Revision Is A Process

Revision Revisited LINDA ALLAL* & LUCILE CHANQUOY** *University ofGeneva, SWitzerland, **UniversityofNantes, France Revision is a fundamental component of the writing process. So fundamental that for some specialists writing is largely a matter of revising, or as Murray (1978) stated, "Writing is rewriting..." (p. 85). Experience with writing does not, however, automatically translate into increased skill in revision. Learning to revise is a lengthy, complex endeavor. Beginning writers do little revision spontaneously and even experienced writers encounter difficulties in attempting to improve the quality of their texts (Fitzgerald, 1987). Although revision has been extensively dealt with in the writing and learning-to write literature, this book proposes to "revisit" theory and research in this area through a series of new contributions. The introduction begins with an overview of what revision encompasses. It then examines two parallel interrogations that under lie the chapters assembled here, namely: (1) What are the implications of research on cognitive processes for instruction in revision? (2) What are the questions raised by instructional research for the investigation of cognitive processes of revision? A final section presents the chapters of this book.

Captivate the hearts and minds of young adult readers! Writing for young adult (YA) and middle grade (MG) audiences isn't just "kid's stuff" anymore--it's kidlit! The YA and MG book markets are healthier and more robust than ever, and that means the competition is fiercer, too. In Writing Irresistible Kidlit, literary agent Mary Kole shares her expertise on writing novels for young adult and middle grade readers and teaches you how to: • Recognize the differences between middle grade and young adult audiences and how it impacts your writing. • Tailor your manuscript's tone, length, and content to your readership. • Avoid common mistakes and cliches that are prevalent in YA and MG fiction, in respect to characters, story ideas, plot structure and more. • Develop themes and ideas in your novel that will strike emotional chords. Mary Kole's candid commentary and insightful observations, as well as a collection of book excerpts and personal insights from bestselling authors and editors who specialize in the children's book market, are invaluable tools for your kidlit career. If you want the skills, techniques, and know-how you need to craft memorable stories for teens and tweens, Writing Irresistible Kidlit can give them to you.

The fifteenth volume in the Art of series takes an expansive view of revision—on the page and in life In The Art of Revision: The Last Word, Peter Ho Davies takes up an often discussed yet frequently misunderstood subject. He begins by addressing the invisibility of revision—even though it’s an essential part of the writing process, readers typically only see a final draft, leaving the practice shrouded in mystery. To combat this, Davies pulls examples from his novels The Welsh Girl and The Fortunes, as well as from the work of other writers, including Flannery O’Connor, Carmen Machado, and Raymond Carver, shedding light on this slippery subject. Davies also looks beyond literature to work that has been adapted or rewritten, such as books made into films, stories rewritten by another author, and the practice of retconning in comics and film. In an affecting frame story, Davies recounts the story of a violent encounter in his youth, which he then retells over the years, culminating in a final telling at the funeral of his father. In this way, the book arrives at an exhilarating mode of thinking about revision—that it is the writer who must change, as well as the writing. The result is a book that is as useful as it is moving, one that asks writers to reflect upon themselves and their writing.

A trusted editor turns his attention to the most important part of writing: revision. So you’ve just finished writing something? Congratulations! Now revise it. Because revision is about getting from good to better, and it’s only finished when you decide to stop. But where to begin? In On Revision, William Germano shows authors how to take on the most critical stage of writing anything: rewriting it. For more than twenty years, thousands of writers have turned to Germano for his insider’s take on navigating the world of publishing. A professor, author, and veteran of the book industry, Germano knows what editors want and what writers need to know: Revising is not just correcting typos. Revising is about listening and seeing again. Revising is a rethinking of the principles from the ground up to understand why the writer is doing something, why they’re going somewhere, and why they’re taking the reader along with them. On Revision steps back to take in the big picture, showing authors how to hear their own writing voice and how to reread their work as if they didn’t write it. On Revision will show you how to know when your writing is actually done—and, until it is, what you need to do to get it there.

Cloth Edition. The Art of Teaching Writing, New Edition, has major new chapters on assessment, thematic studies, writing throughout the day, reading/writing relationships, publication, curriculum development, nonfiction writing and home/school connections. Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved.

Based on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 1984 assessment of the writing achievement of American school children, this report presents national and demographic subgroup achievement results for students in grades four, eight, and eleven, and discusses students' attitudes toward writing and instruction. The first chapter describes the tasks and evaluation criteria used in the study and highlights results of the study, including the following: (1) although many students appeared to know the basic elements of analytic writing, such writing was difficult for students in all grades; (2) while most students could express their points of view in persuasive writing, many had difficulty providing evidence for those viewpoints; (3) students had less difficulty with tasks requiring short responses based on personal experience; (4) students found it moderately difficult to write well-developed stories; (5) home environment is related to writing achievement; (6) students who indicated writing three or more reports and essays during a 6-week period had higher achievement levels than students who reported not writing during that time period; (7) students' positive attitudes toward writing deteriorate steadily across the grades; (8) students reported that their teachers are more likely to mark mistakes than to show an interest in what they write or to make suggestions for the next paper; and (9) content area writing increases between grades four and eight, and decreases again in senior high school. The next four chapters provide specific achievement data by grade level for informative, persuasive, and imaginative writing, and for writing performance among various demographic subgroups. The remaining three chapters focus on students' responses to questions concerning writing and writing instruction, specifically, their values and attitudes toward writing, how they manage the writing process, and what they write and the help they receive. (HTH)

Get all three Fixing Your Revision Problems books in one omnibus This book contains Fixing Your Character & Point-of-View Problems, Fixing Your Plot & Story Structure Problems, and Fixing Your Setting & Description Problems--PLUS a BONUS workshop: How to Salvage Half-Finished Manuscripts. A strong story has many parts, and when one breaks down, the whole book can fail. Make sure your story is the best it can be to keep your readers hooked. Janice Hardy takes you step-by-step through the novel revision process, from character issues, to plot problems, to description issues. She'll show you how to analyze your draft, spot any problems or weak areas, and fix problems hurting your manuscript. With clear and easy-to-understand examples, Revising Your Novel: First Draft to Finished Draft offers eleven self-guided workshops that target the common issues that make readers stop reading. It will help you: Flesh out weak characters and build strong character arcs Find the right amount of backstory to enhance, not bog down, your story Create unpredictable plots that keep readers guessing Develop compelling hooks to build tension in every scene Determine the right way to include information without infodumping Fix awkward stage direction and unclear character actions Revising Your Novel: First Draft to Finished Draft starts every workshop with an analysis and offers multiple revision options in each area. You choose the options that best fit your writing process. Learn how to: Develop a strong and effective revision plan Analyze your manuscript to find its strengths and weaknesses Spot common red flag words for problem areas (such as told prose) Determine the best way to revise a scene, plot, character, or novel Fix problems holding your novel back Revising Your Novel: First Draft to Finished Draft is an easy-to-follow guide to revising your manuscript and crafting a strong finished draft that will keep readers hooked.

Translation Revision and Post-editing looks at the apparently dissolving boundary between correcting translations generated by human brains and those generated by machines. It presents new research on post-editing and revision in government and corporate translation departments, translation agencies, the literary publishing sector and the volunteer sector, as well as on training in both types of translation checking work. This collection includes empirical studies based on surveys, interviews and keystroke logging, as well as more theoretical contributions questioning such traditional distinctions as translating versus editing. The chapters discuss revision and post-editing involving eight languages: Afrikaans, Catalan, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German and Spanish. Among the topics covered are translator/reviser relations and revising/post-editing by non-professionals. The book is key reading for researchers, instructors and advanced students in Translation Studies as well as for professional translators with a special interest in checking translations.