Sending the Message to Students that Revising Means Seeing their Work through New Eyes

Abstract

This article discusses the importance of showing students that revision is an integral part of the writing process. Most law students equate revision with polishing, and thus usually make only superficial changes to their drafts when asked to revise. This article proposes that legal writing professors can help their students see that revision presents an opportunity to substantially improve their writing by commenting on their drafts in the way a legal reader would. This should help law students see the reader's perspective and, in turn, make more substantive changes when they revise.