Once students have rough drafts of writing, revision needs to take place. Students can revise their own papers with guidance and can also use peer revision. One way for peer revision is to partner students and have them do the following.
1. Listen and read along as the author reads his story.
2. After listening, tell what the story is about and what is liked best.
3. Read the partner’s paper silently and make notes about clarity (Is there anything you don’t understand?) and details (What info/details could be added?). Then discuss suggestions with the author and let the author decide what changes to make.
Another way for per revision is to group students into triads. Each student reads all three papers for a certain skill and makes suggestions. For instance, one student might check for complete sentences, another checks for subject-verb agreement, while the third checks for introductions and conclusions. The key is to try to have students check for something they have success with using.
Revision is very important. Research shows that a teacher’s revisions of a student’s paper and then having the student make corrections is not effective. Students need to be involved if they are to remember and learn. Transfer of knowledge can occur if the student is involved with his own revisions.