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Students\u2019 beliefs about their ability to write well can\u00a0influence whether they revise their writing<\/a>. One of the\u00a0most effective ways<\/a>\u00a0to make students feel confident about their writing ability is to provide them with opportunities to experience success as they develop their writing skills. Students are likely to feel successful when they achieve their individual goals through writing, overcome personal obstacles to writing and receive positive feedback.<\/p>\n

Writing assignments that require significantly more skills than a student currently has may make them doubt themselves. But if\u00a0challenging writing tasks<\/a>\u00a0are designed to build on previously mastered skills, they can increase students\u2019 confidence.<\/p>\n

4. Focus on improvement<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Research indicates that students who focus on learning and improving their writing skills tend to\u00a0revise more<\/a>\u00a0than students who focus on comparing themselves to others. Whether students choose to focus on improving or outperforming others is\u00a0influenced by the direct and indirect messages<\/a>\u00a0they receive in the classroom from their teachers. Teacher efforts to promote learning and improvement are especially critical given the inherently\u00a0competitive<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0stressful<\/a>\u00a0nature of high schools, where social comparisons are inevitable.<\/p>\n

5. Rethink grading practices<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Grading practices<\/a>\u00a0that go beyond simply giving students a final letter grade or a score on a writing assignment are effective in reducing anxiety and encouraging revision. When writing assessments involve\u00a0purposeful feedback<\/a>, it can help students understand how to revise their writing to reach classroom learning goals.<\/p>\n

In the case of complex writing tasks, breaking the task down into mini assignments can give teachers the chance to provide feedback at each step of the way before students submit the complete written product for a final grade.<\/p>\n

Author Bio: <\/strong>Narmada Paul is a Postdoctoral Scholar in Educational Psychology at the University of Kentucky<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When high school students get into the habit of revising their writing, it has a\u00a0positive impact\u00a0on the\u00a0quality of their work. Despite the proven benefits of revision, students often\u00a0resist making changes\u00a0to the initial versions of what they wrote \u2013 because it requires\u00a0additional effort. Or, if they do revise, they only do it in a\u00a0mediocre way. Finding […]\n… learn more→<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":57148,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[13510],"coauthors":[11733],"class_list":["post-57147","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-higher-education","tag-revision"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHere\u2019s why students don\u2019t revise what they write \u2013 and why they should - World leading higher education information and services<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/world.edu\/heres-why-students-dont-revise-what-they-write-and-why-they-should\/\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Here\u2019s why students don\u2019t revise what they write \u2013 and why they should - World leading higher education information and services\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When high school students get into the habit of revising their writing, it has a\u00a0positive impact\u00a0on the\u00a0quality of their work. Despite the proven benefits of revision, students often\u00a0resist making changes\u00a0to the initial versions of what they wrote \u2013 because it requires\u00a0additional effort. Or, if they do revise, they only do it in a\u00a0mediocre way. 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