Twelve Steps to Better Revising and Editing

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Twelve Steps to Better Revising and Editing

• presented by
• Judith M. Davis, Director
• Writing Technology Laboratory
• 31 March 2003

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What is revision?

• Real revision is re-seeingreading, analyzing,
  and critiquing the paper with fresh eyes.

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What is not revision?

• Revision is not reading over, editing, or
  proofreading.

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Understand how writers work
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Fluency
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Fluency

• Do you understand the assignment?
•  
• Have you thoroughly analyzed the primary texts?
•  
• Do you have a clear, argumentative thesis?
•  
• Have you mapped out strong primary, secondary,
  and tertiary support for your thesis?

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Form

• means shaping the ideas to lead the reader
  through a logical progression toward acceptance
  of the thesis.

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Form

• Do you have an outline or organizational plan?
• Does your draft follow that plan?
•  
• Can you find the thesis or main claim?
•  
• Can you identify the primary support or main
  reasons?

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Form

• Does each paragraph have a topic sentence that
  states or develops a supporting idea?
•  
• Are all reasons backed by sufficient evidence
  from the text?
•  
• Is all source material correctly cited,
  paraphrased, or quoted?

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Form

• Are all direct quotations smoothly introduced and
  integrated into the text of the paragraph?
•  
• Do any paragraphs have only material from
  sources?
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• Do any paragraphs have only unsupported ideas?

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Form

• Are there any l-o-n-g paragraphs that contain
  more than one focus?
•  
• Are there any spaghetti paragraphs that lack
  development?
•  
• Does the introduction engage the readers
  interest and set the stage for the argument to
  follow?

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Form

• Does the conclusion summarize the foregoing
  discussion and present a strong closing
  statement?
•  
• Is the paper correctly formatted according to
  Modern Language Association (MLA) style,
  especially the in-text citations and Works Cited
  page?

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Correctness

• means careful attention to both editing and
  proofreading.

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Editing

• is a multi-step, proactive process of seeking out
  unclear, awkward, or incorrect passages.

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Try to edit in a minimum of three stages

•  
• Read ALOUD.
• Read for trouble.
• Read backwards, one sentence at a time.

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Proofreading

• is checking for typographical errors, spell check
  mistakes, omitted words, and dropped word
  endings.

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Twelve steps to more effective revision

• Without looking at the paper, try to create a
  rough outline of your draft.
• Read through the paper, underlining the thesis
  and each paragraphs topic sentence.
• Find the primary support for each topic sentence.

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• Find secondary support from the text for each
  main idea.
• Compare your analysis of the draft to your idea
  outline prepared in step 1. Do they match? If
  not, have you deviated from your plan for a
  well-thought-out reason? Rework the draft as
  necessary to ensure clear organization.
• Examine each paragraph. Are all ideas clearly
  and fully developed by a topic sentence, primary
  support, and secondary support?

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• Analyze your use of sources. Are your ideas
  controlling the paragraph? Or have your sources
  taken over? Are all sources cited correctly,
  paraphrased honestly, and integrated smoothly?
• Consider your word choice and tone. Are all
  words used clearly and effectively? Is the tone
  appropriate to the audience, topic, and purpose
  of the paper?
• Re-read the beginning and the end. Try writing a
  new opening paragraph. Then try writing a new
  concluding statement.

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• Check style conventions. Remember that spacing,
  punctuation, and abbreviation style are specified
  by MLA.
• Edit carefully. After all organization and
  development revisions are complete, be sure to
  read aloud, read for trouble, and read backwards.
• Proofread thoroughly. After all editing is
  complete, let the paper rest for a few hours or
  overnight. Then, re-read to check for final
  polish.