Assignment Author
Lydia WilmethAttribution
Good Reasons and Trish Roberts-MillerContext of Assignment
Revising from .1 to .2
Pedagogical Goals of the Assignment
Get students to think critically about their .2 papers and how/where they need to be revised.
Assignment Description
When I return 1.1 I usually have an in-class revision workshop (the UWC also has revision workshops, but I haven't had them come to speak to my class yet). This semester, in addition to having students complete an additional research log to be turned in with 1.2, I had them fill out a worksheet (see attached files) that addresses the specific needs of their papers. Most of the questions are adapted from the revision chapter (12) in Good Reasons, but I also included a paragraph outline on the recommendation of Trish Roberts-Miller. Since the majority of the not-so-great papers needed help with organization more than anything, I'm finding that the outline has helped tremendously.
I'm in the middle of grading 1.2 now, and so far the self-reflective nature of the questions on the worksheet has made a huge difference in the kinds of revisions I'm getting this semester and those that I got last semester.
One cautionary note: The worksheet does not attend directly to stylistic issues like spelling, active/passive voice, or advocacy/slanting. Instead, if that's an issue that the individual student faces, s/he can include that in her/his goals for revision. In other words, that's something that can be more properly addressed in the comments on the paper itself.
As I make the Unit II and III worksheets I'll post them as well.