Loading...Description:
This lesson develops students’ ability to critically evaluate and revise written work. Many students write one draft and make minimal edits. Advanced writers are willing to drastically reimagine and rework first drafts. As Stephen King famously advises writers, “kill your darlings, even when it breaks your egocentric little scribbler’s heart, kill your darlings” (On Writing p. 222). In this lesson, students experiment with using generative AI tools and practice the art of substantial revision.
Instructions:
To prepare for this exercise:
The instructor creates a sample “student” paper (may use an AI tool to generate), of C+B- quality, 1-2 pages in length, that critiques a short story which the students recently read and discussed. This paper presents an observation, but it lacks an interpretive claim (thesis). It includes some factually incorrect plot details, and it may need reorganization, additional textual evidence, and further analysis. It may also need revisions to address awkward sentence structure and grammatical errors. The instructor tailors this paper’s weaknesses to emphasize specific writing issues for students to identify and correct.
The instructor also prepares a list of review questions for students to consider as they revise this sample paper, and the instructor models examples of the revision process in class before students begin working on the sample paper. The instructor may choose to demonstrate revising with another piece of writing or with a section of the sample paper.
Prior to class:
Students read the review questions and then read and annotate the sample paper in Perusall, adding suggestions for revisions in the margins. (60 minutes)
Day 1 in class:
Instructor models revision practices on a display screen (15 minutes). Then, in groups of 2-3, students work together in a shared Google doc to collaboratively revise the sample essay. (25-60 minutes, groups may continue to work on document after class.)
Day 2 in class: In the following class, each group presents their work, projecting their revised version on display screen and walking us through their editing decisions and aims for improving the piece.
Then, (either in class or on own) each student enters the original paper and their group’s edited version into an AI text generator and asks for suggested edits on each paper. Students may opt to try different AI tools and compare results.
Day 3 in class:
Each group compares and discusses the AI suggestions and decides which ones they would adopt. Then, each group shares their insights about AI assistance on writing with the whole class.
Homework:
Each student writes their own one-page critique on the same short story. Then, the student shows their revisions, either by turning on “suggesting mode” in a Google doc or “track changes” in a Word doc. Their goal is to make substantial revisions that improve the overall piece. Each student submits a copy, showing their revisions, into a Canvas assignment. Then, they can submit a version with their revisions accepted into an AI tool and decide how to use this AI feedback to revise a second version of their paper, which they will submit in a different Canvas assignment folder, along with a copy of their AI conversations on the draft, and their reflection summarizing how they used AI, why they adopted or rejected specific suggestions, and their overall takeaways on using AI to augment writing and revision.
AI Tool Used: Any AI text generator, such as ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, etc.
Prep Time Needed: For instructor, 1-2 hours to craft sample paper and a list of issues/revision questions; 6-8 hours to review and provide feedback on students’ submissions. For student, 1 hour to read and annotate sample paper; 1 hour to prepare group presentation and craft prompt for AI feedback; and 3-5 hours to draft and revise own critique, generate and incorporate AI edits, and write reflection.
Classroom Time Needed: 3 class meetings
Student Learning Outcomes:
- Practice revision techniques to improve written text
- Evaluate AI generated suggestions for revisions
- Compare usefulness of AI feedback at different stages of writing process
- Incorporate revision practice into own writing process
- Determine when to incorporate AI generated suggestions into draft
- Reflect on pros and cons of AI assistance in writing and revision process
Assessment Considerations: Instructor can provide students with distinct scores on different segments of this assignment.
- Group work: Instructor can monitor students’ contributions to editing in group shared doc and/or have each student complete an assessment form on group members’ engagement in revisions. Instructor provides feedback and an overall assignment grade based on each student’s participation in group revision, presentations, and class discussions.
- Individual writing and revision: Instructor reviews each student’s critique, submitted in Canvas assignment, focusing on quality of their revisions
- Use of AI for revision: Instructor reviews each student’s interaction with an AI text generator, the student’s rationale for how they used AI feedback, along with their reflection on the writing and revision process and value of AI assistance.
Recommended Class Size: Seminar (20 students), but could be adapted to work with larger classes.
Recommended Discipline(s): Any course that emphasizes writing, revision, and/or using AI in the writing process.
Student Role(s): Editor, collaborative writer, evaluator, solo writer who determines when to use AI, and metacognitive reflector of writing/revision process.
Instructor Role: Creator of sample paper, model for revision strategies, assessor of group collaboration and presentation of decision process, evaluator of each student’s revision process and reflection on AI in writing process.
