Illuminating Student Voices in Research: What 7 th Graders Report Learning After a Revision Unit of Study

ABSTRACTRevision is a complex cognitive task and an integral component of the writing process. Students benefit from understanding the value of and how to revise their own writing. The purpose of this study was to turn to students to investigate their understandings of revision. We posed the following question: What are 7th graders’ perceptions and understandings of revision following a unit of study on revision? Using Qualtrics, we surveyed 345 seventh grade students (52% male, 48% female) about their understanding of revision after revising a piece of writing they had previously composed and considered “finished.” Within the unit, students were taught to replace, add, delete, and reorder their writing. Findings indicate that prior to the unit students confused editing tasks for revision moves. Following the unit, students’ understanding of the purpose of and how to revise grew and they felt their knowledge and use of revision strategies improved their writing. In addition, students found that distance from their piece helped them to see their writing in more critical ways. Student voices and experiences are needed to shed light on what students really know and understand about revision.KEYWORDS: Writingrevisionmiddle grades Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).