Revising Joseph Harris Summary

In his piece, “Revising,” Joseph Harris aims to describe revising and demonstrate how students can use revision as a tool to develop a brilliant final draft. However, this process isn’t an easy one and, as Harris puts it, “tends to be hidden from view” (442). Before elaborating, though, on the importance of revision, Harris defines the three parts of a composition, drafting, revising, and editing. These three help grab hold of ideas, reconsider and reshape ideas, and polish text respectfully.
To Harris, revision is difficult work. In it, changes made may disconnect thoughts and coherency from the draft and may send “ripples” to other parts of the paper, meaning more revision. To help with revision, Harris suggests a “brief abstract” for the