This product is especially useful for teachers who are just starting out because it very specifically scaffolds the lesson bu. Think of your comments as part of an ongoing dialogue with your students on their writing. Nancy sommers responding to student writers the macmillan. A twotime braddock award winner, sommers is well known for her research and publications on student writing. Effectively responding to student writing resources. Nancy sommers studies the writing development of college students. Rollins college, 2000 a dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of doctor of philosophy in the department of english. Shows that teachers written responses to student writing are usually concerned with form and that two kinds of responses are most often used. The reason for this, i suspect, is that current models of the writing process have directed attention away from revision. Sharing student writing and talking about the choices and craft moves the writer made elevates a student to be seen as an author. Sommers shows how teachers too often write comments that come off as arbitrary, idiosyncratic, contradictory, and even mean, even though they. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Sommers begins to quantify time spent commenting on student writing.
Read responding to student writers, sommerss 20 book, for more expansive advice. Tailor comments to the specific writing and thinking needs of the individual student. Responding to student writing 149 even more specifically, however, we comment on student writing because we believe that it is necessary for us to offer assistance to student writers when they are in the process of composing a text, rather than after the text has been completed. Responses to student writers also come from many sources from teachers, from classroom peers, and from writing center tutors. Writing practice to stop the summer slide writing az summer writing activities include printed handouts for critical writing practice over the long summer break. Planning is an important part of prewriting, but a prewritten plan is clay not granite and will be reshaped as the writing process unfolds and takes the writer places the plan did not anticipate. Grade 7, argument this argument was produced for an ondemand assessment. Before considering strategies for responding to student writing, it might be useful to think about some of the assumptions that inform grading and response in the specific context of your classroom. Responding to final drafts for the first reading, give priority to understanding the paper, not grading it. Revision strategies of student writers and experienced adult writers college composition and communication, december 1980 as the author explores perceptions about revision, she asks us to consider, why should revision be forgotten. What are some possible approaches for responding to student writing. Engaging and enacting writing in firstyear composition. The author challenges us not only to dismiss the notion of revision as a dirty word, but to embrace it as an essential and fruitful tool that could, and should be an important part of the. Sep 30, 2015 nancy sommers asserts that writing teachers spend most of their time responding to and commenting on student writing.
Revision strategies of student writers and experienced. Summary in the article revision of student writers and experienced adult writers, nancy sommers uses a case study to show what student writers and experienced writers do when they write and then revise which lasted approximately 3 years. Student frustrations before considering some approaches to evaluating and responding, it can be helpful to consider the studentwriter perspective. Low end 20 minutes per paper x 20 students x 8 papers per semester 53. It first begins saying that most teacher comment on their student papers although most students get confused with this. Pdf this paper proposes the idea that a teacher can motivate. The cccc website offers the fields leading resources and access to e. More than any other enterprise in the teaching of writing, responding to and commenting on student writing. To describe and analyze the revision processes of a group of college freshmen and a group of experienced adult writers, eight freshman students and seven experienced adult writers were asked to write three compositions, rewrite each composition two times, suggest revisions for a composition written by an anonymous author, and be interviewed three times. Catherine latterell defines studentcentered as students being actively engaged and invested in their own learning 105. Responding to the student writing was written by nancy sommer.
Responding to student writing is, in fact, an indispensable procedure in a process. Responding to student writing comments and grades on student writing arguably constitute the most serious, sustained teaching intervention you can make in a student s writing career. Nancy sommers asserts that writing teachers spend most of their time responding to and commenting on student writing. Writing practice to stop the summer slide writing az. The campus writing program has awarded gerald summers, associate professor and associate director of biological sciences, the 2016 win horner award for innovative writing intensive teaching. As writers we need and want thoughtful com mentary to. The text is about common mistakes the teachers make when commenting an essay of a student.
Eric ed220839 revision strategies of student writers. The purpose, context and audience must all be addressed in the explanation in order to justify the selected content and approach to the task. The 4s method for helping students revise their writing. Responding to student writing nancy sommers more than any other enterprise in the teaching of writing, responding to and commenting on student writing consumes the largest proportion of our time. Sommers shares her findings on the subject after questioning both student an. Teachers help students to see themselves as capable writers when their work is recognized, shared and discussed in writing workshop. Win horner was a nationally known and respected pioneer in writing across the curriculum and chaired the composition task force that formed mus campus writing program.
One writing program administrators story across the drafts the call of research. Scholarly articles by nancy sommers the macmillan community. Week 3 nancy sommers revision strategies english 12. That essay has helped many teachers think more intentionally and act more skillfully when they respond to what students write. Reading and responding to texts this area of study focuses on the reading of a range of literary texts to develop critical and supported responses. Nov 24, 2014 it is an essential concept in the writing process that students lack. Summers recognized for innovative writing intensive teaching. In two early notable studies, sommers 1982 and later zamel 1985. Responding to student writing evergreen state college. Choose two or three of the following questions and write a cumulative 400 words. Sommers definition of of a linear revision strategy is one that involves three steps, prewriting, writing, and rewriting 75. Response may be part of a process approach to writing drafts, stages, revisions a final evaluation of student writing no intermediate feedback a way to justify a grade comprehensive or selective focused on certain. Read her 2003 essay across the drafts, based on the harvard study of undergraduate writing. In her research she examined the revision process of student writers and experienced adult writers to see what effect revision had in their writing processes.
Eric ed220839 revision strategies of student writers and. You can discuss the students writing and also get to know the student academic goals, possible learning issues, time commitments. How do i evaluate student writing texas tech university. Nancy sommers reading response my senior exit portfolio.
Planning is an important part of pre writing, but a prewritten plan is clay not granite and will be reshaped as the writing process unfolds and takes the writer places the plan did not anticipate. Teachers comments through students eyes, a video sommers produced, students at bunker hill community college talk about receiving comments on their writing. In writing center scholarship, the dominant strand of thought is. Summer writing handouts offer chances for students to practice writing letters, books, postcards, and posters. Responding to student writing between the drafts i stand here writing the language of coats the novice as expert. Win horner was a nationally known and respected pioneer in writing across the curriculum and chaired the composition task force that formed mu. Sommers revision strategies of student writers and experienced adult writers summary sommers lecture called revision strategies of student writers and experienced adult writers starts with words of the author, the reason for this, i suspect, is that current models of writing process have directed attention away from revision 378. Braddock awardwinning nancy sommers has taught composition and run composition programs for more than three decades. She ends her essay with a call to encourage student writers to see writing as a discovery process, as a repeated process of seeing, and then seeing again. Read her 1982 essay responding to student writing, based on her study of teachers comments at new york university and the university of oklahoma. For english 591 with carol nowotnyyoung, november 1, 2012. Although the article is more than a few years old now, it continues to offer a useful. Sommers shares her findings on the subject after questioning both student and teacher writers alike, asking them to explain what revision means to them.
There is no reason why you have to read all of your students. See more ideas about writing conferences, writing and writing workshop. Our collective interest in responding, i suspect, is deeply professional andpersonal. Being aware of how students perceive and react to our commentary as instructors can positively inform the way we respond to. Most teachers estimate that it takes them at least 20 to 40 minutes to com. Having students introduce themselves m y third year of teaching, i was transferred to del vallejo middle school as a language artsreading teacher. Reimagining student selfefficacy in writing by mary l.
Summary at the beginning of the lecture sommer says, commenting on student writing is the most widely used method for responding to student writing, it is the least understood 148. We feel a weighty responsibility when we respond to our students words, know. A writers workshop in 40 minutes for middle school students. The 4s method for helping students revise their writing a. Sommers definition of of a linear revision strategy is one that involves three steps, pre writing, writing, and rewriting 75. More than any other enterprise in the teaching of writing, responding to and commenting on. Using student drafts as the center of class discussion i. Purchase printed books and selected pdf files thank you for downloading this pdf. Anyone who responds to student writingwriters should either request a copy of the book or download it as a pdf and read it right away. Being aware of how students perceive and react to our commentary as instructors can positively inform the way we respond to their writing. Revision strategies of student writers and experienced adult.
It was my first experience with middle school students, but i was excited at the prospect of working on a team. Basic writing students need to know that the writing process involves much more than filling out a plan developed during the prewriting stage. The conference on college composition and communication cccc is the worlds largest professional organization for researching and teaching composition, from writing to new media. The abbreviated time frame of the assessment and the consequent lack of opportunity to perform research and revise. Your use of the jstor archive indicates your acceptance of. Nancy sommers, responding to student writing sometimes, we inadvertently give students conflicting messages. Responding to student writers, 1st edition macmillan. Sommers responding to student writing summary and synthesis. Revision strategies of student writers and experienced adult writers nancy sommers although various aspects of the writing process have been studied exten sively of late, research on revision has been notably absent. Responding to student writing study underscores importance of feedback. Oct 09, 2015 responding to student writing between the drafts i stand here writing the language of coats the novice as expert. Seeing beyond hearing is the point to make revision a lot easier and effective.
In other words, the student writer needs to exhibit, through revisioncomplex understanding of what ideas are to be deleted or added into the text 385. Nancy sommers responding to student writers emily carr blogs. Responding to student writing efficiently hamilton college. Nancy sommers harvard graduate school of education. My pseudowriting is usually writingrelated, so i give myself a pass, but the truth of the matter is that its not really writing. Students examine the structures, features and conventions used by authors of a range of selected texts to construct meaning. In 1982, nancy sommers published the landmark, awardwinning essay responding to student writing. It is an essential concept in the writing process that students lack. Responding to a student s paper involves 1 reading it carefully while making marginal comments, 2 writing a final comment in which you sum. Most teachers estimate that it takes them at least 20 to 40 minutes to com ment on an individual student paper, and those 20 to 40 minutes times 20. Try to have a short five to fifteenminute meeting with each student as you hand back the diagnostic or first paper. Written from one teacher to another, nancy sommers responding to student writers offers a model for thinking about response as a dialogue between students and teachers and for thinking about the benefits of responding to writers as well as to their writing. As principal investigator of the harvard study of undergraduate writing, she tracked the college writing experiences of 400 students from the harvard class of 2001 to understand the complex role writing plays in undergraduate education. Students were asked to a write a letter to their principal about a plan to install video cameras in the classroom for safety reasons.
In this strategy, the writers who usually follow these rules are considered student writers in sommers essay. Here is a great product that shows how to fit writers workshop in a 40 minute session product is developed for a 5 day spread which can be adapted to any type of writing. Linear revision strategy fails to include actual revisions. In all academic disciplines college teachers respond to student writing with shortcutschecksheets, correction symbols, computer style chec kers, etc. The reason for this, i suspect, is that current models of the writing process have directed. According to sommers, specific feedback is especially useful for freshmen, who learn to adjust to college expectations through special issue. Responding to writing laura brady, department of english. Her articles revision strategies of student and experienced writers and responding to student writing are two of the most widely read and anthologized articles in the field of composition. Responding to student writing nancy sommers college. Read i stand here writing by nancy sommers find it on the librarys online database. The studentcentered conference is an alternative conference style derived from writing center pedagogy.
Basic writing students need to know that the writing process involves much more than filling out a plan developed during the pre writing stage. International students have f 1 visas and plan to return to live in their country of origin. The written explanation is a detailed paragraph that outlines the decisions made by the student as they developed their creative response. Responding to student writing the evergreen state college.
Student frustrations before considering some approaches to evaluating and responding, it can be helpful to consider the student writer perspective. Sommer continues talking about what is it to comment on student papers, and he explains why teachers do this, we. Sommers ends the article by stating that all writers should see their writing as with their own eyes. This case study has taught me that if students want to become better writers we must commit revision to the fullest. A longitudinal view of writing development dont tell the aunts living composition.
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