Dr. Bruce Ballenger, Boise State University

One of the threshold concepts of our field is the “centrality of revision to writing development.” Remarkably, revision is rarely studied or theorized. Even more troubling, there is some evidence that advanced writing students report they have little experience with rewriting their work, and admit that they lack confidence in their skills. What’s going on? This talk will share initial findings from a study that interviewed advanced undergraduate and graduate writing students on their feelings about revision and their current practices. It will also suggest new strategies for understanding and teaching revision, some of which draw on gestalt theory.