Response to Revision Strategies by Nancy Sommers

Sommers makes an excellent point when she says that while “various aspects of the writer’s process have been studied extensively of late, research on revision has been notably absent” (Villanueva 43). Although revision is mentioned within these processes, the focus on this specific part of writing has been limited. I remember the professor from my freshman year writing class telling the class that we should expect to revise our papers at least three or four times. However, the methods of revising were quite similar to those revealed by the student writers in the study.

After reading Sommer’s comparison between student writers and adult writers, I can see a discrepancy between the way writing is taught and the way professional writers engage in the process of writing and revising. I have to admit the processes the student writers discussed as their method of revising are not foreign to me. While there were times that I changed my focus and discovered my thesis statement after writing my draft, the implementation of the thesis topic as the focus for the paper was more common. Students were expected to carefully choose and submit for approval, a formal thesis statement before writing their papers. This was the method implemented in most classrooms throughout my college years.

Response to Diving In: An Introduction to Basic Writing by, Mina P. Shaughnessy

This chapter of a few pages says a lot. Shaughnessy gives the impression that she proposes that teachers of “basic writing” totally start over with their teaching processes. Similarly to Sommer’s article, Shaughnessy concludes that the focus on word use and minor errors are given priority in writing, rather than the strength in the argument of the paper as a whole. I agree with this. However, if students are unable to put their ideas into words on paper do to a limited vocabulary, shouldn’t teachers be focusing on vocabulary prior to working with writing? This brings one to question why the students haven’t grasped or haven’t been taught more extensive vocabulary in earlier grades. If they haven’t learned this prior to the writing class, I believe it needs to be addressed first.
Even though students may be lacking in basic skills, teachers need to focus on the assets of the students, rather than what they lack, as their backgrounds may not have given them the opportunity to gain this knowledge. These students may have great talent and ideas to share. I like the author’s quote from Leo Strauss on page 317: “Always assume that there is one silent student in your class who is by far superior to you in head and in heart.”
I am confused by the author’s statement on the bottom of page 316 about how students are unable to determine what is relevant in their writing due to the “conditions under which he is writing have not allowed for a slow generation of an orienting conviction.” What are the conditions to which she is referring? Is this because he or she is accustomed to spoken language where dialogue with others directs his or her responses?