Throughout this semester, I have been able to approach my writing in a different way to produce better results. I have been able to view writing as a recursive process in which substantial revision is necessary. In 1980, Nancy Sommers stressed the importance of revision not as a method of rewording, but as a way of rethinking an essay. Sommers states
“students understand the revision process as a rewording activity …. [they have] an inability to ‘see’ revision as a process: the inability to ‘re-view’ their work again, as it were, with different eyes, and start over” (Sommers, “Revision Strategies of Student Writers and Experienced Adult Writers”).
In many cases, students have been proven unable to review their work in a way that truly helps their esay. I can admit, that, like Sommers says, I have edited essays simply on the grounds of changing words, but not editing ideas. However, after competing class, I feel that I can legitimately approach writing as a recursive process. My project on “Big Data” clearly represents this. The differences between the first and final draft of this essay is extremely noticeable. Existing ideas were reworked, while new ideas were introduced, along with new large paragraphs to support them. When revising, my goal was simply to make my paper better. My decisions on what to change mostly came from two things: knowing I could do better, and putting myself into the mindset of a professor grading my work. This tells me that my philosophy of revision has changed for the better, and will be something I carry with me throughout my four years of schooling.
