Instructor's GuideAdditional Resources for BIAW: Teaching Grammar Improves Writing

Below you can find a list of curated resources related to the bad idea about writing: "strong writers don't need revision."

In the chapter, "Strong Writing and Writers Don't Need Revision" Giovanelli opens with the following quote:

The standard perception that revision is something that happens at the end of the writing process is a good place to start revising ideas about revision. --Cathleen Breidenbach

Here are some key moments from the chapter:

"Revision is not the thing writers do when they’re done writing. Revision is the writing" (104).
[Revision is]: the heavy lifting of working through why I’m writing, who I’m writing for, and how I structure writing logically and effectively" (104)
"Revision is not a sign of weakness or inexperienced or poor writing. It is the writing. The more writers push
through chaos to get to the good stuff, the more they revise. The more writers revise, whether that be the keystrokes they sweat in front of a blinking, demanding cursor or the unofficial revising they do in our heads when they’re showering or driving or running, the more the ideal reader becomes a part of their craft and muscle memory, of who they are as writers, so at some point they may not know where the writing stops and the revision begins" (105).
"...specific interventions in the writing process matter more in learning to write rather than how much students are writing. Among these useful interventions are participation in a lively revision culture" (106).

Readings

Available right here!

Anne Lamott's "Shitty First Drafts"

This is a really funny and engaging piece about drafting really bad first drafts (and how that is absolutely common for most professional, published writers). Students love this piece and it's a short, easy read.

Alice Horning & Anne Becker's collection Revision: History, Theory, and Practice

This collection is available open-access via the WAC Clearinghouse. Cruise the table of contents to see what might interest you!

Nancy Sommers's article "Revision Strategies of Student Writers and Experienced Adult Writers"

This article compares what revision efforts look like for student writers and experienced writers, focusing on differences in focus (level of the word vs. level of idea) and practice.

Doug Downs short piece "Revision is Central to Developing Writing" (from Wardle and Adler-Kassner's Naming What We Know)

More Open-Access Content!

The video below features published author Anne Lamott offering some engaging "truths" about both life and writing. The bit about "bird by bird" is directly related to revision.

Writing Spaces

Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing is a book series containing peer-reviewed collections of essays—all composed by teachers for students—with each volume freely available for download under a Creative Commons license. Writing Spaces aims to build a library of quality open access textbooks for the writing classroom as an alternative to costly textbooks.

Purdue OWL

This online writing lab offers global support through online reference materials and services for creating citations, cover letters, major-specific writing help, and general writing advice. You can find tons of materials related to citation, including power points and sample essays.

Specifically related to revision:

- - "Steps for Revising Your Paper"
  - "Ways to Approach Revision"

And this great video on drafting and revising:

Writing Commons

Writing Commons is an award-winning, peer-reviewed encyclopedia on writing. They publish original articles on topics of interest to students and teachers.

Specifically, check out this page on "Revision"