- Demonstrate the ability to approach writing as a recursive process that requires substantial revision of drafts for content, organization, and clarity (global revision), as well as editing and proofreading (local revision).
I made a significant amount of changes from my first draft starting with global revisions then moving toward local revisions. Prior to this semester, I considered revising a paper as the term “thesaurus philosophy of writing,” as mentioned in Nancy Sommers’ article, “Revision Strategies of Student Writers and Experienced Adult Writers.” I would change the meaning of certain words, add repetitive sentences, and make a few grammatical changes for revision. Throughout this course, I learned revision is a process, not just a single step.
At first, I did not realize how much the first draft could differ from the final draft. I learned the terms “global revision” and “local revision” and applied them to my writing. I now know how and when to make global revisions such as move sentences and paragraphs around and add or delete sections of my writing. As seen in my essay, “The Overpowering Benefits of Big Data on Healthcare,” I rearranged paragraphs and added additional evidence to support my claims, such as the paragraph about early detection of emerging diseases.
Once I wrote my first draft, I had a better understanding of my main argument, so I found more sources and added to my paragraphs. Relating the Sommers’ article that stated, “The experienced writers do the opposite: they seek to discover (to create) meaning in the engagement with their writing, in revision….” Sommers is trying to say beginner writers have difficulty viewing their work from a different perspective and are not open to suggestions, which is something I struggled with for the first assignment. On the other hand, experienced writers use the recursive process for growth and development, which I did in my Big Data essay. I rearranged my paragraphs to help organize my argument and have a smooth transition between paragraphs.
