Add and Pass - Make It Better

A collaborative revision chain. Each student writes a sentence, passes it on. The next student improves it — adding information, tightening a phrase, upgrading a word. The next corrects grammar. Each sentence accumulates both expansion and accuracy passes.

Variant of Add and pass focused on editing and craft rather than free narrative extension. Turns revision into a shared exercise.

Procedure

1. Student 1 writes one simple sentence. Teacher may set a requirement: "Must use a past tense" / "Must describe a person".
2. Pass.
3. Student 2 improves: adds a clause, a modifier, a specific detail. "The dog ran" → "The little brown dog ran across the wet street."
4. Pass.
5. Student 3 corrects: finds any grammar or word-choice issues in the now-longer sentence. Fixes in a different colour.
6. Pass.
7. Student 4 adds another clause (subordinate, relative, participle — teacher can specify).
8. Continue alternating expand / repair / expand / repair for 4–6 rounds.
9. Final version is read aloud, compared to the original — the transformation is often striking.

Role Rotation Example

Display on the board to cue students:

Round	Action
1	Write a simple sentence
2	Add description or detail
3	Correct any grammar
4	Add a subordinate clause
5	Correct any grammar
6	Upgrade weak words (specific verbs, precise nouns)
7	Final proofread

Why It Works

• Revision is usually skipped: learners rarely edit their own work. This builds revision as a norm through collaborative practice.
• Noticing via others' work: spotting errors in peers' sentences is easier than in one's own — and the noticing skill transfers.
• Distributes cognitive load: no single student has to expand + edit + upgrade all at once.
• Teaches that writing = rewriting: the before/after contrast on each sheet makes the revision visible.
• Register stretch: each pass can push the sentence toward more formal / academic / descriptive language.

Variations

• Paired roles: half the class only expands, half only corrects. After several rotations, swap role-groups.
• Target structure only: all expansions must use a specific grammar point (relative clauses this week, participle phrases next).
• Reformulation pass: one round is explicitly for rephrasing, not expanding. Forces paraphrase practice.
• Digital version: Google Doc with numbered rows; students move between rows each minute, editing each other's.
• Combine with Snowball Write-Around: after the sentence-level work, groups produce a whole paragraph from the polished sentences.

Tips

• Display the role rotation visibly. Without it, students forget whether they should be expanding or correcting.
• Don't correct correct sentences. Students sometimes "fix" already-correct writing. Teach the check: Is there actually an error? If not, leave it.
• Use different-coloured pens per round — makes contribution traceable, valuable in the post-mortem.
• Celebrate big transformations: the first-vs-final comparison is the pedagogical moment. Make it a class-wide share.
• Works B1+ where students have enough grammar to diagnose errors. Below B1, the correction rounds stall.

Source

Miller, M. Ditch That Textbook blog — Add and Pass activity family. Revision pedagogy: Graves, D. (1983) Writing: Teachers and Children at Work on draft iteration.