Why “Revise More and Read More” Are Crucial in Singapore Education

Revising: A Tool to Improve Writing Skills

As per the academic context in Singapore, one of the most overlooked aspects of writing is doing revisions. Students usually disregard the importance of revising the content and structure of their written outputs, as they are focused on checking their grammar, spelling, and punctuation. However, there is a significant difference between revising and editing documents. Revising is when we make necessary changes in our writing after careful evaluation. Editing, on the other hand, mainly focuses on the accuracy and coherence of the write-up.

Why Revision is Important

It takes more than spotting typographical errors to improve any written output. Revising and enhancing written content has produced quality work over the past decades. More than surface-level details, famous writers like Ernest Hemingway and George Orwell focus on the content of their works, leading them to make revisions after revisions. Many Singaporean students adopted this standard as they understood that a missed revision could make a huge difference in the quality of their written outputs. 

Simplifying Revisions

Some teachers tried to simplify the revision process to encourage their students to revise their written assignments properly. They came up with an “Add, Remove, Refine” approach to help their students figure out what area should they focus on revising. Another technique is called “Author’s Chair” where students can ask other people to review their work. Meanwhile, the “Ask the Editor” approach allows students to ask questions to their editors, so they have an exchange of thoughts that will lead to accuracy in revision.

Shifting to Write Less, Read More

In Singapore, students are expected to excel in various subjects to keep up with the fast-paced academic standards. Thus, most students apply the principle “Write Less; Read More” in hopes of improving their literacy skills. Writing extensively is a good practice, but reading more books makes students more efficient writers in the long run. Their exposure to complex texts, valuable readings, and various languages can inherently enhance their vocabulary and writing skills.

The More You Read, the More You Write

The more books students read, the more exposed they can be to various writing styles and techniques that make them effective writers. Reading also helps them understand how inputs should be written according to the given subject, such as history, science, or literature. Through this method, students can develop writing well-structured and concise sentences with more valuable meanings, rather than just writing lengthy assignments.  

Quality Over Quantity

The ability to write more does not signify the development of writing skills. Instead of writing lengthy sentences, it is recommended for students to write concise but meaningful pieces for them to focus on enhancing clarity and sentence structure. As students allot more time to read, they can learn more means to write ‘brilliant, polished diamonds of sentences’. This will also prevent them from writing hurried and erroneous content.

To improve their writing skills, students in Singapore consider asking for the help of a private English tutor. With proper guidance, students can handle revisions themselves and be responsible for the development of their own written content.

A Balanced Reading and Writing: A Key to Success

There are two keys to improving the literacy rate of students in Singapore: revising writing and prioritizing reading content. Students are encouraged to learn about the approaches to revising a written assignment, as well as the benefits of reading more. This is for them to become stronger and more credible writers. To write effectively, students should exercise both writing less and reading extensively, as this can lead to long-term success in both literacy and academic performance of students.