Circumscribe (verb)
- to construct or be constructed around (a geometrical figure) so as to touch as many points as possible
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/circumscribe
In the reading, “Revision Strategies of Student Writers and Experienced Adult Writers” (page 382-83) the author, Nancy Sommers stated: “Since they write their introductions and their thesis statements even before they really discovered what they want to say, their early close attention to the thesis statement, and more generally the linear model, function to restrict the circumscribe not only the development of their ideas but also their ability to change the direction of these ideas”.
In other words, Nancy Sommers’ point is people often expand their writing in their first paragraph without knowing what they would change afterwards. It’s basically like a linear model and a circle since both of them allow us to make changes even if they’re done incorrectly.
This is an interesting word to know because it has a lot of meanings however I think the meaning that best fits circumscribe would be the definition above.
