A study was conducted to determine whether children in revising their writing to accommodate new information would make corresponding textual changes to preserve appropriate focus and cohesion. The subjects, 48 children each from grades three, six, and nine, were presented with a task that involved descriptions of pictures with incongruent information. The results showed that children of all ages shifted focus when it was appropriate, but that younger children tended also to shift focus when the task demanded a constant focus. The findings suggest that the apparent disinclination of students to undertake substantial revisions may be due in part to their inability to handle secondary problems of focus and cohesion. (FL)