Blog 22: Draft 1 of my Methods and Data Analysis Section

Methods

            The first procedure for collecting data for this study was a face-to-face interview with my subject, who from this point forward shall be referred to as A. She is a twenty year old woman who is currently studying Psychiatric Rehabilitation at a four-year university in New Jersey. A was specifically chosen due to her second semester sophomore education level and for her ample amount of college writing experience, as she often writes papers for classes while pursuing her degree.
            The interview was conducted in the location of A’s choosing: her favorite local Barnes and Noble store, in a back corner where she enjoys reading in hidden solitude. The questions I asked were based around revision and her experience with it through her high school years and college up to this point and in multiple classroom subjects and genres. A copy of the questions can be found in Appendix A. As we spoke, I recorded the interview on my Smartphone and the entire recorded amounted to roughly twenty-one minutes.
            The next process was reviewing the audio recording and transcribing the entire interview on a Microsoft Word document. In the transcription, I referred to myself as H, and as stated previously, my subject was labelled as A. The whole document was nine pages single-spaced. From there, I read over the transcript multiple times and selected excerpts that best fit my study’s focus. Next, using discourse analysis, I analyzed the data points that I had selected. The following section contains my findings and analysis of them.   

Data and Discussion

            The interview yielded surprising results. Before I talked with A, I had a completely different focus for this study; however, after our interview, I knew my focus was clear. Due to the ways that A described revision and the need that she felt for revision to be taught earlier in her education, I have felt there is a need to change the way revision is taught to students.
            To begin, Excerpt 1 is about how A defined revision. Revision means different things to different people, so I felt it was vital to know how A defined the term.

Excerpt 1: Revision Means to Fixing it Up to What it Need to Be

H – // Um, how would you define revision in your own words?

A – Hmmm, if I had to define revision, I would say that revision could be, um, looking at all the mistakes of your paper, whether they be like spelling, grammatical, or anything else and making sure that they are all corrected and like how they need to be. Like as I made the analogy before, like it’s kinda like putting make-up on your paper. Like you’re fixing up every little correction and just making it the best it can be. Yep.

            In her answer, A feels that revision is finding all the mistakes and “fixing” them to how they “need to be”. She also refers to a comparison that she had made earlier in the interview in which she likened revising her writing to putting on make-up, in which you correct every flaw and “make it the best it can be.” What is interesting is that she does not specify what her “fixing up” up entails. She does not elaborate that she looks at her audience, purpose, organization, or even lexicon. All she mentions is that she finds the mistakes in spelling and grammar, yet her explanation alludes to more. In addition, A does not explain the requirements of what a piece of writing “needs to be.” She uses much vague language and generalizations. That omission of detail can mean that A was not taught the proper terminology for revision. This finding leads to the second topic, in which A makes a notable inconsistency.  
            In Excerpts 2 and 3, I ask A about when she was first taught revision and how she was taught in high school. Through her answers to these two questions, A contradicts herself.

Excerpt 2 & 3: Self-Contradiction

Excerpt 2: First Taught Revision

H – (Laughter) Um, so when did you first like learn about revision?

 A – Honestly, this is gonna be really embarrassing, but like in high school, I never revised any of my stuff. I kinda just handed it in and I didn’t care. Um, my freshman year of college I learned my revision and like taking the time to actually go print things out and relook at it over again. Freshman year of college (Laughter) That’s sad.

Excerpt 3: Revision Taught in High School

H – Okay, um. How did your high school English teacher tell you to revise?

A – Um, it depends on the one that you—what I was talking about because like every single year each one would be of a different kind of intensity. But my senior year, my um AP like College Writing teacher, who was like English teacher technically, she taught us to do the same thing like that I learned my freshman year of college, but I didn’t listen. She told me to also, like print out a couple of times, look it over, like go talk to my parents about it. Like read it out to them and stuff, but that’s all they really went into detail.

            In Excerpt 2, A talks about how she didn't learn revision until her freshman year of college and how she finds that to be "sad," as in a shame. She also says how “embarrassing” it is that in high school she never revised her work and simply handed it in because she didn't care. This plays on the cultural story that high school students aren't serious about schoolwork. In addition, she reveals a bit of her revision process by explaining how her college professor taught her to "print things out and relook at it over again." What is contradictory is in a later question. When I ask her about learning revision in high school, A admits that she did learn, but that she “didn’t listen.” Not only does it make a high point in my data, but it also raises questions. Was it the way A was taught revision in high school that was wrong or perhaps she was not serious about schoolwork in high school to retain the knowledge? It is possible that when she enrolled in college, she became more of a responsible student and followed everything the professors told her. Despite A taking the blame, by confessing that she did not listen, I believe the cause of her lack of proper revision education until college to be different. I feel that her high school teacher did not explain revision as clearly as her college professor did. Whether it is because of the former or latter, both causes would result the same effect. Even if A was careless about her education in high school, lessons about revision should capture the students’ attention so that they will care about what they are learning. Yet, if the college professor explained the process in a more understandable way, then again, high school education of revision in writing has to change. Although at the time of asking these questions, I did not know this was where my interview would take my focus, A stepped in and introduced the new topic that I had not even thought of towards the end of our talking.
            At the conclusion of the interview, I had asked A if there was anything about revision that we had not talked above that she felt important to mention. Although I was expecting her to say no, she declared the need to teach revision at an earlier education level.

 Excerpt 4: Teach Revision Earlier!

H – Okay, sounds good. Um, is there anything that we haven’t talked about with revision that you feel like that you want to add? Any topic?

 A – Uh, uhhh. Just about how like I think it should probably be taught at an earlier age. Like I think in high school it should be taken a lot more seriously so that way it isn’t just something you learn when you’re in college. Like people would get into way better colleges if they knew that beforehand. Like they could have written way better essays. Like unless you were at home and your mother was like an English major, you’re not gonna know how to do all those revision things or unless you went to like some preparatory school in like the richest place ever. So I think it should be taught at an earlier age.

            Though it took a moment of thought to express the words, A eventually reveals her belief that revision should be taught at an earlier age.  Next, she says that it should be “taken more seriously” in high school. Therefore, again she mentions that it was taught in high school, but not in a significant manner. Then, A says that she believes that students would get accepted into “ way better colleges” if they were taught revision earlier. This gives a small look into the value that A has in revision. With this one change, a course of a person’s future can change—the college he or she attends. Finally, A states that as the education in revision is now, only those high school students with an English major mother at home or who are in a rich prep school know the proper revision techniques. In the last statement, two cultural stories are mentioned. First, that English majors are good at revising. However, this is not the case. Every person is different, as is his or her writing and revision techniques. Paradoxically, some English majors do not revise at all, while some Biology majors are obsessive about their revision strategies. A degree does not make a respectable writer, the time and effort a person takes in perfecting his or her writing does. Secondly, that rich, preparatory schools give a better education. What is interesting about this is, in the interview, in an excerpt not included, A mentioned that she went to a private, rigorous Catholic high school. If her logic is correct, would not she herself know the best revision methods before college? A contradicts herself for a second time. Despite the possible mistakes in her answer, A dove into a topic that I had not considered. After that, I wanted to know more of her opinion on how revision at an earlier age could help students.   

Excerpt 5: The Benefits of Revision

At this point, A and I were openly conversing. However, she took the time to explain more benefits of revision.

A – Especially for SATs and stuff because they comes up like a year later! You have to be ready for everything. Um, I don’t know about HSPAs because I didn’t go to a public school. I don’t know if there’s any writing with that, but I’m sure that would help. I’m sure if there’s a reading section or something else, by knowing writing skills, you’re going to be able to pick out things and reading is a lot easier also. It’s not only just the writing, so.

            A further illustrates all students that can be helped from a better revision education by listing benefits of revision at an earlier age. It will help standardized tests and even the SATs, which can be helpful when applying for college. She also believes it helps with critical reading, not just writing. A mentions that if one knows the correct way to write, he or she will be able to select certain elements that are asked about on tests. This topic was an aspect that had escaped my observation of revision. However, after letting A explain all the ways that revision can help a student just by teaching it earlier, I feel it is clear that an entire alteration of how revision is taught could all the more beneficial.