English 1301 ONL / Skrabanek
REVISION
Revision means to see again. The revision process is a skill easily the equal of the writing process. To revise effectively, you must move from the writer's eyes that have created the writing to the reader's eyes that must objectively consider what has been written. You must be able to see your written work as the reader will see it, or you will not be able to overcome the problems that the writer's eyes are too lazy to see and fix.
One good way to bring the reader's eyes into play is to read the work aloud. Abraham Lincoln used this technique; he noted that reading aloud allowed him the ability to use two senses to consider the writing--sight and hearing. To overcome the writer's eyes, you can gain help from the reader's mouth.
Another revising trick is to put the work aside after the rough draft is complete. I call this the "take a shower" phase. As much as possible, forget about the writing. Find a diversion: mow the yard, wash the dishes, iron some clothes, go on a walk, go to sleep, take a shower. Allow the subconscious mind (that freeloader!) to do a little work while the conscious mind takes a break. You may discover upon returning to the written work that you will see it differently, with fresh eyes perhaps.
Anyway, let's say you have finished the rough draft of your paper and are ready to begin the revising process. The following guidelines may help you to locate problem areas and improve your work.
General Revisions
Before revising the specific details of an essay, you must edit the content or make general revisions. Ask yourself the following questions:
- Is the thesis statement clearly stated in the introduction? Can you, if asked, offer a one-sentence explanation or summary of what your paper is about?
- Does your thesis statement contain the main idea of your essay and a brief preview of the reasoning behind that idea?
- Do you have a clear purpose for the paper? What is it intended to do or accomplish? Is your intention indicated in the thesis statement?
- Does the body of the paper clearly support the thesis statement? Are the promises made in the thesis statement fulfilled in the essay? Are the elements of the thesis statement discussed in the body in the same order they are presented in the thesis?
- Is there an introduction, body, and conclusion in your essay? Are all the paragraphs relatively proportionate in length? Is your introduction more than about 1/5 the length of a 5-paragraph essay? (It should not be.)
- Do you have an appropriate audience in mind?
- Does the introduction capture the reader's attention, provide any necessary background information or definitions, and gradually lead up to the main idea of the paper?
- Does the introduction only introduce? That's all it is supposed to do. Do you go into great detail about your topic or use long direct quotes in the introduction? You shouldn't. Save your ammunition for the body paragraphs. Again, the introduction only introduces your topic and what in particular you intend to do with that topic.
- Does the paper progress in an organized, logical way? Have you effectively used transitions to connect sentences and paragraphs?
- Is each main point represented by a topic sentence at the beginning of each body paragraph? Find the topic sentences of all the body paragraphs. Do they all relate to your thesis?
- Does the organization make sense? Would an outline help?
- Do you have any one-sentence paragraphs? These are probably ineffective and should be expanded or combined with another paragraph.
- Is your introductory paragraph of a length proportionate to the other paragraph? If your essay is five paragraphs long, for example, your introductory paragraph should be no more than 1/5 of the length of your essay.
- Are there places in the paper where more details, examples, or specifics are needed? Have you provided enough detail sentences to demonstrate your topic sentence?
- Are the main points of your essay fully developed? Do you have examples, illustrations, or anecdotes to strengthen your body paragraphs?
- Does the paper as a whole flow? Does it seem complete? Is the ending too abrupt? The movement for an essay should be from general in the introduction to specific in the body paragraphs and back to general in the conclusion.
- Are all sources credible? Are the facts accurate? Have you said, "Since the beginning of time . . ."? If so, delete it right now!
- Is any research accurate and comprehensive? Are all sources properly credited?
- Is the documentation correct and properly formatted? Are the citations properly formatted?
- Using your reader's eyes, ask yourself: In what other ways can this paper be improved or made clearer?
Specific Revisions
As soon as you complete the general revisions, you are ready to make specific revisions. Often these are based on the specific directions presented in the assignment. They may also be related to guidelines you are expected to follow.
- Have you included your full name, assignment or activity number, section number, and date at the top of the first page of the essay (not as a header)?
- Have you double-spaced the essay?
- Do you use the correct pronoun person allowed in the directions? Have you used pronoun persons not allowed?
- Is every sentence actually a sentence? Check to be sure that you have no fragments.
- Do you have any comma splices or fused sentences?
- Have you tried to use the active voice rather than the passive voice?
- Do the sentences agree in subject and verb? Do pronouns and their antecedents agree?
- Have you avoided awkward verb tense shifts?
- Have you correctly used commas, semicolons, dashes, etc.?
- Are all the words spelled correctly?
- Have you varied sentence structure, length, and rhythm?
- Are your word choices clear, effective, and concise?
- Underline any words that don't sound right. Then, look them up in the dictionary to make sure you have used them correctly. If you use a word to sound smart, and the word is misused, you don't sound so smart, do you?
- If research was used, did you utilize MLA documentation correctly?
- Read your paper aloud. Underline anything that sounds unusual or awkward. Go back and look at the sentences you have underlined and see how you can reword them to make them sound better.
When you are convinced the essay is finished, go back and read the assignment again. Make sure that your essay meets the requirements and that you have done all the things called for in the assignment. Then, turn it in and hope for the best.
Thanks to Becky Villarreal, English/ACC.
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English/Austin Community College
Last update: October 2012