Word processors
have built-in features that can help students revise efficiently. They have
hundreds of commands available to the user, and there is no way that students
or teachers will be able to learn, master, and implement them all. Here
are some tips and strategies using a few of those features to help the students
through the revision process.
» Allow flexible
due dates to encourage students to continue their revision until they feel
that they have produced their best quality work. Obviously, there need to
be limits, but offer a span of time within which students can continue to
work on their writing. (Lehr, 3)
» Play thesaurus games. Introduce words and challenge the students to
find “better words.” This will help them increase their vocabulary and reinforce
the conscious decisions of word choice. “More precise word choices lead to
a clearer understanding of meaning and structure. As students mature in
these concepts, word choice and rewriting become steps in a natural progression.”
(McKay, 33)
» Create a form for students to use while editing each other’s drafts.
This form will be broken into sections using five basic word processing commands:
keep, all, delete, change, and move. Instruct students to start each sentence
with one of those five words. (Killgallon, 79)
» Create a sample document that needs revision. Using the sample document
as a model, show students how to use the features of a word processor to revise
the document. (Bowen)
» To help students understand organization, type an essay and then separate
each sentence with paragraph breaks. Mix up the sentences and save the
new document as a template. Have students examine the template and use the
cut and paste features to put the sentences in order. Evaluate the effectiveness
of each version, and compare with the original essay. (Bowen)
» Use print preview
or whole page view to check paragraph length. Using these features will allow
students to see if there are parts of their writing that need more development
or explanation. (“Writing with Computers”)
»
Use the bold, italics, and underline features to highlight key features of
the document. Compare active and passive voice sections to make sure that
there are not too many passive constructions. Use the same technique to
highlight descriptive words and topic sentences. (“Writing with Computers)
»
Have students track changes in Microsoft Word. This feature will keep a record
of their changes and allows students to insert comments explaining why they
made those changes. (Bowen)
»
Isolate parts of the text that need more attention by inserting white space.
Hit the Enter key above and below parts of the piece that need to be reviewed
and worked on. This will isolate the section on the screen, and can also
help the writer think of the section as separate. (Morgan)
»
Use the copy and paste function to create different versions of sentences
or paragraphs for comparison. Paste the copy directly below the original
version. Make changes to the copy and compare with the original. (Morgan)
»
Use the search function to teach punctuation and grammar patterns. Search
for commas to make sure they are used correctly. Search for common parts
or strings of words that are often offset by commas. For example, search
for introductory gerund phrases by searching for –ing, or search for infinitive
phrases by searching for the word “to.” Also, search for “you,” and “n’t,”
in formal papers. (Morgan) (Putnam)
» Instruct students
to change the order of their paragraphs. They might find that there are better
ways to organize their writing. (“Writing with Computers”)
»
Review sentence length and variety. Go through a draft and hit Enter after
each sentence. Look at the length of sentences to make sure there is a variety.
Make sure that there is variety in sentence structure as well. ("Writing
with Computers")
»
Keep coherence by copying and pasting the thesis sentence at the beginning
of each paragraph. The thesis sentence will serve as a constant reminder
of the focus of the piece, and will help keep the writer on track. (Morgan)
| Getting to the heart
of the matter |
Why is revision important?
|
How do word processors
help revision? |
| Changes in the writing
process |
Works Cited
|