The more time you spend writing, the more you know that revision is everything. Let me cite writing superhero John Green on this one, who discusses his drafting process in the FAQs on his website: “…I’m a big believer in revision: I almost always delete most of my first drafts (often as much as 90%). But there are many mini-drafts along the way, so it’s hard to talk about the process quantitatively. I do try to save the file with a different name each time I’ve made some dramatic changes I fear I might later regret, so that’s some measure, maybe, of how many drafts there are. The final copy of Katherines on my hard drive is called aok284; the final copy of TFiOS is called okay192.” If I’m understanding John correctly, that means he wrote 284 drafts with dramatic changes for just one of his novels.
Let’s let that sink in for a moment.
Let’s be sure to mention that to students sometime soon.
I tried to demonstrate some of this to my students back when I was at the Bread Loaf School of English in the summers (find out more about that fabulous program here in episode 223), and teaching in the school year. I photocopied every phase of one of my major papers, from random thoughts on paper to sort-of-organized thoughts to outline to research notes to draft to draft to draft to final paper. The booklet I passed out to students literally looked like a book. I wanted them to understand that writing isn’t a matter of freewheeling a draft and then cleaning it up.
Recently, I spent twenty or so hours over winter vacation (soooo much travel time) reading up on the most current best practices in writing instruction. It was a good time. There’s nothing quite like reading classroom stories about integrating sensory detail at 3 a.m. over the Atlantic while the plane around you sleeps. (Yep, stop laughing. You always knew this about me. Pedagogy is my jam). A lot of it felt familiar, but there were also things that sparked new connections for me, and a few surprises too. So today, let’s tackle a huge topic together: student revision. We’ll dive into the challenge and some solid solution options, and I’ll hand over a curriculum booster pack to help you put it all into action.
We Know what the Problem Is: Surface Revision
So, let’s begin at the beginning: the problem. But let’s call it a challenge.
Students are busy, and for many, writing is not their favorite thing. Once they’ve managed to write a paper or story, they often see it as a box checked, a task complete. Thank goodness that’s over, reads the internal monologue in their future memoir.
So our task is to disrupt this narrative. Spellcheck is not the answer.
My freshmen adviser in college helped me understand the revision process much better when he walked into class and feverishly announced that if our draft was a chair, we needed to break is apart and build a boat! This has always stuck with me, and inspired me to offer you a couple of revision metaphors of my own through the posters below…
So What’s the Fix?
So how can we help students invest in a deeper revision process? Well, it’s about matching.
We need to match the specifics of what we ask for in the prompt, to the specifics of what we look for and discuss in models, to the specifics of what we revise for in demonstrations, to the specifics of what we search for in peer and self-revision, to the specifics of what we grade and give feedback for.
Let’s take an example from argument writing: analyzing a quotation before moving on, something many kids struggle to do.
Setting up Success: Assignment Sheet & Foundational Lessons
Right up front, when you launch an argument assignment, you can include language around “analyzing your quotations carefully before moving on.”
If this is a new concept for your students, or one you haven’t discussed much yet in the year, you will want to do some activities with them to help them understand what you’re talking about – perhaps introduce them to “Mr. Skeptical” from episode 378.
Unpacking & Debating: Models of Student Work
Then you can follow up on your foundation by examining a couple of anonymous models, letting students in small groups decide which one does the best job of analyzing the evidence before moving on (and why).
Research suggests this process of evaluating others’ work is even more powerful than more practice with the skill (MacArthur, 293).
Model Improvement
After kids discuss the models, you might ask them which one did the WORST job, and then rewrite one of the paragraphs together to do a better job analyzing the evidence, thinking aloud as you go. Find ways to keep the whole class active as you work on this rewrite at the front, like by pausing and inviting everyone to write a sentence they would slot in for a sentence you’re crossing out, then hearing from volunteers with ideas.
You might also provide some video demos of yourself thinking through this process out loud and rewriting with another paper or two, letting kids choose to either watch some more examples if they’d like, or begin drafting, if they feel ready.
At this point, you’ve done a careful, helpful job of setting students up with a clear understanding of a vital aspect of what you’re looking for in this writing assignment – evidence that is clearly analyzed to help support an idea. They are ready to work on their draft with this in mind.
Revising Based on Specifics
And now we’re ready to dive into the focus here – revision that works! Yeah, I know, that was a lot of set-up, but the set-up is what’s now going to help the revision work.
As you move students into peer review of each other’s work, and self-revision, you can now clearly circle back to the element(s) you’re focusing on with the prompt and rubric. In this case, we’ve talked about analyzing evidence, but you may be building on earlier units or expectations from previous years and also including things like an arguable thesis and correct citation format, etc. Choose what’s most important from your requirements and build those in to guide the revision process – whether it’s through partner feedback, small group feedback, or revision stations.
For example, below you’ll see a set of creative writing revision stations that circle back to foundational activities on syntax, characterization, and conflict. Students are editing their own work and their peers’ for specifics they’ve been well-prepared to understand.
The revision process now has a clear purpose besides “improvement,” and that clear purpose makes a big impact.
Depending on your students’ age and ability, this specifics-driven revision process can look very different. Sometimes you may really be focused on one thing with students just learning to write a thesis or how to integrate sensory details. With more advanced students, you may have much more wide-ranging expectations.
Consider two different revision handouts that could help guide revision depending on the situation. At left, you’ll see differentiated big-picture options an advanced writer could choose from, choosing to work on their structure, their ability to address disagreement, tightening their writing, or improving their syntax. At right, you’ll see a simpler checklist for less experienced writers, waiting for a teacher to fill it in with the clear and specific goals of the piece based on the rubric and unit lessons. For example: did you include three quotations? Did you cite them using the format we’ve practiced? Did you analyze the first one clearly to prove your point? The second? The third?
Each of these very different handouts could provide the follow-up to earlier foundations, depending on the group of writers. The left expects writers to be in more varied places, providing them with more choice over the process in recognition that they’re further down paths of their own.
Finally: Rewarding the Specifics
The last piece of this revision puzzle is to reward students for the work they’ve done. The specifics we’ve been talking about should show up clearly on the final rubric, rewarding the effort students’ have put in to revise based on those specifics. If you’re wrapping up the unit with a class gallery or event, you can also build those specifics into the feedback you have students share with each other or the ballots they fill in for class awards.
Take a peek at the example below from a visual storytelling project connected to a graphic novel unit. Students are learning to communicate with specific visual techniques to complement their writing. Those techniques are clear on the assignment sheet, follow up on lessons from the graphic novel unit, and then resurface clearly on the gallery compliment cards and final rubric.
When you reward this integrated revision process clearly, you reinforce it for the next time around!
A Visual Review
OK, we’ve covered a lot here. Let me sum it all up with a handy visual you can save for later if you’d like…
Curveball Option: Integrate AI Feedback
And now that we’re done and dusted, I want to bring up one more possibility (I know, sorry). The research isn’t ready to give this one 100% support, but research leanings and some powerful experience from a teacher guest on Edutopia’s School of Practice podcast have convinced me to share it as an option.
In Joshua Wilson’s “Assessing Writing” chapter of Best Practices in Writing Instruction, he mentions the power of automated essay feedback several times. While he’s not discussing AI, AI seems like an obvious extension of the programs he is talking about, and possibly even a more helpful version.
In the episode “How to Teach Authentic Writing in the Age of AI,” educator Jen Roberts shares various ways she invites her students to use AI as a thought partner in the writing process. But the one that caught my attention as most unequivocally helpful was her suggestion that students get immediate feedback on their drafts from the AI, especially the students who popped their hands up and said “I’m done” in an outrageously brief amount of time during drafting. While she was busy elsewhere, those students could receive instant suggestions for improving their work. And for students who didn’t understand those suggestions? Jen coached them to have a conversation with the AI, asking for clarification.
It’s easy to imagine how we might pull today’s focus on consistent specifics right into this AI model, inviting the students to ask, for example, for the AI to check the writing for specific analysis of quotations as well as any other elements they wanted to improve. Suggested prompt language could easily be popped onto a Google doc for students to cut, paste, and adapt to suit their needs.
Snag the Curriculum before you Go
If you’d like the posters, revision goggles handout, and blank checklist (waiting for you to add your requirements) shown in this blog post, you can make a copy right here. I hope they’ll be helpful!
Sources:
Green, John. “FAQs.” John Green Books: https://www.johngreenbooks.com/where-i-get-my-ideas-inspiration-and-general-writing-stuff. Accessed January 2026.
Hillocks Jr., George. Narrative Writing: Learning a New Model for Teaching. Portsmouth: Heinemann, 2006.
“How to Teach Authentic Writing in the Age of AI.” Edutopia: The School of Practice Podcast. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-to-teach-authentic-writing-in-the-age-of-ai/id1840474338?i=1000736252749. Accessed January 2026.
“Improve Students’ Evidence Analysis: Meet Mr. Skeptical.” The Spark Creativity Teacher Podcast. https://nowsparkcreativity.com/2025/05/improve-students-evidence-analysis-meet-mr-skeptical.html. Accessed January 2026.
MacArthur, Charles. “Evaluation and Revision” (Chapter 12). Best Practices in Writing Instruction. Ed. by Steve Graham, Charles MacArthur, and Michael Hebert. New York: Guilford Press, 2017.
Wilson, Joshua. “Assessing Writing” (Chapter 14). Best Practices in Writing Instruction. Ed. by Steve Graham, Charles MacArthur, and Michael Hebert. New York: Guilford Press, 2017.
