Objective: Demonstrate the ability to approach writing as a recursive process that requires substantial revision of drafts for content, organization, and clarity (global revision), as well as editing and proofreading (local revision).

Framing Statement A:

The first learning outcome for English 110 describes the ability to approach writing as a recursive process which requires global and local revision. The significant writing project in which I demonstrated my revision ability best was the Big Data project. When revising the first draft, I first focused on global revision, which the first learning outcome describes as the revising of content, organization, and clarity. In a selection from “Revision Strategies of Student Writers and Experienced Adult Writers”, author Nancy Sommers states that when revising holistically, writers should ask the question, “what does my essay as a whole need for form, balance, rhythm, or communication” (Sommers). The first draft of my Big Data essay did not have a good rhythm throughout my first claim. I separated my claim into two parts and rearranged my evidence accordingly. My first claim stated, “United States citizens benefit from the government’s ability to use big data as a way to prevent crime.” I separated my evidence into protection from others and protection from oneself. This separation made the content and sources both clear and organized, which created a better rhythm. Next in my revision process, I focused on local revision, which is described by the first learning outcome as editing and proofreading. Sommers states that student writers often focus on removing redundant words and sentences from their essays, which blinds them from more important structural issues. However, this was not a problem I had. When editing my first draft, I found that the biggest issue in my essay was lack of development. I had to go back and develop on many ideas, specifically in my introduction. I began my essay with a short scenario to introduce the concept of mass data collection, but this scenario required more elaboration so that it acted as a hook for readers at the beginning of the paper. In terms of my “philosophy” of revision, I approached my writing with a recursive philosophy, meaning that I revised holistically then locally with the mindset that revision is a process occurring over a large amount of time.