“Who is going to read the story that i have written?”: the role of the audience in textual revision made by children

• Autores: Alina Galvao Spinillo
• Localización: Development of writing skills in children in diverse cultural contexts: contributions to teaching and learning / coord. por Alina Galvao Spinillo, Carmen Sotomayor, 2023, ISBN 9783031292859, págs. 87-111
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Revision is an important component of the writing process. It depends not only on linguistic and cognitive abilities but also on the audience the writer has in mind. This chapter examined the role played by the reader for whom the text under revision is intended. Firstly, some theoretical aspects are discussed, followed by the presentation of studies conducted with children. Next, a research with 8-year-old Brazilian children is described, in which the manipulation of the audience was made. After writing a story, half of the participants were told that their text would be read by a child, and the other half were told that their text would be read by a teacher. They were also questioned if other changes would be made in their texts if the reader was a child, for those who had initially revised their texts for a teacher; and a teacher for those who had initially revised their texts for a child. Children were asked to justify the changes they have made. The results revealed that the operations of revision, the nature of the changes, and the justifications given varied according to the reader who played an important role in the textual revision process. The conclusion was that children have a sense of audience, being able to consider the readers’ informational needs when revising their texts.