The concepts of drafting and revision were developed out of process theory and research done in the early 1980s, an era when word processing was not as pervasive or standardized as it is now. This paper reexamines those concepts, drawing on an analysis of two decades of previous college-level studies of writing processes in relation to word…

Describes the changes basic writers made to an impromptu in-class essay when the essays were taken home and revised. Suggests that some basic writers have sophisticated revising skills, and that assessment which allows time for revision can give these students the opportunity to demonstrate their skills. (RAE)

Presents a poem, "Henry and Edith in Casper," and discusses the composing processes that led to its creation. (SRT)

Investigates the effects of word processing on the quality of college basic writers' revisions. Finds that word processing does have a positive effect. (MS)

Examines differences between composition researchers and communication professionals in use of the term "editing." Argues for cooperation between these two groups to develop an interdisciplinary definition of editing to bring consistency to research, precision to the editing process, and substantial advance in the bridge between theory…

Investigates whether more frequent revising throughout composing interferes with the constructive processes of composition of eighth graders. Finds that the effects of word processors interact with individual student differences. Suggests that researchers and writing teachers need to consider these potential differences when prescribing word…

Finds an approach to improving revision skills that integrated strategy instruction, peer response, and word processing to be highly effective with seventh- and eighth-grade students with learning disabilities. (SR)

Finds that papers written by eighth graders on computer were rated significantly higher on all four dimensions of a holistic/analytic writing assessment scale. Notes that students made more microstructural than macrostructural changes and continuously revised at all stages of their writing. Considers student experience with computers and the…

Explores fifth graders' audience awareness when they compose and revise an original text for two audiences (a good third grade reader and an experienced adult reader) in a realistic transactional writing task. Finds that they successfully revised texts to address expectations of both audiences but were more successful for the third grade readers.…

Analyzes a series of response rounds that a graduate sociology student and her professor engaged in as the student produced multiple drafts of a conference paper and a preliminary examination. Finds that the professor's response involved extensive rewriting of the student's text. Uses interviews to trace intermixture of the student's and the…

Investigates whether students revise more extensively and successfully with a computer than with conventional methods. Indicates that writing on a computer did not lead to increased revision for these students and that no positive relationship existed between extensive revision and the quality ratings. (AEW)

Describes a sequence of four studies that explored how people composed sentences while writing expository essays. Among the findings were that the sentence composition process was often guided by a writing plan, and the most frequent changes accomplished by revision of parts were word choice, aspect of meaning, and grammatical structure. (HOD)

Reports on a study that examined the development of audience-adapted writing skills between the end of elementary school and the beginning of college, concluding that all students demonstrated sensitivity to the needs of a young reader. (HOD)

Studies original and revised essays of 60 university freshmen to determine the effects of attention to audience on improving overall compostion quality. Finds audience attention effective as a revising strategy but more effective as a drafting strategy. (NH)

Examines student responses to their teachers' written comments on their papers. Finds that students are equally interested in getting responses on content, purpose and organization as on sentence structure, wording and correctness; and students prefer specific comments with explanations over negative comments or comments that seek to control their…