De La Paz, S., Sherman, C.K., Revising strategy instruction
in inclusive settings: effects for English learners and novice writers, (2013),
Learning Disabilities Reasearch &
Practice, 28(3), 129-141
In this study, students were instructed on how to write a
research paper. They received 45 minutes
of strategy instruction, three times a week for four weeks. Instruction included developing background
knowledge on the genre of focus, defining characteristics and purposes of
expository writing, and explanations on what it means to revise writing. Students were taught how to make meaningful
changes using “add,” “move,” “delete,” and “rewrite” revising techniques. Teachers modeled this using sample
writings. Students made changes to
sample essays before making changes to their own writing.
Teachers also taught the revising strategy FIX using a mnemonic
device to help students remember the steps. The F stands for “Focus” on the
essay elements. The I for “Identify
problems, and the X for “Execute changes. Throughout the study, students were taught how
to self-regulating procedures such as goal setting and self-reinforcements, how
to use color coded strategy cards. For
example, yellow cards were used for self-statements that helped students
identify problems, such as “I need to look for things that don’t sound right.” The red cards helped students focus on essay
elements. There was plenty of modeling
and collaborative practice before students revised on their own.
This study’s purpose was to evaluate a revising strategy,
called “FIX,” for sixth-grade students. Student were to read their writing,
focus on the elements of expository writing, identify anything that didn’t
belong or anything that needed changing, and finally make those changes. After learning this strategy, all students
reported that the FIX revising strategy made revising easier by giving them
steps to follow in the revision process. Students also learned how to make meaningful
changes to their writing. In fact, the
end results showed that struggling students made more meaningful changes that
improved their writing, than students who wrote well. “EL students who were low, average, or above
average writers appeared to respond to the revising instruction as well as
their native English speaking peers at the same writing achievement level….”
De La Paz, S., Sherman, C.K., Revising strategy instruction
in inclusive settings: effects for English learners and novice writers, (2013),
Learning Disabilities Reasearch &
Practice, 28(3), 129-141
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