Monday, November 3, 2014

Typing drafts vs. hand writing drafts

Should students type or hand write their first draft?  The problem with this, besides the accessibility of computers, is that students first draft looks great!  It looks like a finished draft.  Why then do they need to change anything.  It looks beautiful.  When students hand write their first drafts then go to make their revisions they can see there is something to change.  They can cross out when they decide they don't need certain parts.  They are forced to re-read their papers back to themselves when go from the handwritten paper to the typed paper.  This is where students find awkward places in their papers or places that seem unnecessary.  Are we really doing a disservice to our students by having them type their drafts?  Are they not getting the full revision process this way?  This article speaks a little more to the idea that maybe a hand written first draft is the way to go.


1 comment:

  1. I SO agree. I think writing out your first draft is such a great method that is becoming a lost cause. Middle school students and students in general are relying so much on technology that writing is a dying method that should not die! In my future classroom I will make the students write it out first as well.

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