Of One- and Multi-Draft Writers

Muriel Harris reveals that teachers of writing must acknowledge two types of students when it comes to the revision process: one-draft writers and those who compose multi-drafts of their compositions.

One-draft writers, for the most part, engage in a lot of "pre-text", mentally crafting what will go on the paper before actually writing. Once the writing process begins, the one-draft writer will revise sentences, phrases and words along the way -- but will not revisit paragraphs or larger elements of structure. A one-draft writer, once a composition is conceived, can usually proceed from beginning to end without much interruption. This type of writer, Harris suggests, may not wish to revise and may resist requests to do so. She offers this advice: "They'll have to learn to do more reviewing of written text both as they write and afterwards, in order to evaluate and revise. They will also need to be aware that they should have strategies that provide for more exploration and invention than they presently allow themselves. While acknowledging their distaste for returning to a draft to open it up again, we also need to help them see how and when this can be productive."

Multi-draft writers, on the other hand, never seem to bring closure to a composition assignment. To become more efficient writers, they will need to become more proficient planners and creators of "pre-text." Harris advises that "They will also need to become more proficient at times at focusing on a topic quickly, recognizing the difficulties involved in agonizing endlessly over possibilities... they will have to learn when and how 'to get on with it.'"

It seems to me that composition teachers should survey and/or interview students to determine whether they are one-draft writers or multi-draft writers. With this knowledge, the instructor can differentiate approaches when focusing on the revision process and provide effective help tailored to students' needs.

This article, along with a number of others, has important implications for the classroom. Why don't we allocate a larger percentage of our time to discuss these readings thoroughly at each English 575 class meeting?