Unskilled/Student Writers

The articles by Perl and Sommers discuss student writers and the process of writing they go through and one key element in their studies was how revision plays a part. They both conducted studies to analyze unskilled writers and the methods they use and why they use those methods. However, Sommers took it a step further by comparing those results with a study done with experienced writers to see how their process of revision differs with student writers and why. The article by Sandra Perl was titled, “The Composing Processes of Unskilled College Writers” while reading this essay it felt like I was reading a study conducted on me. Every action described that the students do, are the exact same things I do while composing a paper. What scared me is that I could relate to each thing stated I there because those are the concerns I have while composing a paper.

In the article they used a student, Tony as the example. Tony’s process of writing was concerned on what the teacher would think. As stated in both articles, students write for the teacher reader. They put in all of the writing rules that they know their teacher would be proud of. However, sometimes those rules are applied the wrong way. Also a good point that Perl brought up was the less engaged students got in their topic the more repetitive they became within their paper. Tony also shares with me the fact that I read my paper thinking my reader knows what the ideas are in my head. That is something that most students perceive as well, in the article it was coined the term, “selective perception” (pg. 36).

Sommer's article, “Revision Strategies of Student Writers and Experienced Adult Writers” discussed what was stated above and the “linear” process of writing and the flaws one could have when thinking about writing this way. Her article was more focused on the act of revising and when that occurs in the writing stages; also, how one defines revision. With those two elements, she can come to a conclusion on why students’ end products are the way they are. A very good point that was made in the article that corresponds to other readings we have read in class is the difference between communication and writing; “The spoken word cannot be revised” (pg. 45). Many times that is a difference that is hard to distinguish. Also, her thought of revising was something that occurs throughout the writing process, not just at the end like most students think.

One of her main points is that many students perceive revision differently, as in what they do when they “revise”. Some revise by following the rules they learned in class to modify their paper. (For example, not starting a sentence with and.) Others see it as fixing grammar and spelling or going back and omitting sentences that are not needed. That differed from the experienced writers perception of revision because to them it is a process to form new ideas and expand on what they have. Many student writers do not think open minded about their work and assume that what they have is good enough and no changes are necessary. This may be due to the fact that the student writers follow the linear structure of writing and this puts a hold on the correct way to revise. “Writing cannot develop “like a line” because each addition or deletion is a reordering of the whole” (pg. 51).