10-second review: What does “global revision” mean? “Local revision” means, according to this article, revising (or editing) at the word, phrase or sentence level. Revisions involving idea clusters and paragraphs apparently are “Global revisions.” Do students understand what is meant when they make global revisions using a word processor?
Title: “Drafting and Revision Using Word Processing by Undergraduate Student Writers: Changing Conceptions and Practices” AM Dave and DR Russell. Research in the Teaching of English.(May 2010), 406-434.
Quote: “For example, what do students mean when they report doing global revisions? How do students do global revisions? To what extent and in what circumstances do they revise directly on the computer screen? To what extent do they use printouts to do global revision? Is global revision linked with students’ or teachers’ perceptions of improvement in quality? Indeed, where and to what extent is global revision a meaningful term?”
Comment: Good questions. However, beyond understanding what is meant by “global revision,” the term is superfluous. As a matter of fact, I think—again, beyond understanding the distinction for the purpose of teaching—the terms “editing” and “revision” are superfluous. The student is trying to develop a coherent piece of writing that causes readers, once they have started, to complete their reading without interruption, except to reflect on ideas. Revision and editing are intertwined and one can stimulate the other.
The distinctions are important for the purposes of teaching, but the terms are superfluous. In the act of revision, no one is going to ask, “Now did I complete a global revision? Or was I editing?” Crafting a coherent document is the goal, no matter what one calls the acts of “revising” and “editing” on the way to achieving that goal. RayS.
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