Deep Revision: A Guide for Teachers, Students, and Other Writers

Mary Sue Willis wrote this book about her experiences in teaching elementary school students to keep going after a first draft. I use it in college expository writing classes, where the problem is the same: students write the first thing that comes to their mind and stop. Willis presents almost 200 different exercises that engage the mind and make writing fun. For example, reverse revision is a process by which students try to make their writing worse and worse. By observing what obscures meaning and weakens sentences, they can then see what would work to make writing BETTER.Other techniques, such as meditation, going deeper by adding details, changing media, and changing point of view, are useful for writers at any level of expertise.The charming examples of writing and rewriting from Willis's students make this book delightful for classroom use.

Mary Sue Willis wrote this book about her experiences in teaching elementary school students to keep going after a first draft. I use it in college classes, where the problem is the same: students write the first thing that comes to their mind, but stop there. Willis presents almost 200 different exercises that engage the mind and make writing fun. For example, reverse revision is a process by which students try to make their writing worse and worse. By observing what obscures meaning and weakens sentences, they can then see what would work to make writing BETTER.Other techniques, such as meditation, going deeper by adding details, changing media, and changing point of view, are useful for writers at any level of expertise.The charming examples of writing and rewriting from Willis's students make this book delightful for classroom use.