Revision and Editing

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Once you've written your paper or essay and have the general body text set with concrete ideas you need to revise and or edit it. There are very few, if any, authors capable of creating a flawless document in a single writing session. Revision can include anything from fixing minor typographical errors and gramarical mishaps to completely restructing paragraphs. There are a number of ways to go about revising a paper; to catch the most obvious errors, run a spellcheck. Spellchecks are very good at catching major errors, but you should not rely on them for any reason. This is because, generally, they are incapable of catching words that sound the same but are spelled differently, lite and light, for example. Because of this you should carefully read over your document, word for word, and be sure that everything is correct.


Durring this reading, it's very common that you might discover some problems, or things you want to change. One of your paragraphs may have a sentence that doesn't work with the topic, or you may have a sentence that contains an incomplete idea. Whatever the case, now is the time to find it. I have often found that printing out and re-writing a paper (a task not as tedious as it might sound) is the most effective method in checking a paper for faults. While many of these faults can be found when reading the paper alone, when you re-write it the information is processed in three ways, reading, comprehending, and writing. Thus there is three times the likleyhood that you will stumble across something that "doesn't sound quite right." This isn't to say your paper has massive fallacies of course; but as mentioned no one produces a perfect paper in one session. A good tactic is also to wait a day, or a few hours at the least, before rewriting the paper, that way your mind is fresh and not cluttered, or as cluttered, with ideas.


A great revision checklist is provided by Texas A&M University Writing Center:


  • Assignment


    • The draft carries out the assignment.
    • The draft meets every requirement of the assignment. (Consider both content and style.)


  • Audience


    • The draft is clearly geared toward my audience; anyone reading this could tell for whom it was written.
    • The arguments are appropriate for the audience.
    • The draft captures the interest of my audience and will appeal to my intended readers.
    • The language, tone, and argument are appropriate to the audience and the type of paper.


  • Title & Introduction


    • The title accurately tells the reader what the paper is about.
    • The title and introduction catch the reader’s attention.
    • The introduction has a thesis which makes the main argument or topic clear.
    • The thesis is unified, arguable, and specific. I could fill in the following blank, "In this paper, I will . . .”


  • Argument


    • The draft fulfills the contract made in the introduction and supports the thesis.
    • The draft sticks to the argument throughout the paper.
    • There are reasons to support every component of the thesis.
    • Every reason is supported by facts, testimony, logic, examples, or other material.


  • Organization of Main Points


    • The main points are all relevant to the thesis.
    • The main points come in clear order, such as least to most important, chronological, or logical.


  • Paragraphs


    • Every paragraph is fully developed; the reader will not be left with questions.
    • No paragraph is so long that it will tire the reader. Breaks are made in logical places.
    • Paragraphs are logically related to one another.
    • Transitions tie paragraphs into a coherent whole.


  • Sentences


    • Sentences are varied in length, structure, and type.
    • The sentence structure makes an effectively transition between ideas.
    • Topic sentences clearly introduce the subject(s) addressed in each paragraph? (It may be helpful to limit yourself to one point per paragraph, or identify groups of paragraphs that create a unit which develops one point.)
    • I have indentfied, and then revised or cut, weak sentences—they may be confusing, awkward, or uninspired.


  • Words


    • All words that may be technical or unfamiliar to the audience are clearly defined.
    • Verbs are active and vivid.
    • The language is clear and simple, not pompous or pretentious.
    • No words are potentially offensive, either to my intended audience or anyone else.
    • I have avoided padding with unnecessary wordy or phrases. The required word count is not what determines the length.
    • The draft meet the assignment’s format guidelines, as outlined by my instructor. (I re-checked the assignment sheet to be sure.)
    • The draft has page numbers, as required.
    • The instructor's name is spelled correctly, and the course and section number are correct.
    • I am using the required documentation style.


  • Conclusion


    • The conclusion is more than just a restatement of the introduction.
    • The draft concludes in a memorable way that emphasizes your thesis, rather than just abruptly stoping or trailing off.


Resources

http://www.rpi.edu/dept/llc/writecenter/web/revise.html

http://writingcenter.tamu.edu/content/view/27/78/

http://wp.rutgers.edu/courses/101/tutorama/03_revising_first_draft.html

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